1st Day in Madrid

---

I suppose I should give an introduction for the basis of (what is starting to seem like) a crazy trip I just started…It’s not every so often that you get to travel to a foreign country alone, but when you do I suppose one should take advantage of it. I planned this trip initially as sort of a random getaway and post-graduation expedition. However, it’s sort of turned into a part-time gig in which I’ll be performing with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, near Pamplona. David Thompson was very gracious to let me on as a substitute up there. So since I won’t be playing with the orchestra until February I’ve decided to get lost in the other cities within the country.

First stop, Madrid…I arrived at the Madrid airport about two hours late, due to a ceiling panel within our plane (which the pilot claimed he could’ve fixed himself)…However because of 9/11, they had to bring in a mechanic just to fix it. Getting to Madrid makes me feel like I just wasted the past 7+ years learning the damn language! Though I’m not giving up on my first day, I still have another 74 days left…Traveling along the metro took a good hour, considering the two or three transfers I had to make before arriving at the hostel, and I suppose the fact that I was guessing on exactly where I should go half the time. I stood in the last metro car, of which (looking at the front) looked like a long, snaking hallway due to the fact that there wasn’t anything dividing each car. Having no one to really communicate with, one tends to observe one’s surroundings even more; what the old couple across from you is arguing about, the two sketchy guys are talking about the kid with three bags in a camiseta roja (a.k.a. Me), the couple making out in the third car back (romantic!). Eight cars up, you can see exactly what direction our car is headed, snaking left and right while the connectors that combine the cars move up and down. I decide that the two guys are sketching me out, like they are planning a way to steal my bags, so I decide to rush out at my final stop…

I could talk about what I saw today and the history behind it, etc…but I wouldn’t be able to explain it. I went to Plaza Mayor to have some sangria and a chorizo sandwich. Plaza Mayor is essentially a giant enclosed square surrounded by old buildings. So after not spending a whole lot of time there, I did my typical wander around a new city thing, having no idea where I was going. Eventually I ended up outside of the Madrid Royal Palace, a giant place where the King and Queen used to live, but I suppose they just use it as display. That’s what the pictures are!!
I’ll work on writing more. Thanks for reading! We’ll see if my mood changes for the next blog…

---

Photos

La Almudena
Part of the Cathedral of La Almudena across from the Palacio Real Courtyard

Comments

[Marissa Garcia]

sooo exciting!!!
Hi Zach! I was just looking at your pics of Espana, and am sooooo very excited that you get to take these amazing trips! Hopefully one day I will be able to do the same, but in the meantime I will live vicariously through you! Have a wonderful time, and please keep posting pics, etc. love and safe travels, Marissa