So it was that during my last few days in Madrid, I was overcome with a desire to stay just a little while longer. I realized how much I would miss different parts of the city, or a different way of doing this and that. But I think I made the most of my last few days--slept a little less, walked a little--a lot--more, and had my fill of sangria. The fates tried to thwart me in my plans by bringing to Madrid a biblical sort of plague: THE METRO STRIKE.
Nik and I got incredibly lucky: the day we returned from Barcelona, at around 7 p.m., we were able to leave the airport on the Metro. It's a blessing, that rail system to the airport, because even if you don't have an Abono (a transportation pass), it only costs 2 euros to get to the airport, versus the 30 or so euros to catch a cab from where I was living. The Metro ride back to Atocha was on the miserable side, because each train was so packed with people and Nik still had his luggage to lug around. But the most important part is that we made it back to Atocha unscathed, if a bit squished. And I emerged from the Metro station at Atocha thinking to myself, "Ah, the Metro strike isn't so bad! I guess there are less trains running, which is why it's all so crowded, but madness? Poppycock! All will be well."
All was not well. The next morning I got up to go to class at my usual time, and found that the Delicias Metro station was closed off with yellow police tape. And I very quickly discovered, from listening to the passerby, that the Metro was 100% closed that day (Tuesday). So my only choice was to get on a bus. And then another bus. And then another. And even after getting off that bus, I ended up walking another 20 minutes to get to school. In total, I spent an hour and a half getting to my class--which, if you will remember, was my literature class. My horrible, awful literature class, in which we got around to reading one text (Bodas de sangre, Garcia Lorca) during the LAST week of class. When I arrived, after the stressful hour and a half on tightly packed buses (on était serré comme des sardines!!), I found that the class was watching a movie. AGAIN. I should not have been so surprised. Mostly, I was incredibly annoyed that I hadn't turned back and just avoided class altogether. Because after an hour of watching the stupid movie, class ended and I started on my way back home. Tried to catch a bus that took me relatively close to Embajadores, and after 20 minutes of waiting with no sign of the bus, I got fed up and started walking. Kept a look-out for other buses and found that the ones that passed were never the ones that even approached Embajadores. At one point, I caught sight of a bus that would take me near-ish, got on, and realized how useless it was, because I just ended up stuck in the middle of a crowd, while the bus was stuck in the middle of traffic--uncommon to Madrid, traffic that only resulted from the unusual occurrence of people actually using their cars. I ended up getting off that bus and just walking more and more and more, down Gran Via, until I arrived at Plaza Cibeles, and kept walking and walking. I finally got on a bus at the Neptune fountain, which is only like a 5 minute ride from Embajadores. So it took me like an hour and a half to get home anyway. I was kind of furious, but mostly sweaty and ready not to do it again.
Except it happened again the next day. I was a little smarter about which buses to take (figured out a more direct route to Moncloa), but I was nevertheless half an hour late to my [useless] [last] lit class. The ride home was way awful. The bus was so full I was actually being squished between two bodies at one point, and it was so hot that it was becoming a bit difficult to breathe. All I wanted to do was be on the Metro yellow line reading Lolita like I'd been doing the previous weeks. After that bus ride, I decided that buses (at least during the day) during the Metro strike were pretty much out of the question. So Nik and I ultimately walked around Madrid during those last couple of days, except for the occasional Metro ride on Thursday and Friday, when at least a few trains were running, once in a while.
Anyway. On Tuesday, Nik's first real full day in Madrid, we went to Retiro before my Prado class. I would've been able to stay longer had it not been for my late arrival to lunch, and even after a quick bite with Francisca, we only headed off to Retiro at 3 p.m. I walked in with him and pointed out the Estanque and the monument to Alfonso XII, and then we sat in the shade for a little while, but then I had to go to class, so I left him there to explore Retiro, and we agreed to meet in the Prado after my class. We spent like an hour and a half in the museum after my class had ended, since I had to show him Bosch and Bruegel and Velazquez and that unbelievable Tintoretto painting. From the Prado, we walked over to Royal Madrid, since I wanted to show Nik the Plaza Mayor and the small, windy streets in the oldest parts of Madrid, around the Plaza Mayor and the Palacio Real (including that awesome street which is very angular and it's called "Calle del Codo," or "Elbow Street" because of it). I was trying to retrace the route that I took with the group during the historical walking tour, but for some reason, I couldn't entirely remember where to go, so we ended up just walking to the Plaza Mayor and then down a few small streets (not the ones I was looking for).
Then we decided it was about time to go find a place to eat and watch the Spain v. Portugal game (WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS, I'm still so excited about that...I saw all the games leading up to and including their win!), so I directed us back to Sol to pick a place around there. We ended up at this Argentinian/Spanish restaurant because 1) there were a few TVs inside and 2) it wasn't packed so we actually had a place to sit. The food was actually not that great, though the sangria was tasty (but not a lot in the jar, for 15 euros). It's too bad, because th
e people immediately around us in the restaurant weren't Spanish, but at that point, we just wanted a place to sit, eat, and watch the game, since when it started we still hadn't found a place. Anyway, it was fun nevertheless because it took Spain a little while to score, but when they finally did, the excitement was palpable anywhere we went. After the game, we walked back towards Paseo del Prado (to stop by Nik's hostel for a little while, before going back out) and in the course of our walk, we ran into tons of people cheering, waving flags, honking A LOT....at one point, I was trying to take a picture of the Neptune fountain, lit up (since it was dark by that time), and a car with Spanish fans hanging out the windows stopped right in front, and when the people inside saw me with a camera, they got really excited and started cheering even louder and honking even more and saying, "FOTOOO!!!" It was pretty awesome.
When we went back out a little while later, people were still out and about, just as energetic and excited as they'd been hours before. We walked towards Plaza de Santa Ana, to find a bar recommended by my guide book. We stopped there for a drink--I got my glass of sangria for free--and then walked past Plaza de Santa Ana on our way to Sol. There were tons of people celebrating in Sol, of course. We were there for one specific reason: Chocolateria San Ginés. Churros con chocolate. Oh yeah. Great decision. THAT STUFF IS SO GOOD. The chocolate...I could live and die in there, maybe.
Wednesday, like I said, was a little better commuting to class, but only marginally. Between lunch and my Prado class, I accompanied Nik on his first 100 Montaditos visit. It was, of course, the ideal day, being a Wednesday, when everything costs a euro. I got myself a giant glass of tinto de verano, and ended up having half of it on the go so I wouldn't be late for my Prado class, so I actually had the slightest little buzz for class. Last class was on Goya, specifically his Black Paintings. It was pretty cool, seeing them in person all in one room like that. They're my favorite examples of Goya's work; generally, though, my heart still belongs to Don Diego Velazquez.
After class, I went to say good-bye to Las Meninas for a few minutes. Ahhh, that gorgeous piece of art, I've never been so ridiculously attached to just looking at a painting. I had another moment with it as I thought about when in the world I would ever see it again (next year when I'm studying abroad in France?) and about how much I will always enjoy looking at it. It's one of my favorite paintings of all time, and I will never get over it (does it say something about me that just in this entry, I've spoken of a city and a painting as loves of my life?). After walking away from it, I went down to the Prado store and bought the Prado guide that only cost 20 euros, which is pretty awesome considering that it has tons and tons of color pictures of the most important works in the Prado. It's a thick book, too, with some text about each painting it features, so it seemed sort of indispensable for me. I also found, at the store, a little notebook with Las Meninas on the cover, which was exciting because I'd been looking for something like that (for journaling purposes) basically the whole time I'd been in Spain, and here it was, only three euros! And even though it's small, and it'll last me, like, a month when I finally start using it, I very enthusiastically bought it as well.
When I left the Prado, I walked over to the Plaza Mayor (Christ on a bike, it was hot) and met up with Nik, who had been there for a while, taking pictures and exploring Sol. From the Plaza Mayor, we started walking towards Calle Bailén, and for some reason, I suddenly remember the way we'd walked with the walking tour of Old Madrid, so I led us down the small streets and showed Nik Calle del Codo, the Plaza de la Cruz Verde (which is where executions during the Inquisition took place), that tiny park near La Latina that is so, so sweet, and then back towards Calle Bailén, where we caught a bus to Plaza de España. We wandered around there for a little while, looking at the Quijote and Sancho statues (awesome). Then we took advantage of the fact that we were within walking distance from the Templo de Debod (the Egyptian temple that Egypt gave to Ma
drid to keep in the city after the Spanish government helped save it from sinking into the sand) to go see it. The sun was starting to set, so the light was really gorgeous while we were at the temple and the surrounding park, which has a great view of Madrid (since the park is elevated, about on the same level as the Palacio Real). It was great just to hang out there, because there were lots of people walking around, and it wasn't nearly as hot anymore because we were in the shade, and the clouds were looking crazy and beautiful as the color of the sky kept changing while the sun set.
