European Explorations: It's Like Mexico, but you can Drink the Water

Written Saturday, 5/23/09

Madrid was definitely a shock after coming from Paris. It’s a lot hotter and it’s nowhere near as pretty. However, the people are nice. Everyone is willing to answer your questions, and they speak Spanish instead of switching to English.

Due to lack of availability we had to switch hostels in the middle of our stay. The first was very clean, very well done, just like a hotel. We had our own bathroom, and a daily cleaning service. The hostel we’re in now is more like a bed and breakfast. The lady who owns it, Señora Alvaro, definitely enjoys her job. She doesn’t speak any English, but she speaks Spanish very slowly, and it’s easy to understand. There’s also a really nice kitchen so we’ve been able to make some good dinners.

The first night we went out to eat (it was my birthday dinner from Josh) at a really fantastic restaurant. It was a recommendation from our guidebook, and it turned out to be a great deal. The restaurant had white tablecloths, fast service, and a wonderful atmosphere. We were able to get a bottle of wine, an appetizer, two main dishes (lamb and chicken), and dessert for only 37 euros, quite the deal (at least compared to Paris.) Everything in Madrid is quite cheap, which is good for our budget.

Even the museums are reasonably priced; the Prado was only 4 euros a person. The Prado is really well done; it was easy to find the famous paintings. I was really happy to have read, History and Art for the Traveler by Rick Steves, because I knew what I wanted to see. My favorite was the Garden of Delights by Bosch (just like Dad said it would be.) You can look at it here. The Rick Steves book is also helpful because it gives a description of the painting, and explains the important parts.

Today we saw Guernica, by Picasso, at the Reina Sofia. It was a great exhibit. Before entering the room with the actual painting, there’s a room of Picasso’s studies, which are cool to see. There’s also a wall of photographs that show the evolution of the painting.

Overall the museums have been great, except for the fact that you can’t take pictures of the artwork.

We also visited the Palacio Real, which was modeled after Versailles. Surprisingly, I liked the one here better. All of the rooms have a different décor; there is a room where all the walls are made of porcelain and another where the walls are tiled.

Near the palace we also visited the Cathedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena, which was very cool, different than any church I’ve ever seen. It is a combination of many different types of art styles. I really enjoyed it.

Despite the fact that Madrid’s architecture isn’t very pretty, and the main roads don’t have any landscaping, there are a couple of really pretty parks. The first day we visited the botanical gardens, which have a wide range of plants. It was a good place to sit in the shade. Today we visited the Buen Retiro park, which was very green and lush. We had a picnic on a park bench, and then wandered down the paths. We ran into some soccer fields, a lake, a glass palace, and an exhibit of really cool sculptures. I think this may have been my favorite place in Madrid so far.

The nightlife here is very lively. The first night, after our amazing dinner, we went to Viva Madrid (also a guidebook recommendation) and had some flavorful mojitos. Thursday night we went on a pub-crawl with the company New Europe. It was really fun. We went to three bars and a seven-story nightclub. We met a guy, Richard, from an island in the English channel, Claus from Germany, a girl from somewhere in Spain who only spoke Spanish, and Phil from Iowa. Interestingly, Phil’s been living in Minneapolis for the last 3 years. It was fun to talk to him about things from home. At the nightclub we also met a group of kids from the University of Illinois. I talked to them about the Cards and Cubs (one of them was a Cards fan!). Here’s a picture of the group: