It seems that every time I get myself ramped up and even close to being caught up on this thing, stuff happens and I fall way behind on this thing. Spain has come and gone, and I am currently sitting in a lovely kitchen hanging out with superb friends in Malta. Such an utterly tremendous and well-timed break from all the damn hostels!! Malta is incredible, and being able to spend time just chilling with friends in their very own (awesome) house is even better. In a little bit there will be eggs!!!
But first I must do Spain. I loved Spain, of course. How could anyone not?? But I will say right off the bat that I felt myself getting a little run-down on this last leg of my trip. The consequences being that maybe I did a little less in each city than I am used to, but that is absolutely okay. I had a great time, am rejuvenating in Malta for a few days, and soon will head off to ITALY, which is unquestionably the country I am the most excited about seeing. I hope to do as much as a month touring all over this incredible place, just eating my heart out from the Alps to the boot and back again. But -- first, Spain. Madrid.
Spending the extra couple euros to fly from Lisbon to Madrid was so totally worth it. EasyJet was fine, although the bullpen waiting to go out and actually get onto the plane was a little redic. Took off on time though, and they didn't lose my bag, so that's all that really matters. According to my hostel's directions, I had to take the metro from the airport and change a few times, but it all seemed pretty straightforward. They failed to mention that this trip, from bag drop to hostel front door, would take an hour and a half!!! That is 30 minutes longer than my freaking flight took. :( I was pretty over it by the time I finally got there, but at least I did not get lost. Small favors.
No Name Hostel was fine, but after the incredibleness of Yes! in Lisbon, pretty much anything was going to be a letdown. They had a nice courtyard though, and a beer vending machine, so I set myself up outside with my guidebook and map and began planning my days. It was getting on in the afternoon, so I decided that for my first day I would just walk around the neighborhood a bit, get dinner, and have an early night.
I really liked the area around my hostel. Tons of cool shops, bars, and restaurants with reasonable prices, and even a few markets which surprisingly can sometimes be hard to find! Chose a cool little place and got a tapas sampler.
The little guy in front is a Pangolin, a sort of armored anteater that a friend back home gave me for luck before I left. He's been good company on my travels! After dinner I found a Mexican place that had mohitos for three euros, so I knew where I was straight up having dinner tomorrow....
The next day happened to be Sunday, and courtesy of my guidebook I knew that I could get into the two premiere Madrid museums, the Prado and the Reina Sofia, for free if I went at the proper time. So I went and hit up the Reina Sofia, a modern art mecca that includes, among other things, Picasso's "Guernica". Very cool. They had a small room devoted (mostly) to Arte Povera as well, so got to see a couple by Mario Merz and Michaelangelo Pistoletto.
After I had my fill of modern art (again), I had about an hour and a half before the Prado became free, so went and checked out Madrid's Botanical Gardens.
At around a quarter to five (Prado became free at 5:00), I wandered over... and found a massive line waiting for me! I guess I wasn't the only one to want to avoid the 15(?) euro entry fee. They shuffled us in like pros though, so it wasn't too bad. Inside it was packed of course, which as you well know will detract significantly from my enjoyment factor of anything. I did get to see Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights" which was awesome, Goya's Black Paintings and a bunch by El Grecco.
I did not see the whole museum however. For some reason my legs were killing me, and I started to realize I was dragging myself from room to room through sheer stubbornness. I left and walked home, checking out a church on the way because, you know. Europe.
Dinner at the Mexican place was AMAZING. I asked for it extra spicy and they brought me this tiny bowl of some brown oily sauce that was... really fucking spicy. Heaven. I couldn't even use all of it, but it made for the absolute best enchiladas ever.
The next day I took myself on a self-mapped, self-guided walking tour of Madrid. I wanted to see if I could spend less than 30 euros the whole day, including all food, drink, bottles of water, everything. So I didn't pay any entry fees for anything but had a great day wandering around in Madrid's very serious sunshine. Saw a bunch of beautiful plazas, a couple gardens, and the majestic Palacio Real.
A word about Madrid. Madrid is hot. As in, it was the second week in October and I was covered in sweat hot. Humping it through the city in the early afternoon, soaked and headachy from the glare, I suddenly completely understood how the Spanish came to practice the daily siesta. Because I knew I certainly could use a nap. I cannot imagine visiting this city in August.
I walked over to the Parque del Retiro, stopping for a quick beer at the James Joyce Pub because, well, Joyce. The Parque del Retiro is huge and quite peaceful, with streams and ponds and lots of tall trees for shade. They had black swans and turtles!!
Dinner that night was just at a quiet Italian place (one cannot live of tapas alone), and another pretty early and quiet night. I had to get up at 6:00 in the morning the next day for my 8:15 budget train to Barcelona... TEN HOURS!!! :( I guess that's what you get for 55 euros versus 125.
But first I must do Spain. I loved Spain, of course. How could anyone not?? But I will say right off the bat that I felt myself getting a little run-down on this last leg of my trip. The consequences being that maybe I did a little less in each city than I am used to, but that is absolutely okay. I had a great time, am rejuvenating in Malta for a few days, and soon will head off to ITALY, which is unquestionably the country I am the most excited about seeing. I hope to do as much as a month touring all over this incredible place, just eating my heart out from the Alps to the boot and back again. But -- first, Spain. Madrid.
Spending the extra couple euros to fly from Lisbon to Madrid was so totally worth it. EasyJet was fine, although the bullpen waiting to go out and actually get onto the plane was a little redic. Took off on time though, and they didn't lose my bag, so that's all that really matters. According to my hostel's directions, I had to take the metro from the airport and change a few times, but it all seemed pretty straightforward. They failed to mention that this trip, from bag drop to hostel front door, would take an hour and a half!!! That is 30 minutes longer than my freaking flight took. :( I was pretty over it by the time I finally got there, but at least I did not get lost. Small favors.
No Name Hostel was fine, but after the incredibleness of Yes! in Lisbon, pretty much anything was going to be a letdown. They had a nice courtyard though, and a beer vending machine, so I set myself up outside with my guidebook and map and began planning my days. It was getting on in the afternoon, so I decided that for my first day I would just walk around the neighborhood a bit, get dinner, and have an early night.
I really liked the area around my hostel. Tons of cool shops, bars, and restaurants with reasonable prices, and even a few markets which surprisingly can sometimes be hard to find! Chose a cool little place and got a tapas sampler.
The little guy in front is a Pangolin, a sort of armored anteater that a friend back home gave me for luck before I left. He's been good company on my travels! After dinner I found a Mexican place that had mohitos for three euros, so I knew where I was straight up having dinner tomorrow....
The next day happened to be Sunday, and courtesy of my guidebook I knew that I could get into the two premiere Madrid museums, the Prado and the Reina Sofia, for free if I went at the proper time. So I went and hit up the Reina Sofia, a modern art mecca that includes, among other things, Picasso's "Guernica". Very cool. They had a small room devoted (mostly) to Arte Povera as well, so got to see a couple by Mario Merz and Michaelangelo Pistoletto.
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| One by Mario Merz. The Fibonacci Sequence is a major theme in many of his works. |
At around a quarter to five (Prado became free at 5:00), I wandered over... and found a massive line waiting for me! I guess I wasn't the only one to want to avoid the 15(?) euro entry fee. They shuffled us in like pros though, so it wasn't too bad. Inside it was packed of course, which as you well know will detract significantly from my enjoyment factor of anything. I did get to see Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights" which was awesome, Goya's Black Paintings and a bunch by El Grecco.
 |
| I got so seriously yelled at for taking this. Worth it. |
Dinner at the Mexican place was AMAZING. I asked for it extra spicy and they brought me this tiny bowl of some brown oily sauce that was... really fucking spicy. Heaven. I couldn't even use all of it, but it made for the absolute best enchiladas ever.
The next day I took myself on a self-mapped, self-guided walking tour of Madrid. I wanted to see if I could spend less than 30 euros the whole day, including all food, drink, bottles of water, everything. So I didn't pay any entry fees for anything but had a great day wandering around in Madrid's very serious sunshine. Saw a bunch of beautiful plazas, a couple gardens, and the majestic Palacio Real.
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| Plaza Mayor |
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| Outside the Palacio Real |
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| Madrid, being awesome. |
I walked over to the Parque del Retiro, stopping for a quick beer at the James Joyce Pub because, well, Joyce. The Parque del Retiro is huge and quite peaceful, with streams and ponds and lots of tall trees for shade. They had black swans and turtles!!
Dinner that night was just at a quiet Italian place (one cannot live of tapas alone), and another pretty early and quiet night. I had to get up at 6:00 in the morning the next day for my 8:15 budget train to Barcelona... TEN HOURS!!! :( I guess that's what you get for 55 euros versus 125.
"It seems that every time I get myself ramped up and even close to being caught up on this thing, stuff happens and I fall way behind on this thing."
ReplyDeleteIt's the cruel irony that when you're doing awesome stuff, you don't have time to blog about it, because you're too busy doing awesome stuff. And when you're not doing awesome stuff, you don't have awesome stuff about which to blog.
This is true. But as far as cruel ironies go, things could be a lot worse. :)
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