What this weekend taught me:
FACT #1: Madrid is a very different place from Seville, for example: map proportions.
FACT #2: Hostels make people get close fast!
FACT #3: Expired guidebooks are expired for a reason…
FACT #4: Comfortable shoes are always a worthy investment.
FACT #5: American food in a foreign country is magical!
FACT #6: College kids traveling together don’t stay strangers for long
FACT #7: Women standing around at night are not waiting for their husbands
FACT #8: Toledo is old for a reason, your eyes will discover why, but your feet will begin to cry!
FACT #9: Rest is sometimes more valuable than seeing every cathedral or museum in Spain
FACT #10: God is full of surprises and watches over his children, evidenced by the divine acquaintances who spiced up the trip or simply set us in the right direction.
Day 1 in Madrid
After a 6-hour bus ride through the night from Seville, Hannah and I were a bit delusional, running on the adrenaline that comes from raw exploration. We bought a map for Madrid, unfolded the little guy, and set out to conquer Madrid. One thing, we couldn’t even locate the bus station on a map. After 5 minutes of wandering and searching for street names a woman with her energetic spaniel asked us if we needed directions – in English with a French accent! We must have looked obviously lost with our backpacks, big map and twisted expressions. She sent us to bus 148 towards Plaza Callao on Gran Vía, making sure we completely understood where to go and when. (Praise #1)
We boarded the ever-efficient city bus for our Hostel Metropol. On the ride we (I) enjoyed small talk with an old woman whose daughter bought her a bag with cats and sunflowers on the front. No, she does not own cats, but I told her about mine and she just enjoyed young people paying her attention. Next up was an old man who sat across from us. He is from Salamanca but is restoring a flat in Madrid. He talked most of the time. I had to sort through two accents: Spanish and “old person accent.”
At the end of the line we got off in Plaza Callao and began again our search for Hostel Metropol. Hannah and I split a Berry Mocha Starbucks – not that good and way too expensive. After 10 minutes, we arrived in the Plaza España. Knowing this was far off, I called the hostel and had a lovely Spanglish conversation that sent us in the opposite direction towards the hostel on Gran Vía. (Praise #2) After a good laugh and being turned around so early, Hannah and I finally made it to the Hostel Metropol – right next to McDonalds.
Rick Steves was right when he described it as “colorful.” We checked in at the receptionist desk on the second floor, only to hear that our reservation did not take! It was a bit tense while we waited for the computer to decide our fate for the night…5 minutes of small talk passed. They squeezed us in on the 4th floor for the 2 nights we wanted! (Praise #3) They then guarded our backpacks while we went to explore the artistic city of Madrid.
This is now 10am by the time we make it to art museum #1. We enjoy a generous student discount at the “taquilla” and enter the Thyssen art museum. After an hour of following a pamphlet of 50 famous painting thumbnails I saw a sign that said “Salida Prado.” I thought How considerate of them to point to the Prado Museum because I’m sure most people do both in one day. Then it hit me – WE WERE IN THE PRADO!!! For those of you who are unfamiliar with THE Prado Museum, it is a classical art museum that holds the major works of major artists including El Greco, Goya, Velasquez, Rembrandt, Raphael, and many others. So I guess you could label that my “blonde moment” for the weekend! For the next hour and a half we enjoyed our scavenger hunt throughout the 100 or so rooms. You cannot go to Madrid without seeing the Prado. I’m in Spanish art class this second semester in summer and we’re studying everything I saw!
For lunch we followed Rick Steves suggestions and ate expensive and unfilling seafood “montaditos” (mini baguettes). Rick was starting to let us down…
We returned at 3:30 for a siesta, since the night bus wasn’t the most comfortable sleeping condition. When we retrieved the key for room 412, we discovered that our roommates for the night were American BOYS! I cannot remember the last time I spent the night with guys, unless you include 5th grade birthday parties. This was going to be interesting, an experience to say the least. Hannah and I giggled quite a bit and wanted to check out their massive backpacks, but sleep took precedence.
After our naps we went out to tackle the Royal Palace; Madrid is the capital for a reason. We arrived an hour before closing, but the time in Rick Steve’s book were an hour off, so Hannah and I sat across from the palace reading Rick’s vivid and imaginative descriptions of the exquisite palace. It is the 3rd largest and most ornate Palace in the world. That would not be the last time we would experience the Palacio Real.
What do you do when your plans fall through? Go shopping!! That is what we did until dinner in the Plaza Mayor. It reminded me of a miniature version of Plaza San Marco in Venice: picturesque, street performers, overpriced food, all the waiters call you friend to get your business. At the end of our pizza a light rain cooled off the heat of the day as we walked back to the hostel for the night.
A new receptionist at Hostel Metropol was Scottish and very friendly. We were inquisitive about our roommates and he whipped out where they were from, what year they were born… After cutting up with him in English for a while we braved our room 412. I walked through the door and said, “Which one of you is from Texas?” The looks on the three boys was priceless. They were traveling separate. We enjoyed our time.
Robert: Houston, TX – Senior at Texas A&M, just finished hiking for a month across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela, talkative, perfect teeth, great hair, loved his Diet Coke and Gray’s Anatomy, called himself a “mama’s boy.”
Justin: from Michigan, lives in Austin, experienced backpacker with Ziplock bags for all his clothes, cool cat
Kevin: from Atlanta, lives in Austin, bought a cowboy hat in Spain, snores, loves bar crawling
We ended up seeing Robert 2 times in the streets of Madrid and acted like old friends!
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