Mellow in Madrid

Europe » Spain » District of Madrid » Madrid
July 22nd 2009

Published: July 22nd 2009

For now photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/91387210@N00/sets/72157621657418123/
Because I don´t have time to load them here as well.

I arrived in Madrid early Saturday morning after a long day of dealing with nonsense and a long flight during which I didn´t get much sleep. But waiting for me at the exit were Arantxa and her father, Juan. What a nice feeling to be welcomed to a country by someone you know! They whisked me away for a driving tour of Madrid and a stop at a delicious looking bakery (sadly, I was not up for eating yet). I had the option to go home and sleep, but why do that when you can jump right in to the good stuff? They took me around the city, showing me lots of major sights, telling me funny stories and making lots and lots of illegal driving maneuvers along the way. It was surprisingly cool day for Madrid in summer and I enjoyed being eased into the heat.

Juan is the epitome of the idea of a "walking encyclopedia", more so than anybody else I´ve ever met. He knows the names and date of every major person, place or event in Spain and, it seems, pretty much anywhere else in the world as well. I have been given waaaaay more information in the past few days than I can possibly even begin to retain but, it´s all very interesting to hear.

Saturday afternoon, after a shower, a nap, and a delicious lunch we went to the supermarket with Juan and his wife Paloma as they were concerned about my ability to find food here. To everyone´s surprise they had an incredible selection of veggie friendly foods. Including veggie burgers, soy yogurt and gelatin-free gummy bears. It was very exciting and I totally stocked up!

Sunday Arantxa and I wandered around a neighborhood in the city that she´d been wanting to check out. It was super cute and very nice to just meander at our own pace, look interesting things up in the guide book at we came upon them, and sit down and relax in the shade in sweet little plazas.

Monday was the big hike! I had said I wanted to hike while here, so Arantxa chose La Maliciosa, a mountain outside of Madrid. Juan was kind enough to take us, and to even get really excited about going! I got crazy car sick on the way up, so being outside and hiking (even up) was a welcome relief. There is a chairlift that works on weekends, but it wasn´t running the day we were there, so we hiked about an hour uphill on a concrete path up to a TV station. Then it was about another 1.5 hours to the top. The last part was a bit trickier as there isn´t a set trail (well, there probably was, but we didn´t use it) so we went over some rocky-ish terrain, and through a lot of low and pretty harmless bushes. We also passed quite close to cows which is a must on a hike for me and Arantxa!

We started at a parking lot at about 5,900 feet and ended at the top at about 7,300 feet though there was a large section that went against the direction we were heading (down when we were headed up, and very painfully up when we were headed down). Because of that it took us the same amount of time both ways for a total of 5 hours. We were lucky to have cool weather again, and this time it was actually a little chilly with even a few sprinkles right at the end. The whole way up, and especially from the top there were beautiful views of the the surrounding mountains and cities. It was really gorgeous.

On the way home, to keep me from getting sick again Juan drove so slow and carefully Arantxa was amazed--said shé´d never seen anything like it! We also stopped to visit some old family friend of theirs in an absolutely incredible stone county home. They were super nice and I´m sure thrilled to have a stinky, filthy stranger in their house.

Tuesday we headed to Toledo on Aunt Trudi and Uncle Don´s recommendation. It was pretty awesome, but hotter than hell at 105 degrees with a scorching wind. Again, Juan took us so didn´t really need a guide book and he made sure I saw all the must-sees (well, some closed before we were done but...) We started with lunch at a parador overlooking the city and it was really a great view (and air conditioned) and then headed out on foot to see the Cathedral, and various other sights including Iglesia de Santo Domingo and our favorite the Sinagoga del Tránsito which was pretty and also told a lot about Jewish history in Toledo. We bought some of their specialty of marzipan and headed back to Madrid.

Today Arantxa and I walked around the Palacio Real here in Madrid, hung out in the garden behind it, and took in a little church that Juan recommends that has its dome painted by Goya and is also where he is buried. It is funny because there are two identical churches next to each other. The second one they built so that people could still worship when too many people wanted to see the first. Then we came home and went to yoga with Juan and Paloma.

So far, I feel like I´ve seen a lot and done quite a lot, but it´s all been really very mellow. Nothing has seemed to have the rush that a lot of travel carries with it--that urgency to see everything possible in this town (and fast!) so that I can hop a bus to the next place. Most days we kind of take our time hanging out chatting in the mornings and/or evenings instead of speeding out the door. Juan and Paloma are very kind and patient to let me invade their space for so long. Their apartment is beautiful, in what seems to be the very center of the city. We´re walking distance from almost all the tourist hot spots and in what appears to be the trendy and happening gay neighborhood. I´m pretty much being spoiled rotten with yummy food, great company, fabulous accommodations and all while getting to see Spain!

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