Eventually, though, we got hungry--it was 9 p.m. by the time we left the park, so we were ravenous by the time we got to Sol. Yes, dinner yet again in Sol, but here's the thing! Sol is so much fun. There are always so many people there, and besides, I wanted us to go to this GREAT restaurant, Taberna Malaspina, which I'd gone to with a group after the historic walking tour, based on a recommendation made by our guide. The food is great and cheap, and the sangria is killer. Nik and I decided to have the "Tabla de Tapas" which had two of each of most of the tapas on the menu, so we thought, hey, for 14 euros, for two people to sample the tapas...not a bad deal. IT WASN'T. It was definitely one of the best meals I've ever had. Several different kinds of meat (including delicious chorizo and some awesome smoked salmon), amazing cheese, and all of it on top of pieces of toasted bread. With the uber delicious (and large) jar of sangria. Every bite was delectable and, I will even venture to say, scrump
diddlyumptious. And we were so into the food that even after we finished the tabla de tapas, we decided to try one of the few things that it hadn't included: carne asada en su jugo tapa. When it came, it was a huge plate of meat atop a big piece of bread, with the meat's own juice/gravy whatsit on top. And it was even tastier. Seriously. A perfect meal. And the atmosphere of the place is great, too, because it's kind of a narrow, dimly lit restaurant, with simple little wooden tables and chairs, and the kitchen located in this tiny space across from the bar that looks like it's supposed to be a decorative little house thing. Awesome.The next day, Thursday, was the day of my final "exams." I really had no interest in partaking in the whole thing. Neither of my classes had been particularly great (in fact, my lit class had been the opposite. "Heinous" is a word that comes to mind) so I felt that a final exam for them, if anything, was more of my time wasted. But, alas, it had to be done. At least the Metro was back up and running....Took my ridiculously insipid lit test (three short essay questions. The last question was basically, "What was your favorite part of the syllabus?" I wish I were kidding). Went home for lunch with Francisca, her daughter, her adorable granddaughter (she's 15, and I totally want to be her. She was beautiful, and very sweet), and Nik (Francisca had invited him over to have lunch with us). We had a delicious meal of tortilla Española, gazpacho, and a lot of fruit. Nik was a little uncomfortable, but at least he liked the food, and we both enjoyed talking to the granddaughter, especially when we encouraged her to practice speaking English for a few minutes with us (she's learning English and was planning to spend a week with an English family at some point later this summer). After lunch, I had to head back to school for my 4 p.m. Prado exam. Nik got on the Metro with me and I suggested he go to one of the PhotoEspaña exhibitions, the one I'd really liked called Entretiempos. I explained how to get there and where to find the gallery once he got outside the Metro. He went his way, I went to school and took my Prado exam (also simple, I think it was like 4 paintings that we had to write about). Then I headed over to the gallery where I'd sent Nik. It turned out that he hadn't been able to find the gallery, so he'd been roaming around Plaza Colón for two hours (it only took me an hour to take the exam, but almost a full hour to get to Plaza Colón), so he wasn't very pleased with me. We ended up going to see the exhibition anyway, but I don't think he liked it much, which made me feel bad for insisting on seeing it. From there, we went briefly to the Reina Sofia to see the Guernica and some of Dalí's work, and we stopped by the exhibition about Potosí, which I wanted to see because it pertained to stuff I learned in my Latin American art history class last semester, but it was kind of a strange, experimental exhibition, so it was a tad difficult to understand. That didn't really help Nik's mood either, so he was still pretty pissed off at me when we left the Reina Sofia.
Eventually, he got over it, and much later in the evening, we went out to get some dinner (it was, like, almost 11 p.m.), and after a while spent looking for some restaurant recommended by my guide book, we gave up and just went into a 100 Montaditos because we were ravenous and 100 Montaditos never ever disappoints. The three sandwiches I had that particular time were delicious. Oh, 100 Montaditos. Why can't it be a chain here, too? It's just way too convenient. Cheap, relatively fast, totally delicious, and absolutely appropriate for late night dining. With a tinto de verano. Which I can't have in the States, but soon enough...! From 100 Montaditos, we walked to Gran Via to go to a different place recommended by my guide book: Chicote, an apparently rather famous bar, frequented by celebrities after premieres and things like that. It was decently packed with people, and it was lit with blueish/purple/pinkish lights, and the music was loud but not ridiculously so.
