Madrid - It's Getting Hot in Here

When our flight touched down in Madrid (this one was on time), I took a minute to reflect - have we really been to 7 countries in 3 weeks? Before this trip, I had been to 5 countries outside of the US, and now I dwarfed that number in 21 days? The trip has been such a whirlwind so far, taking us across continents to many different places. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was looking forward to things slowing down over the next 3 weeks where we remain in one country.

After spending a few hours in Madrid, I realized the slowing down would have to wait. While the city is relaxed and down to earth, there is a definite energy and everything here happens late - very late. Dinners regularly begin around 10pm and the clubs stay open until 6-7am, and they don't even get crowded until 3am. I had experienced this several years ago in Barcelona, but I guess the change of pace hits you harder at 30 rather than 25.

Our location in the city is absolutely perfect. We're about a half mile from Retiro Park, one of the largest in Madrid. This beautiful park is filled with statues, lakes, manicured trees, and plenty of shade to relax on a warm day. We're also within walking distance of just about all the big tourist attractions in the city and we didn't even use the Metro after 4 days here. We just walk everywhere. Our street is quiet, mostly pedestrian, but is steps from tons of local bars, restaurants, and cafes. The best part is we're far enough away from the big tourist traps you'll find in Madrid that most of the people we interact with are locals.

 

Our first night here, our friend Dain hooked us up with 2 of his friends from his time studying abroad in Madrid, Ana and Isa. We got tapas and swapped stories about America and Spain. We learned that Sevillians speak a strange form of Spanish and that it would be hot as hell when we got there, which was a big reason why we cancelled our trip. It was in the 90s for most of our time in Madrid, and another 10-15 degrees was just not going to be comfortable. We also learned about the prominence of the European kiss in France, which is apparently mandatory when saying hello to people, even at work. Can you imagine kissing your boss everyday? In a related story, I, of course, botched this process when we said hello to Ana and went for a handshake instead of a kiss. Whoops.

We spent most of the night speaking in English, as their English is better than our Spanish. As usual, Rachel was confused for a local as they gave her a menu in Spanish and then asked which of the rest of us wanted an English menu. Her future career as a spy looks promising. 

 

One of the challenges for me in Madrid is that the country is obsessed with pork (plenty of "Museos de Jamon" throughout the city) and the backup is shellfish or anything else from the sea. Since I don't eat any of those, I'm left scouring the scraps of the menu for chicken or beef, which isn't nearly as prominent here as it is back home. Even the tomato soup caused a problem with bacon bits sprinkled on top of it. I persevered and still was able to find plenty of delicious food throughout the city. I wonder how a vegan would survive in this city because just about everything that doesn't have fish or pork in it is loaded with cheese.

 

 

Once again, the people in Madrid have been more than hospitable. Rachel and I have been speaking our broken Spanish to just about everyone we interact with, and while it becomes obvious rather quickly that we'd be more comfortable in English, most people have had the patience to deal with our attempt at Spanish. In another recurring theme, most people in the city speak at least some English, but the English in Madrid is not as good as that of Portugal.

Rachel and I also stepped a bit outside of our comfort zones and went to Kapital (no relation), one of the biggest clubs in Madrid. Kapital advertises itself as having 7 floors and different music on each one. In reality, it's more like 4 floors as some of the floors utilize the same DJ. Regardless, we had fun dancing until 3:30AM, right around the time the club started to get really crowded. The best part of the Kapital experience is that there was no BS at the front door. There was a short line that moved quickly (we were in the club in less than 5 minutes), no VIP list, you could prepay for 2 drinks at the front door for an extra €5, the patrons weren't judgmental, and the bartenders weren't stuck up. So basically, it was the opposite of every club in NYC. Very positive experience despite being the oldest people in the club.

 

The rest of our time was spent walking around, eating, and relaxing. We spent a couple hours in Retiro Park watching kids play on what can only be described as a next-gen seesaw (it allows for spinning to the sides as well as the normal up and down motion). We were able to appreciate watching these youngsters play and enjoy themselves, and since kids speak slower and with a leaner vocabulary than adults, we could understand a good deal of what they were saying.

Right now, we're on a high speed train to Valencia where we'll spend the next 2 weeks. The train hit 301km/hr so far (about 188 MPH), and I'm hoping to see faster numbers as we go. A truly awesome way to travel.

 

¡Buenas tardes!

Jeff