Que Viva España: Madrid!!

I arrived in Madrid a little after 8pm. I was a little nervous, because I had never truly traveled alone, at least not with someone to pick me up on the other side (really makes me appreciate my dad all those times). Once arrived at the airport, I was to take three different metro lines, which sounded quite daunting, and the Madrid metro is only slightly less of a maze than the Barcelona system, but guess what readers!! I had NO problems and I made it in one piece without getting lost. The worst that happened was that once I left the metro I started down the street going the wrong direction, but I quickly realized my mistake and turned around.

When I did successfully locate my hostel, it turned out that their system had crashed that day and my bed was given to someone else, so they upgraded me from a 10 bed dorm to a 4 bed dorm! It was fantastic! I went to my room and guess what, more good news: not only was my room right next to the toilet, but we had our own private shower right there in the room! That was really nice. I put my stuff down, grabbed my iPod, and went downstairs to use the Internet and socialize. Being alone, I was really trying to be in the common areas as much as possible so as to maximize the possibility of making friends. Hostels are perfect for that, by the way. I think they have a bad reputation for being dirty or dangerous, but as a young traveler I prefer them to hotels. Also, if you're going to be in Madrid, I really really recommend No Name City hostel, where I stayed. It's got a great location, free wifi and four computers you don't have to pay to use (amazing, right?) and it was super clean and they had air conditioning! That, my friends, is a rare find. I paid 50€ to stay there for three nights. So that's my informal travel tip.

Anyway, the common area closed at midnight before I could really meet people, but no matter. I went to bed and promised myself to be more outgoing the next day.

Though I was in a room with four beds, only two of them were booked. The other belonged to another lone traveler, a French Canadian girl (from "the french part," she said after I looked confused when she told me she was from Canada) who was staying Madrid for ten whole days. We got up around the same time the next morning, so we went to breakfast together. I really had no plans for the day other than to get a map and go to the first monument that seemed the slightest bit interesting, so when Julia (that was her name) said she was going to the Reina Sofia museum and that I could join her if I wanted, I thought it sounded like a great idea. It was also 10am on Sunday, and I saw online that entrance was free from 10:00 to 2:00 on Sundays ('nother informal travel tip).

It was a short walk from the hostel, and I think Julia might have gotten mixed up, because she led us to the Prado. But no matter-although the Prado does NOT offer free entrance from 10:00-2:00 on Sundays, they DO offer free entrance with valid student ID, so that was a nice surprise. As if Madrid wasn't already a classic tourist destination, another reason to go is that they love to offer student discounts.

The Prado's temporary exhibit was called La Última Raphael, which I guess you might translate as 'the last of Raphael'. It was quite a bit smaller than I would have hoped, but it was really interesting. It was about a radiography study of Raphael's paintings. With that they were able to see the whole process underneath the finished work. They could see the different "drafts," essentially. Gee I hope I'm explaining this well...You could see that he gave a man a beard, but later decided to paint over it and take it away, and also that he changed one woman's facial expression fifteen times. Also, they learned that he always painted his subjects naked first and then "dressed" them later on. Anyway, I thought it was interesting.

We walked through nearly the whole museum, but after two and a half hours, I was feeling pretty done with it. We walked around and found a nice tapas place to eat. After, we went to the botanical gardens (which also has a discount for students). It was so, so beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that I wish I had the lexical skills necessary to describe it to you, because it just so happened that I didn't bring the right memory card for my camera. I did get one single picture, however, of the inside of the greenhouse, which made me feel like I was in the movie Jurassic Park.

After that we were both feeling quite tired, so we went back to the hostel for a siesta. A while later, we headed out to find a spot to watch the big fútbol game.

We found a good pedestrian street and encountered a great many people trying to get us to go to their bars, but really all places are going to show the game and offer the same beer. You pick a spot for its atmosphere. So we went into a loud place with lots of people and sat down.

If you didn't see the game, you probably live under a rock, but Spain was on fire. They were unstoppable and the people were loving it. 4-0 was the final score, certainly something to be proud of, though an Italian girl I met (what an awful time to be Italian in Madrid, huh?) said that no one really expected Italy to win. But in any case, the Spanish were celebrating and no one, no one knows how to celebrate like the Spanish. We didn't really know what to do after they won, so we headed down the street in search of a bar, but after a while we found ourselves following a large group of people dressed in red and yellow down a long street and into one of the main plazas.

Obviously people plan ahead for these kinds of things, knowing there's a possibility that they could win. However I had no idea they would plan for such a large celebration. There were police barriers blocking the street that led to the giant plaza where everyone was gathered, and street venders were already out with their coolers of cervezas and their giant Spanish flags or red and yellow scarves. They were ready, they were.

Anyway, the square was so filled with people you could hardly walk around. It was impossible not to enjoy yourself in that atmosphere, unless maybe you were Italian, but after just a short time I was ready to head back to the hostel. It was the sort of thing you can't really stay and enjoy if you're on your own. I would say that this Madrid night could have easily surpassed the Ibiza night in fun-levels had I only been with the same friends. Yes, it was that fun.

