Madrid Mar 9 - Mar 11, 2023

Trip Day 10 - Madrid Day 1 - Part 1

The Trip

I wanted to leave my AirBnB at 9:30 and was ready by 9:25 - tried using Uber and kept getting delayed. I found out that Uber wasn't very popular in Barcelona. I finally just went out to take my chances with a cab and went to my buddy Inam from Bistro Sagrada. Inam is from Nepal and is the nicest guy. I just wanted to say goodbye and then asked about taxis. He walked me to the corner, flagged a cab and helped me get my luggage in. If you ever go to Barcelona, go to his place and say hi from me.

Took the train from Barcelona to Madrid. It is a high-speed train and it almost went 300 km/h (186 mph.) Sat next to Amy from New York. She's a nursing student on spring break. Her mom and sister are in Madrid and though she was traveling with a friend, they sat on opposite sides of the corridor. I guess I could have been chivalrous and switched seats, but I didn't even think about it until just now (seriously!)

My first meal in Madrid was at Steakburger Atocha (Atocha means Asparagus). Fries have a curl in them. Mayo at every table!

It was a cool windy day when I arrived, but once the wind died down, I was sweating my ass off and started stripping clothes (yeah, got a lot of stares and yells to put them back on!)

Trip Day 10 - Madrid Day 1 - Part 2

The AirBnB

The AirBnB I rented in Madrid was on the second floor (first floor to Europeans) with no working elevator (there was one, but it was out of commission. It was a pretty nice place but I didn't like the way the furniture was arranged. 

First of all, the bed blocked the outlet against the wall which I needed to charge my devices overnight. Secondly, the chairs were hard and had no pillows, so I moved the table next to the sofa. 

The only coffee maker was a stovetop espresso maker, which I really didn't want to try. Most breakfast places don't open until 9 AM, though I did find a place that opened at 8 AM, so most mornings I did without coffee (can you imagine???!!!)

Trip Day 10 - Madrid Day 1 - Part 3

Walking Around

I did my usual thing of walking around until I got lost, then I figured I would head to Plaza Mayor, which is where I had to be the following morning.

I had left my plastic cup behind in Rouen (my first left-behind item but not the last).  I use it for tooth-brushing and fiber and was challenged in Barcelona though they did have glasses in the second AirBnB there. I could never find a plastic cup in Barcelona, but found the Super Bazar Wu almost immediately in Madrid and a plastic cup. There seem to be quite a few "Bazars" run by mainly Asian folks. I relished other store names, like "Guilty" for a cookie shop, "Lock & Be Free" for a place to leave luggage, "SaltInCake" for a bakery.

Trip Day 11 - Madrid Day 2 - Part 1

Madrid Walking Tour with Lexi

Lexi is a Brit originally from Manchester (England, England, across the Atlantic Sea - lyric from the musical Hair - I just can't help myself) and she told us 2 stories that blew me away because the way she told them make them seem like facts. Lexi fell in love with Spain and Madrid and studied history here in Madrid. She decided to be a tour guide and she tells the story of how the Moors invaded Spain and then how it was finally taken back. She tells very charming and exciting stories with a good mixture of intrigue and normally.

The reason why the site of Madrid was even picked was because the Moors could use it as a defense position from the Christians who were trying to attack Toledo, then a Moorish capital and stronghold.  It is actually a bad place for a city since it has no major waterways and is high up on hills so hard to get to.  It was first called Mayrit.

An interesting story that hit me was that the Moors were kicked out of Granada in January 1492. After that, all Muslims and Jews were either expelled or made to convert or face the Inquisition. This way, the money from the Jews and Muslims could be confiscated and perhaps was used to finance Christopher Columbus (he first asked in 1486 but only got a pittance.)

The money coming from the Jews may be a myth - basically, with the war against the Moors over and possibly the riches gained by the conquest of Granada, the royals had money to give to Columbus.  Who by the way was NOT paid until he got back. 

The other story was that the Spanish Lisp (e.g. Barthelona) was due to one of the Hapsburgs who were inbred and he couldn't talk without a lisp, so in order to not have folks laugh at the king, it became a Royal standard. It wasn't passed on to Latin America, so technical they speak the original Spanish.

I did some further research and this story has been debunked, but it sounds like a good story.  In fact, the Spanish Lisp, or as it's officially known, the Ceceo, is due to the evolution of languages just as languages evolved in the USA.  Boring, but probably more true.  Here's a write-up on Spanish Academy.

I should know better than trusting tour guide stories because when I was a tour guide 40 some years ago, I told my own whoppers, however, there was no Internet handy to easily fact-check (not that I did during our tour.)

