Madrid - last day

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I woke up refreshed and wondering how I was going to spend my last day. One of the strange things about Madrid this time of year: The sun doesn't come up until after 8am!!! So weird. I took my time packing, then planned to check out early, but it was a madhouse downstairs; a group of about 20 people were checking out and I saw three more people coming. Since I didn't have to check out until noon, I just left my stuff upstairs and headed to breakfast. I went to a little cafe down the street that I'd seen when walking to my friends' hotel. It was good! I just had a tea and pumpkin and goat cheese quiche - yu-um.

Then I strolled towards El Retiro Park to take some photos. Some of the photos included in this are for my architecture friends (Steve?) - there are just some gorgeous buildings here and even though they all seem to have the same set up, it works. I think Madrid is just a beautiful city and looks like an excellent place to live.

Retiro Park is huge and I only saw a very small portion of it near the Prado. But what I did see was pretty and peaceful. There was a group of kids playing nearby, obviously as part of a school group. I've seen so many of these types of groups during my visit here and I love how the kids are exposed to outdoor activities with such regularity.

I was thinking about the time spent here in Spain and I was a little disappointed in my language skills. I need more practice; I also need to not be so shy - I do know more than I projected. It has been a long time, and the colloquial words were a little difficult, but I should have tried harder. Oh well - next time.

After I checked out, I met up with Jamie and Addi, leaving our bags at their hotel and headed to Sol Plaza. We wandered around shopping independently. This was another thing I was disappointed in - I didn't see one thing, not ONE thing, I wanted to buy for a souvenir - not for me or for anyone else. I found some cute shirts for my niece and nephews but they were 16 euros! That is way too expensive for kids clothes that I'm not even sure will fit them and that they'll only be able to wear for a few months anyway... I should have bought some postcards, but figured I had time to later (apparently they don't sell postcards at the airport....grrr...) I did buy a couple of books in Spanish so I can practice.

Then we went back to Cava Baja and tried to go to a Basque place that was listed in multiple books - we walked in and it looked phenomenal... but there was no where to sit; I mean, they didn't provide seating - you had to stand and drink/eat. So, we wandered and finally Addi was talked into a place by a pretty girl. 😊 It had a cool floor, suspended above some caves, and it was pricey, but it was fun. We had a good bottle of wine and split some tapas. The tapas were good but nothing special. Except we tried the poblano peppers as recommended by my colleague; one out of every 10 peppers is spicy, so it's like a russian roulette. We picked the peppers for each other and ate at the same time, making a game of it. Nothing too incredibly spicy, which was kind of a let down for me. I wanted to see someone cry. Jamie was close at one point.

Then we finished our day off at Reina Sofia, a modern art museum. It was a huge building and set up nice, but all it did was make me realize how much I hate modern art. I think half the people are completely nuts with paintings that are ugly as sin, and the other half draw "abstract" art that I actually like, but I can draw myself. There were some Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso paintings though, so that was pretty cool to see, but it's not me. Jamie made an interesting observation though: the paintings from before photography try so hard to be realistic, and the paintings afterwards are not visually represented by life but require interpretation. I guess it's a good point. I still think the artists are usually wacko.

We then took the regional train from Atocha Station to the airport. When we got there, Jamie and Addi separated since they'd checked in online. I was told my "confirmed" window seat had now switched to "standby". I was so frustrated. Not only did I not have my requested seat, but it was looking like I wouldn't even be able to get on the flight! I won't go into the whole ordeal that took about an hour, but basically, Addi and Jamie volunteered and planned to give me one of their window seats, while they got booked on a different flight, with a hotel room and free future flight. Instead, the flights were all full and they would have to be rerouted through Frankfurt... It was messy but I left them thinking that's where they were headed and I was still technically on standby. Word to you future travelers - the Madrid International Airport is huge and a pain in the ass. I made it to my gate after walking for more than 20 straight minutes near the end of the boarding - I was given the back middle aisle seat and at that point I was glad to take it. I sat next to the mom in a chinese family, who basically slept the whole flight, so it wasn't so bad and the movie choices were awesome. Turns out, Jamie and Addi also made it on the flight at the last minute. So, we made it home safe and sound after a trying ordeal at the checkin - not happy with Emirates at the moment, but it worked out.

And now I'm back to work!

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Photos

Cava Baja
tapas!

Cava Baja
restaurant from our first night

pretty statue
Maria Christina of Bourbon

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Madrid
We've always wanted to go to Madrid. It looks lovely and the food fantastic.

[lexispence10]

Relaxing
It was very lovely and I think it is the perfect time of year right now. It is a nice, livable city with no pressures - just relax and enjoy!