I would suggest against traveling to Spain in the last months of the year. It was cold and rainy the four days I spent in Madrid. I had heard that many British citizens come to Spain after retirement because of the weather. I was beginning to seriously doubt the judgment of our British brothers and sisters after the weather I encountered. Any ventures out required at least a jacket, and sometimes I had to throw my sweatshirt on under that. The weather didn't put too much of a damper on our time, however. Seventy and sunny would have been nice though.
This was my first time with a travel partner (well, partners in this case) that wasn't (weren't) my father, so I wasn't so sure how it would come off. I have my own style when it comes to traveling, one that I am not sure will suit others. For instance, I really don't do museums, unless they have some sort of outstanding element (I made an exception for the Louvre, for example) or pertain to my interests (Warsaw Uprising Museum in Warsaw, Poland or D-Day Museum in New Orleans). I am not a "food tourist", I so I don't eat out at fancy places, I seek the cheap stuff (Adam's Travel tip #1: In Europe, Turkish kebab places are generally the cheapest option I can find. Average of about 5 euros for a big kebab sandwich. It is also quick, good tasting, and really filling). I am not a big shopper either, to give a few examples of my travel style. So I wasn't so sure how things would go over with two girls, both of whom have lots of money to spend (two pharmacists, yeah, there's a lot of money in that). Add on top of this that I was instructed to essentially be the guide for the two girls (my mom told me before I left: Make sure they have a good time. Thanks mom), I anticipated a clash of styles.
Luckily I was wrong. Aside from the aforementioned miserable weather, our time in Madrid went quite well. My two partners in travel were more than willing to have me take them around, as long as we were heading towards one of Madrid's main sites, and, dear readers, I won't steer you wrong. They also were not big into museums, which was particularly fortuitous, since Madrid is one of the museum capitals of the world. We did go into the Prado (Madrid's main one) on the girls' first day in country. Two reasons for this. It was raining incredibly hard, making walking around a little difficult, and it was free that day. We were in and out in about thirty minutes. If there are any art enthusiasts reading this, I apologize. Museums, particularly art museums, just don't do it for me.
Our four days in Madrid we unmarked by an spectacular events, at least anything that would make for good reading. I should mention that my very first day in the city, before the girls arrived, I went to go see the Stadio Santiago Bernabeu, the stadium which the city's main football team, Real Madrid, play in. It was my lucky day, for it seemed to be motorcycle enthusiasts day. THOUSANDS of people on motorcycles covered the streets around the stadium, blocking traffic and pissing off a lot of motorists. The line of people on motorcycles stretched beyond my vision. Unfortunately I was never able to find out what the hell was going on, but it was worth a few photos anyway. We covered most of the main sites the city had to offer, as well as some more. I took the girls to see the memorial to the March 2004 subway bombing victims. It is by the main train station (Atocha) and is somewhat confusing, because it is visible outside, but you must go into the train station and actually walk under the memorial. It is quite moving, as there are several messages of condolence written in different languages all of the memorial. One other note on our time in Madrid: Our apartment as I mentioned before was located on a street called Calle Magdelena. The street was right in the heart of an immigrant neighborhood, predominately Chinese, along with Afghans, Indians, and Africans. Many of the shops/groceries in the area were Chinese operated. The stories of immigrants, particularly those in Europe, is something of great interest to me. I was more than happy to spend a few days in what seemed to be the heart of immigrant live. If I had more time, I would like to venture out with not a book-bag and guidebook, but a notepad and pencil and see if I can learn some of the experiences of these people. Next time I guess.
The time in Madrid went by fast. A long-time target of mine was next: Barcelona.
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