There was a person dressed in a Transformer type costume and since he was in yellow, I had to take a pic and give him a tip. 

After that, I went exploring, up into the Riu Hotel, then saw my fave, Cervantes!  Don Miguel de Cervantes wrote the story of Don Quixote, about a man who hit the road with his faithful servant Sancho, believing he was a knight and that windmills were evil monsters.  I didn't read the book, but only saw the musical Man of La Mancha with Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren.  My best friend Peter and I were both enamored with it.  We are talking 50 years ago (just looked it up - 1972 movie).

Trip Day 11 - Madrid Day 2 - Part 2

Hop-on Hop-Off Bus

For the afternoon's festivities, I took the Hop On-Off Bus https://madrid.city-tour.com/en/

They have 2 routes - one through old town Madrid, and one for the new town. Madrid can suddenly get quite windy, so it was cold at times on top. Probably good in the summer though.

Since I had already done a walking tour of old town, I knew a lot of the stuff. The new portion included the Real Madrid Stadium for all you football fans (NOT Superbowl Football.) Guess what American NFL/AFL Football is called? American Football! What we call soccer is called football here.

Trip Day 11 - Madrid Day 2 - Part 3

The bigger they are, the harder they fall

Or in my case, the heavier they are. 

While carrying 2 heavy bags of groceries in my right hand, I was fishing for the AirBnB keys which were in my right pocket and managed to trip either over my feet or the uneven ground onto my front taking the brunt of my weight on my right arm. Passersby immediately rushed to my aid and for better or worse, helped me up. Something had dislocated between the elbow and shoulder. It hurt bad until I relocated(?) it back. I took drugs and slept a lot. It re-dislocates if I lift it about half way up but I’m good at relocating it.  I just scream until I can fix it.

I debated whether I should cut my trip short, but figured I could motor through the pain. I did change my upcoming car reservation to an automatic though which upped the price some.

Trip Day 12 - Madrid Day 3 - Part 1

The Food Tour

I took a food tour and this one was different than the others. First of all, I did NOT get a photo with our guide Abel. It's because he told us a lot about the history and we walked all over the place. Secondly, we only had 2 food stops, but he kept bringing courses out.

In Spain, food sharing is common, damn Covid. We got one piece of everything (though more cheeses and meats), but we had to cut it up holding it with our bare, germ-laden hands. Some people did go to the bathroom first though. Every other food tour I've been on hands out sanitized single portions Oh, there were 8 of us, so all grubby hands in at once and pass the plate for a taste.

Seriously, Abel was a great guide. His stories were a wee different than Lexi's from the prior day.

We toured the oldest restaurant in the world (per Guinness) called Botin.  We did not eat there - I had been hopeful, but apparently there is a huge waiting list.  It was very tight for me getting in the cellar.  I almost felt I would be a course there.

Oh, AND ALCOHOL WAS SERVED - first time on a tour. Leave it to Spain to serve alcohol (Vermouth and Madroño liquor)

Trip Day 12 - Madrid Day 3 - Part 2

Walking Tour: Spanish Inquisition, Ghosts & Legends of Old Madrid

Another walking tour, this time with Isa, who is originally from Arizona but her family is from Peru. She was recently accepted to a 2-year circus tour program.

Her storytelling was awesome! She focused a lot on the Inquisition and how really horrible it was and detailed in grisly detail how people were made to confess. Yeah, the story about the guy who was beaten until his head fell off (ghost story) in a church and how he saved a guy got a lot of laughs. Especially when I said that was the origin of football (to you, soccer.)

She was dressed in a gothic costume and carried a lantern. Then she took the subway home. Hmmmm...perhaps SHE was a ghost!

Madrid

Final Thoughts

It's quite hilly in downtown. This is because Madrid is built on a bunch of cliffs/hills. It can get suddenly very windy and cold (in March) while burning you up with the sun.

OTC drugs are expensive. 

Nothing really opens until 9 AM though there are a few places open earlier. Looks like the kids don't go to school until around 9 AM either. University may start earlier. Dinner starts at 7 PM and continues well till midnight. The streets are PACKED with people walking all over the place.  There is a brief video below.

English is hit or miss - some people speak it (some REALLY well) and others, even in the service industry, do not. This tells me their primary customers are locals, which might mean they are cheaper.

Tapas does NOT mean small plates. It means lids. There was a time when fruit flies would get into drinks, so bartenders would cover them with a small plate. Sometimes they put samples of their food (bread and salty meats) onto them and soon Tapas came to mean small plates of food. Here, ANYTHING can be a Tapas - from chicken fingers to chorizo to a sandwich.