So, we headed back to the hostel fairly early. I woke up slightly earlier than my French Canadian roommate and went downstairs to use the Internet, where I met three Australians, a boy from Sydney and two girls from Perth. They're doing something I'd never heard of...and now I'm forgetting the name, but there are several buses running the same course. So there's a western tour that does several cities in France, all over Spain, and Portugal. Or something like that. Also a northern tour and an eastern one. Anyway, it sounds like a really good idea, because you can get off at any city you choose, spend as long as you want there, and get back on at any day you choose and go to the next place.

Anyway, I had no plans for the day so I happily accepted their invitation to go out with the three of them. The first stop was Puerta del Sol, which is a really big plaza right in the center of Madrid. If you're a lone traveler and don't really know what to do, Puerta del Sol is a good place to start. There are tons of good shops around and any street you go down, you will most certainly find a monument or church. A little informal travel tip, don't let Madrid's enormous map intimidate you. The city center is where most everything is, and it's actually very walkable. I walked with my new Aussie friends from one side of the city to the other and back easily without even realizing how far we'd gone. Also, don't be so quick to use the metros. I found this to be true with most cities, but the distances look so much longer than they feel while you're walking them in real life. Also you see so much more and you get your bearings better when you walk. And the euros you save, not to mention the extra calories from the cervezas and gelato you burn are added bonuses.

So yeah back to my day. We headed toward the Palacio Real, passing by the mayor's house and the Ayuntamiento de Madrid (city hall) in the process. Then after brief walk along the Parque del Campo del Moro, we ate lunch at a cafe, where I got to feel important and play translator for everyone.

Then we headed to Templo de Deblod (which, side note, sounds really hilarious when spoken in a Sydney accent), where there is a small museum situated in a park with a great view. It houses some ancient Egyptian gold or something. Unfortunately I never got to find out for sure because they'd closed for the day 10 minutes before we got there. So if you're ever in Madrid and the Templo de Deblod sounds like something that'll tickle your fancy, just FYI, it closes at 2:00 pm.

So we were on our way, back through Puerta del Sol, past the Paseo del Prado, and through Plaza Independencia and the Puerta de Alcalá, which im sure holds some sort of historical significance (hey I never said this was going to be a history lesson) and finally into the gigantic and famous Parque del Buen Retiro. Beautiful and buzzing with activity (and best of all-FREE), this should easily be at the top of your list of places to visit. There are always tons of people out and about on a sunny day, and there's a really pretty "estanque," or um, well I don't know what the translation is for that and I can't be bothered to look it up, but it's a little man made lake in front of an impressive monument to Alfonso XII. Then we took a leisurely stroll back to the hostel, passing by the Plaza de Cibeles, where we could see barricades at the ready and a stage set up all in preparation for the night's parade and celebration. From there we walked past the Fuente de Neptuno, which was especially fun because someone had jumped the fence, dove into the fountain, and climbed up the statue to tie a big Spanish flag round Neptune's neck as a cape. Brilliant. Just genius. I wish I'd thought of that.

After this we regrouped at the hostel, looking at things to do for that night. There was a flamenco show that sounded interesting, so we agreed to meet later on.

I went upstairs for a little siesta, and I found I had a new roommate. Another Australian (geez they're everywhere, aren't they?), her name was Marquita or something complicated like that. She was really sweet, so I feel bad not remembering her name. It's the least I could have done.

That night, a flamenco show didn't end up working out so I went out with my newest Aussie roommate to get dinner. We had a nice, culturally rich discussion in which she told me about all the places I should visit in Australia, and all about our respective travels and future travels, and all the differences between the united states and ausland.

After dinner she suggested, "Shall we go for a wandah?" (wandah is Australian for wander, by the way) So we headed down the street in the same direction I had gone the night before, only this time there were somehow, previously thought impossible, more people. Families, big groups of teenagers, old people; it seemed everyone in Madrid was there. It would have been impossible to get to the center, but they had set up large screens throughout so everyone could see what was going on.

I had been told earlier that day that the players were to come to Madrid the following day, riding in on a big roofless bus in a big parade, but it turns out, they came a day early! They must've heard that I was leaving the same day they were coming and decided to come a day early. Wasn't that sweet of them?

Again the energy was tangible. All of Madrid seemed to be there, and everyone was in a good mood. Good is an understatement. Fantastic. At one point I saw on the large screens a bird's eye view of the plaza and the neighboring streets, and it occurred to me that I was in there, that screaming sea of red and yellow, and this was probably THE biggest party on earth that night. I can't imagine that anywhere, there was a bigger group of people celebrating. Being a part of moments in history like this reminds me of why I travel.

Anyway, after a while we went back to the hostel. After the high wore off, we realized that we couldn't understand anything the MC was saying and that my Australian roommate was still fighting a cold, and me catching an early train the next day, we thought a good night's sleep was a good idea.

So I leave you not with a travel tip, but many small informal ones. If you've not been to Madrid, you absolutely must go. If you have been to Madrid, find a reason to go back. What was originally nothing more than a pit stop between being with B in Holland and meeting my friends on the beaches of Cádiz ended up being one of my favorite memories. To sum up, my time in Madrid was exhilarating and unforgettable, and most certainly better than the last time.

El mundo es un libro, y ellos que no viajan leen solo una pagina.