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Published: September 20th 2008
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Hail stone destruction
This area was all neat and clean before. The hail stones knocked down so much, this was lunchtime after they had been cleaning up all morning... Tim version:
* Hostel staff are surly, as are the locals that I first met... Madrid, pick up your game!
* Wandered the city for 6 or more hours, found areas I liked much more, had some seriously good Tapas...
3 days in one hit version so a little long winded I guess...
Madrid is totally land locked and to say that made my heart sink is playing things down. I am so coastally addicted now its crazy! Even if Im not at the coast I have to know that it is near and that I can get there if I want to... its the feeling of coastal regions, the style of buildings, the people, the chilled vibe, and the general lack of rush and friendliness that comes with it, combined with of course the key ingredient, the ocean, that Im so addicted to I think. Even landing, my mind was drifting back to Sagres... bear this is mind when I describe Madrid, that Im a coastal person and so my views are pretty biased towards coastal places!
The weather wasnt the best coming in, plain white clouds everywhere giving the place a dull edge. The aiport though
Fountain
No real significance, just looked really nice is incredible, seriously impressed. So huge but so well organised, running with what seemed to be keen precision to time. This place could handle some serious traffic! The metro is the way out so I catch 3 or 4 underground trains to my hostel, which while being very clean, organised, easy and safe, is kinda boring as all you see are concrete tunnels. I prefer the overland routes with a view! The first hostel I checked out was full unfortunately, but didnt look very friendly anyway so no real loss. The next was maybe a 30 minute pleasant walk down past Tribunal station and into a much more backpacker style area - ahh, the compfort of being around other smelly poor people like yourself! It doesnt matter that they may not speak your language or have anything to do with you, but just being around them is so much more comfortable and enjoyable! I stopped at the International Youth Hostel, greeted by a grunt and s surly receptionist, same as the other hostel. Heh cities, its amazing how they seem to drag the smiles outta people! This seems to hold true through Belfast, London, even Perth, and many other cities
Museo Del Prado
Museum we checked out - Paintings and sculptures, mostly of catholic religious significance I have visited... except Lisbon. The dorm I get is a 10 person dorm which is sweet coz its more people to talk to again! The down side, its just guys =( The social dynamic from a mixed dorm is so much better! Buut the room is cool, the guys in it are half Australian with some Americans and Germans thrown in, and so all is well!
A cheap 1 euro bottle of wine, some good chatting about where people had been and what people were doing, including a guy who was leaving the next day for Peru to do some serious trekking so was incredible to talk to, and I was asleep without meaning to be pretty early! Then, the hale starts... it started lightly but kicked into a craze soon, coming seemingly from every direction, smacking into our window occasionally bouncing in and sliding across the dorm floor when it found its way through a crack. Those who were out at the bars said that the barkeeps all closed the front metal roller doors, locking people indoors, as it was too dangerous to walk outside! Animals and the homeles, well, they werent so lucky. The locals said
Velazquez
Sitting with both a paintbrush and a sword sheathed behind him that you cant see. A soldier one day, an artist the next? it was seriously unexpected and out of character... go global warming perhaps aye??
The destruction the next day as you can see from the photos and photos descriptions was pretty nuts! Not too many broken windows I was surprised to see but the flora and fauna copped a beating!
No plans today, nothing I came to Madrid to see, so of course its wandering time! The best way to see a place I think. No tours, no "heres this famous blah" and "this is where you should dine if you want etc.", better off just finding it for yourself! And as usual, it worked. I didnt like Madrid before the walk at all, I felt kinda uncomfortable and was in a bit of a low thinking why did I come here. Then I found the more run down housing estate looking areas with smaller local shops, less people, no English heard around me, and nice local parks and schools and that kind of stuff. This seems to be what I gravitate towards in a place. We walked for, hell, I dunno, maybe 6 or 7 hours? Pretty much all day besides the Museo Del Prado visit in the
Goya
Don't know him? Look him up. His paintings are everywhere in the Museo Del Prado morning. That was OK but Im more into sculptures and its more about paintings, and the main sculpture area was closed so yeh. Plus the paintings were heavily religious, again something that grinds against me a bit, so we were outta there within the hour I think.
Now I didnt plan to drink here, as I never do, but some English guys in our dorm were heading out for a look at the town and I wanted to try some decent local Tapas, so we did and beers followed! The Tapas was incredible, its such a good way to eat! Small, multiple portions, and you dont really overeat... unless you are a pig or trying to store food for the winter maybe. We hit a few bars but they were really just like anywhere else, no particularly special feel to them, so a few hours later about midnight I was outta there, home and asleep. Met a really cool Austrian girl there and was talking to her for a while, thinking I was on to a good thing, and she seemed keen, but one toilet break later and I came back to see her cuddled up to the pub
crawl guide so man I musta read that wrong heh. That did however give me the earlier bedtime that I was aiming to have to recover a bit... girls, they're fickled addictive creatures.
Up and at'em again, outta Madrid pretty early for a lunhtime flight, I was floating on a cloud! Not because of Madrid, Im not bothered if I never return here again, but because I knew what was next... something Ive been counting the days until for a long time now, Central America! Ive actually got butterflies from it!
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