I trust that you have been reading my blog
as regularly as I have been posting. And if you have, you will know that a trip
to Madrid was very high up on my list of places to go whilst living in Spain.
And I can now tell you, that this is one more place that I can tick off. Last
weekend, I finally took my first trip to the capital city – and hopefully it
will not be the last.
Not only was I able to enjoy a weekend in
this amazing city, I was also fortunate enough to enjoy good company; I met up
with Francesca, Gemma and Stefano (the latter two currently live in Madrid).
Very early on a dreary Saturday morning, I
made my way to Santander coach station, with just one rucksack filled with
things that I had stuffed in around 1 o’clock that very morning. To say I was
tired is an understatement. Still, I managed to get there on time and soon
enough we were on the road to Madrid, with myself taking up two full seats,
plugging in my earphones and falling asleep pretty quickly.
It wasn’t until we reached Burgos in Castilla-Leon
that I woke up properly. We took a short break here, where I had something to
eat and a caffeine fix. Back on the coach, I was able to stay awake enough to
quietly watch ‘This means war’ starring Reese Witherspoon (who always seems so
lovely) dubbed over in Spanish. It was nice, nonetheless and a good distraction
from the eerie fog that seemed to consume us. I’m not kidding – it was like
something out of a Bronte novel. At some point during the journey, when we were
quite high up in the mountains, a thick fog came out of nowhere and I literally
could not see anything outside the window of the coach. Eventually it cleared,
and eventually, we arrived at our destination. MADRID!
The moment I hopped off the coach, I spied
Stefano wandering around and soon enough, the four of us we united and made our
way straight to the Prado museum. However, we did make sure to energise
ourselves with a cup of tea or two before touring the art museum. And it was
good, if a little expensive. And it meant that we were able to enjoy the art
much more.
I really enjoyed it, but I won’t pretend
that I understood all of the artwork. A lot of it, as you can imagine, is
Christian artwork depicting certain religious icons or biblical scenes. One of
my favourite pieces was one about death (but I can´t remember the title) which
showed skeletal bodies (death) taking over the world – it was incredibly creepy
but powerful.
Even if you don’t understand the scene, you
can at least appreciate the skill it takes to produce certain art pieces like
the ones in the Prado museum.
That said, we still ensured to have a bit
of a giggle, commenting on certain pieces in a slightly sarcastic and humorous
manner – or, at least, we found it humorous anyway. Some of our comments were crackers,
if I do say so myself: even “own-post” worthy. So I will save these for a later
date, when we could all do with some amusement.
We continued the hilarity as we ventured
further round the city, dropping into tapas bars and restaurants for food and
drink. Taking this route not only meant that we did not know hunger; it also
meant that we were able to take lovely tours of Plaza del Sol (many times)! As
Christmas is drawing closer, all the Xmas trees and lights were up, adding to
the prettiness. Whilst in the general area, it was suggested by Gemma to take a
trip to El Corte Ingles. Not to shop, mind you, but to look at the skyline.
There are a number of Corte Ingles’ here,
but one in particular is around 8 or 9 stories high, and if you go right to the
top, you get the most incredibly view of the city from above. We actually took
this trip twice, wanting to see Madrid in both day and night!
Wandering the city at night was beautiful,
and we past lots and lots of free entertainment, namely people dressed as
statues and the like. We made our way to the Palace which was lit up, and there
were a number of people.
We headed to the very same place first
thing in the morning. We bought 4 student tickets (costing 5 euros each) and
made our way inside, making sure to drop off our things in the cloakroom. It is
stunningly beautiful and intricately decorated. Each room was more interesting
than the next, and of course I couldn’t help pretending that I was a Princess
walking around my very own palace – don’t laugh, everyone does it! I also
couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if the same décor that sat in
the Royal Palace, or any royal palace for that matter, would be like if it was
in my own home i.e. a small house in a London suburb. I decided that it suits a
palace, but only ever a palace – should it be in my own home, it would be tacky
and I would hate it.
Anyway, the whole thing was wonderful but,
for me, the particular highlight was the room that showed the different pieces
of armour and different weapons from the past. I couldn’t tell you exactly, but
I loved it – it was amazing and I would easily pay 5 euros just to visit this
one room again. Looking at the style of swords and pistols was just so
interesting.
Once we finally found someone who was
willing to take a group picture of us in front of the palace, we finally left
and took pictures of the cathedral just opposite. Stefano posed a question:
when was this cathedral completed? I firstly said 1952, then changed my mind to
1995. And I wasn’t too far off – it was actually only completely finished in
1994.
At this point, Gemma had gone (Formula One
finals a’beckoned) but Stefano, Francesca and I continued along our way. We
overlooked the Campo park, and the autumnal colours were amazing. And then we
decide to head to Retiro park.
Let me tell you, Madrid is an incredible
place in every way. But I genuinely think that my favourite part of the weekend
was wandering through Retiro park which, in my opinion, is one of the most
stunning parks in Europe. I thought it was wonderful, from the colours to the
mini-lake and the fountains. I really enjoyed myself here, and it was so simple
just walking, talking and people watching (which is not the same as judging).
However, walking also meant that our need
for sugar came around somewhat quickly and we seemed churros necessary. Stefano
took Francesca and I to a small chocolateria, not too far from plaza del sol where
we enjoyed a few with a mug of melted chocolate.
Meeting up with Gemma once more (Hamilton
won), we wandered a little before returning to Gemma’s to grab Francesca’s
thing who was leaving that evening. Whilst killing some time before Francesca’s
train, we watched an abundance of YouTube videos that made us laugh including:
·
Skype laughter chain
·
Laughter on the subway
·
Chatroulette Wrecking Ball
(I recommend you watch them, they kill me).
With a teary goodbye, Francesca went off
and Gemma, Stefano and I went off in search of food, landing upon a curry
house. We failed to notice one thing though – it was only half 7. And we are in
Spain where people to not have dinner until 11! The restaurant was not open.
So, we went in search of cocktails instead. I enjoyed a most enjoyable mojito
with a side of sweeties including liquorice and Haribo – was fab. We chatted
about many things, including the TV shows of the 90s which were some of the
greatest shows in existence. Whilst Thomas the Tank Engine was a favourite of
ours, I mentioned the show AstroFarm which was also a favourite of mine (it was
amazing); but apparently no one else had heard of it.
No one else had heard of Veggietales either
which was my junior schools favourite thing to shove on when there was time to
kill or it was wet play or something. It was a Kids TV show made up of a series
of different vegetables who would document stories of the bible. I’m telling
you, it was a thing.
We finally had our curry, and then by then
it was nearing midnight already. So, we made our way back to Gemma’s where we
enjoyed more of YouTube and Vine before falling asleep, readying myself to
brace the early hour that I had to get up.
Overall, an amazing time, but I still
didn’t see nearly enough so I cannot wait to go back which I am sure will be
sooner rather than later.
