Sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone can really pay off. This weekend was one of those times.
I decided way back in January that I was going to visit my friend Sarah in Madrid. We figured out that this would be the best weekend to do it, so I booked tickets and a hostel, and then didn't really think much more about it. As it got closer, I realized that I was going to Madrid. All by myself. Of course, I was meeting Sarah there, but I was still pretty much on my own. However, it turns out that I really enjoy traveling by myself, and I'm competent enough to do so. Yay!
So Thursday I got into Madrid around noon, dropped things off at my hostel, and got straight to exploring. Madrid has a wonderful public transportation system, so taking the metro was a breeze. I found El Retiro, which is Madrid's central park and wandered around there for a while. Luckily, the weather was nice.
during a nice stroll in the park
After that I found the Reina Sofia Art Museum and explored that for the rest of the afternoon. This is the museum with more modern works; lots of Dali surrealism and Picasso, including his Guernica. Some of them were odd, and I am not artsy enough to appreciate them, but there were definitely some others that I liked. Here's link to my favorite:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVc-nkOo9VTTi5uG4HkcGdIgCRVQ3sU_08NpuhsZu3rFqRKTFRAtVJngs_XwAbddZ088phpQXFVvPLwWXmsCr8E_8NCpwmE2vEKPF198cslOpb4UqwOPcGMKQ6GMIImN0z4qInyM3pLvpf/s400/Anglada+camarasa.jpg
Art? I don't know...
After the Art Museum Sarah was done with class, so we met up and grabbed tapas for dinner. We went to a place called Museo Del Jamon, which literally translates to the ham museum. It's a chain, but they had great food, so we had a nice dinner. After that we wandered around for a while and she showed me more of the city.
Friday I got up and met Sarah so that we could go explore Palacio Real, the Palace in Madrid. We had a great time looking at all of the ornately decorated rooms and the extensive collection of armor.
In front of Palacio Real
Then we went next door to the Catedral de la Almudena. This is a really interesting Cathedral; the decorations are very non-traditional.
Oooo, bright colors
Sarah had class in the afternoon, so I went with her to the Universidad Complutense to see where she went to school. While she was in class I wandered around the area and found the Museo del Traje (Fashion Museum). I really enjoyed this one; they have clothing from the 16th century all the way up to modern day. Plus it was free for students- score!
The Breakfast at Tiffany's dress!
I still had time to kill before I met Sarah at the Prado, and after walking around all day I was looking for something low key. I ended up at the Starbucks across the street and read a newspaper. I felt like such a sellout resorting to Starbucks, but I haven't had a chai tea latte in close to four months! However, I did read a Spanish newspaper and understood it (for the most part). That's got to count for something, right?
Sarah and I went to the Prado and took advantage of their free admission from 6-8pm. Sarah's taking an art history class that meets at the Prado once a week, but she had only seen a few of the rooms, so we wandered and she told me stories about the pieces that she had studied.
Witches flying? I forgot who did this one... Ribera maybe?
We went to dinner at this little place by the Palace and ordered great bocadillos (little sandwiches) and then met up with some of her friends later for drinks and tapas. The places were very crowded, but authentic and delicious. I'm a big fan of sangria.
Saturday Sarah and I went on a day trip to El Escorial, which is about an hour outside of Madrid. They have a monastery there that is huge and fun to walk around. It's really seemed like more of a palace. We saw some pretty intricate tombs, a huge library, and lots of art. Not exactly what I expected of a monastery, but a good visit nonetheless.
in the courtyard at the monastery
We then took a trip up into the hills to Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen). Francisco Franco had a basilica built in the mountain, and when I say in I mean IN the mountain. They carved it out of the side. It is huge, and very eerie, mostly because it was dark inside and has no windows. Plus the style was very somber. However, the view outside was gorgeous. I can see why they wanted to build there. Above the basilica is the world's largest cross. Seriously, it is. It's unbelievable.
Sarah with the beautiful view in the background
The Basilica and the Cross with ominous dark clouds behind them. It later hailed.
When we got back to Madrid, we split up for a bit so that Sarah could eat dinner with her host family. I was thinking about taking a nap, but then decided that I can sleep when I die and I should explore Madrid instead. I was staying in an area called Malasana, which is sort of a young artsy area. I walked around a bit and did a little shopping.
Calle Espiritu Santo, the street where my hostel was- cute right?
Then shops started to close, but I still had a lot of time before I had to meet Sarah, so I went to a place near Plaza Mayor and got a bocadillo. I watched the Andalucia vs Real Madrid soccer game and enjoyed my bocadillo for a while before walking over to Sol to meet Sarah.
Side note: When I bought my plane tickets, I didn't really think through the logistics, I just bought what was cheapest. Unfortunately, that meant that my flight left at 7:10am on Sunday. Which meant I had to check in between 5:10 and 6:30. The airport is just outside of the city, and the metro doesn't run that early, so I sort of put myself in a predicament. I asked Sarah for advice and her solution was to stay out all night and take the night bus to her place (she lives in a residential area in northern Madrid with a family). Then if I took a cab from there it would be much cheaper. So that is what we did. If there is anywhere you can stay out all night, it is definitely Madrid.
So anyways, we met up around 11 and then went to a Karaoke bar with her friends. Sarah said that most nights they play a lot of English songs, but for some reason the night we were there they were mostly Spanish. No problem. We chatted for a while and ended up singing along with everyone else. It was a lot of fun.
Recap: Art Museums, a monastery, and an all-nighter at a Karaoke Bar. All in all a very fun weekend.
