Ola or Ole?

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I have been practicing my Spanish for a while.........and felt confident enough to go around Spain just a month after my surgery. My doctor said I drive her crazy. My surgeon said I should go ahead and celebrate life. Between those 2 medical opinions, I favored my surgeon's advice.

Long Trip to Madrid From Manila

With my nephew Ryll and good friend Emy in tow, we braved the long trip from manila to madrid. Left 5 pm Monday; arrived noon next day in Madrid. It was a long trip via Hongkong and Paris. And that is not counting the 3 hour wait in each airports! The Air France flights all went smoothly, and we actually enjoyed all the in-flight meals and movies.


Talking about first experience in good old Madrid..........we hired a cab as soon as we stepped out of the airport to take us to Hotel Praga where we would meet up with our travel group same day 6pm. The taxi driver was some hustler who reminded us so much of Mel Gibson with his unshaven moustache and beard. Senor Gibson overcharged us - we paid 50 euros for a cab ride that should have just cost us only 30 euros. He said it was the Spanish fiesta, as we arrived right on Fathers' Day (which we later learned was the Feast Day of St. Joseph), and therefore there are extra cab charges. We did not bother arguing with him on our first hour on Spanish soil. By the time we reached Hotel Praga in Madrid, we were just too eager to wave him goodbye.


We met Roberto, our tour director from Cosmos, along with 48 (yes, 48) fellow travellers. A real big group which included 11 Filipinos including the 3 of us. There was this Filipino-Chinese family of 6 pax and a couple from Dallas, Texas who have not visited the Philippines for nearly 2 decades. The tour group also counted some Canadians, British, Australians, Mexicans, Americans. Mostly senior citizens except for the Canadian group made up of young Cornell University graduates, maybe in their mid 20's. Emy and I roomed up, while Ryll roomed up with Douglas. After our meeting with the Tour Group, Ryll , Emy and I didn't waste time and went to explore Madrid straight away. We took the bus from the hotel to reach Plaza Mayor. Right smack in the middle of Puerta del Sol near Plaza Mayor is Kilometro 0 where 10 streets converge and where distances are all measured. There were so many people around. And so many pickpockets too! Too many shops, tascas, tapa bars. Except that the shops were all closed because , as Senor Gibson said, today is a holiday!

Long Walk For A Cup of Chocolate and Some Churros

Armed with our Lonely Planet travel book, we walked up to Calle de Preciados and found Iglesia de San Gines. No, we weren't planning to go to church today. The LP book had the iglesia as landmark to find what was allegedly the best place for churros con chocolate. Mind you, the Chocolateria de San Gines has every right to boast it has the best churros in town. It was an experience just dunking those churros in that thick hot chocolate. While enjoying all this, we can't help but notice this old man we assumed to be the owner of the chocolateria with his loyal dog by his side, seated at a corner table. He saw everyone in, and barked orders from his seat. We likewise assumed that the busboy , cashier and other servers must be his son and daughters. I told Ryll that i can see myself in that old man. Tucked into a corner with a loyal dog, reading a good pocketbook, sipping good chocolate or coffee, and barking orders without let up!


Energized by the hot choco and churros, we tried walking back to the Plaza Mayor to catch our bus back to the hotel, but instead ended walking along Calle de Alcala. It was the other way. No problem. The LP book said we should find the Plaza de la Cibeles and the Palacio de Communicaciones here. What a magnificent sight! And it is only their Post Office. The lights did justice to the ancient building, so we took turns having our photos taken here with all that illuminated background. We were sure the Goddess Cybele wouldn't mind. We also found a church nearby, which happened to be St. Joseph's Church. The Church was all darkness with lights focused only on the altar where a small choir was singing church hymns. Got goose bumps right that moment, just watching and listening.

Of Siestas, Old Restaurants And A Bit

of Shopping


On the way back to the hotel, we also found El Corte Ingles, a famous department store chain. Of course it was closed. We thus kept our money. And since it is nearly Holy Week, we expect to save a lot of money at the rate the Spaniards spend siestas and close shops on almost any excuse or holiday. Let us just hope the restaurants, tavernas, tascas remain open. After all, we do have a long list of Spanish food to check out: paella, callos, cocido madrileno, chochinillo, fabada, bacalao al pilpil, manchego cheese, jamon jabugo, jamon serrano, chorizos, pescado en salsa verde, sopa castellano, turrones, etc.


On our way out of Madrid, we did have a chance to dine at Casa Botin, the acclaimed oldest restaurant in the world. Or so it is claimed in the Guinness Book of Records. El Botin is famous for its cochinillo (suckling pig), cordero (roast lamb), pescado (fish) with accompanying mushrooms and green beans. Ernest Hemingway was said to have dined here often, even had a favorite spot by the brick wall. You can only imagine how many diners tried to sit in that same spot (I should know, I did) and rub their backs on the brick wall.


Other than Casa Botin, there was also that unforgettable lunch at Museo del Jamon. No callos at the time we were there. Instead, we had Fabada, Frituras, Sopa Castellana, Chorizo, Quezo and Gambas. You bet we didn't miss the chance to try the Manchego cheese. We were still drooling over our lunch here only to be roused out of our dreamy adventure when someone tried to pickpocket Ryll. Nothing stolen, but those 2 gypsies sure came close to it as they managed to unzip Ryll's front pockets!!!!


No shopping, all eating. Not a bad deal. As we waved temporary farewells to Plaza Colon, Plaza Callao, Plaza Espana, Royal Palace, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, on our way out of Madrid, we felt our bulging waistlines and thought.............Espana is threatening to fatten us for the next 2 weeks.

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Photos

Casa Botin
Oldest resto in the whole world, or so they claim!