I decided way back in January that I was going to visit my friend Sarah in Madrid. We figured out that this would be the best weekend to do it, so I booked tickets and a hostel, and then didn't really think much more about it. As it got closer, I realized that I was going to Madrid. All by myself. Of course, I was meeting Sarah there, but I was still pretty much on my own. However, it turns out that I really enjoy traveling by myself, and I'm competent enough to do so. Yay!
So Thursday I got into Madrid around noon, dropped things off at my hostel, and got straight to exploring. Madrid has a wonderful public transportation system, so taking the metro was a breeze. I found El Retiro, which is Madrid's central park and wandered around there for a while. Luckily, the weather was nice.
during a nice stroll in the park
After that I found the Reina Sofia Art Museum and explored that for the rest of the afternoon. This is the museum with more modern works; lots of Dali surrealism and Picasso, including his Guernica. Some of them were odd, and I am not artsy enough to appreciate them, but there were definitely some others that I liked. Here's link to my favorite:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVc-nkOo9VTTi5uG4HkcGdIgCRVQ3sU_08NpuhsZu3rFqRKTFRAtVJngs_XwAbddZ088phpQXFVvPLwWXmsCr8E_8NCpwmE2vEKPF198cslOpb4UqwOPcGMKQ6GMIImN0z4qInyM3pLvpf/s400/Anglada+camarasa.jpg
Art? I don't know...
After the Art Museum Sarah was done with class, so we met up and grabbed tapas for dinner. We went to a place called Museo Del Jamon, which literally translates to the ham museum. It's a chain, but they had great food, so we had a nice dinner. After that we wandered around for a while and she showed me more of the city.
Friday I got up and met Sarah so that we could go explore Palacio Real, the Palace in Madrid. We had a great time looking at all of the ornately decorated rooms and the extensive collection of armor.
In front of Palacio Real
Then we went next door to the Catedral de la Almudena. This is a really interesting Cathedral; the decorations are very non-traditional.
Oooo, bright colors
Sarah had class in the afternoon, so I went with her to the Universidad Complutense to see where she went to school. While she was in class I wandered around the area and found the Museo del Traje (Fashion Museum). I really enjoyed this one; they have clothing from the 16th century all the way up to modern day. Plus it was free for students- score!The Breakfast at Tiffany's dress!
I still had time to kill before I met Sarah at the Prado, and after walking around all day I was looking for something low key. I ended up at the Starbucks across the street and read a newspaper. I felt like such a sellout resorting to Starbucks, but I haven't had a chai tea latte in close to four months! However, I did read a Spanish newspaper and understood it (for the most part). That's got to count for something, right?Sarah and I went to the Prado and took advantage of their free admission from 6-8pm. Sarah's taking an art history class that meets at the Prado once a week, but she had only seen a few of the rooms, so we wandered and she told me stories about the pieces that she had studied.
Witches flying? I forgot who did this one... Ribera maybe?
We went to dinner at this little place by the Palace and ordered great bocadillos (little sandwiches) and then met up with some of her friends later for drinks and tapas. The places were very crowded, but authentic and delicious. I'm a big fan of sangria.
Saturday Sarah and I went on a day trip to El Escorial, which is about an hour outside of Madrid. They have a monastery there that is huge and fun to walk around. It's really seemed like more of a palace. We saw some pretty intricate tombs, a huge library, and lots of art. Not exactly what I expected of a monastery, but a good visit nonetheless.
in the courtyard at the monastery
We then took a trip up into the hills to Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen). Francisco Franco had a basilica built in the mountain, and when I say in I mean IN the mountain. They carved it out of the side. It is huge, and very eerie, mostly because it was dark inside and has no windows. Plus the style was very somber. However, the view outside was gorgeous. I can see why they wanted to build there. Above the basilica is the world's largest cross. Seriously, it is. It's unbelievable.Sarah with the beautiful view in the background
The Basilica and the Cross with ominous dark clouds behind them. It later hailed.
When we got back to Madrid, we split up for a bit so that Sarah could eat dinner with her host family. I was thinking about taking a nap, but then decided that I can sleep when I die and I should explore Madrid instead. I was staying in an area called Malasana, which is sort of a young artsy area. I walked around a bit and did a little shopping.Calle Espiritu Santo, the street where my hostel was- cute right?
Then shops started to close, but I still had a lot of time before I had to meet Sarah, so I went to a place near Plaza Mayor and got a bocadillo. I watched the Andalucia vs Real Madrid soccer game and enjoyed my bocadillo for a while before walking over to Sol to meet Sarah.
Side note: When I bought my plane tickets, I didn't really think through the logistics, I just bought what was cheapest. Unfortunately, that meant that my flight left at 7:10am on Sunday. Which meant I had to check in between 5:10 and 6:30. The airport is just outside of the city, and the metro doesn't run that early, so I sort of put myself in a predicament. I asked Sarah for advice and her solution was to stay out all night and take the night bus to her place (she lives in a residential area in northern Madrid with a family). Then if I took a cab from there it would be much cheaper. So that is what we did. If there is anywhere you can stay out all night, it is definitely Madrid.
So anyways, we met up around 11 and then went to a Karaoke bar with her friends. Sarah said that most nights they play a lot of English songs, but for some reason the night we were there they were mostly Spanish. No problem. We chatted for a while and ended up singing along with everyone else. It was a lot of fun.
Recap: Art Museums, a monastery, and an all-nighter at a Karaoke Bar. All in all a very fun weekend.
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