I had a strawberry daquiri (hahaha) and Nik had a rum and coke. Then I followed it with a White Russian (I happen to really like those, and it was also my second to last night in Madrid, so I figured, why not?), which was a pretty good decision. Both drinks were great, and the atmosphere was awesome. We were tired, though, so after Chicote, we called it a night.Friday was my last full day in Madrid. I dreaded its arrival, but it had to happen at some point. However, despite its TERRIBLE beginning, it was a truly great day to be in Madrid. The day before, Nik and I had bought tickets online to go to Toledo by train. We wanted to go really early in the day because I had to get back to Madrid by 2 p.m. for the farewell dinner with the program. Our train to Toledo left at like 7:50 from the Atocha train station, which was literally 5 minutes away from Nik's hostel. But we woke up too late, and by the time we'd walked into the station, it was like 7:43. So, sure enough, when we went over to the platform, after struggling to figure out where it was that we could pick up our tickets, the train was gone. I was really upset--for one, because I absolutely wanted to go to Toledo, and secondly, because I'd already spent money on my round-trip ticket. We decided we might as well get on the next train, at 9:20--we'd only get about 3 hours total in Toledo, but it was still better than nothing, and we'd at least not waste our return ticket. So we went to a ticket counter and bought brand new tickets (to my dismay, I later found out that I could've just exchanged our unused tickets, paying only a portion of the full price) for the 9:20 train. We figured we could do something besides sit around during the time, so we considered going to get breakfast, but then I suggested we go to Retiro park, which was like a 10 minute walk a
way, to finally see the Palacio de Cristal sort of near the center, which we'd been saying we wanted to go see. I hadn't seen it yet, and it's one of the most famous things in Retiro, so I definitely wanted to see it at some point that day, but wasn't sure if we were going to have time later in the day. It seemed perfect. We walked over to Retiro, and it was actually all a really nice walk because it was just past 8 a.m. and there weren't many people out. The sky was a bit overcast, but the clouds were just barely starting to get pushed away, so once in a while the sun would shine. When we got to the Palacio de Cristal, I was immediately really pleased that we'd gone. It was GORGEOUS, and so peaceful, because it faces a lake where there are little ducks floating around or napping on the grass beside the lake or looking for something to eat, and once in a while, a fish would splash up out of the water, and it was so quiet right around there that you would never guess there was a city just a five minute walk away. Like I said, the light kept changing, too, so the sun kept reflecting off the building. There was also something eerily pretty about this transparent structure with nothing inside
. It's just pure aesthetics and masonry, this place. I loved it. It was so relaxing, after the stressful few minutes of missing the train and buying new tickets. We spent a while walking around the lake, looking at the palace up close and then from afar, watching the ducks adjust themselves to keep sleeping, and taking pictures of it all. Finally, it was time to go, so we walked back and stopped by a bakery inside the station to grab some breakfast, croissant-y type things ("bollos," they would call them in Madrid) with some orange juice. We were doing just fine on time, until we tried to find our train platform. Three different workers pointed us in three different directions, and I started getting worried because it was suddenly 9:15, and still no one seemed to be able to direct us properly...finally, we got to the platform, but yet again, it was too late. I wish I were kidding. It was utterly devastating to me. Because that was really the end of it: there was nothing to do about it. There was no way we'd be able to catch the next train to Toledo and spend any time there, because we'd have to head back anyway so I could make it to my lunch. So not only did we waste the return-ticket, but we wasted the second set of tickets we'd bought that morning. I was crazy upset. I didn't know what to do with myself, because I couldn't believe it; because I was mad that I'd wasted so much money uselessly; and because I really, really, really wanted to go to Toledo. I wanted to see The Burial of the Count of Orgaz by El Greco and I wanted to see the Cathedral, and I simply wanted to see the city because it's supposed to be wonderful. So I was pissed off and disappointed and felt generally foolish. But again, there was nothing to do. Nik reassured me that it was okay, that at least this gave us a full long day in Madrid, and then told me to keep my Renfe ticket, to remind myself that next time I'm in Spain, I can't miss out on going to Toledo.We left the station and went to sleep in Nik's hostel room, because we were both so tired from lack of sleep and from stress at the train station, and because I really didn't want to explain to Francisca how it was that I'd missed two trains to Toledo, I didn't really want a lecture about how I had to be careful and punctual and whatnot. So we just napped for like three hours, while it started to rain outside. When I left Nik's hostel to go home and shower before the IES lunch, the rain had stopped, and the world was in a limbo between the rainy-ness of the morning and the gorgeous day that we were going to have thereafter. My lunch with the rest of the program at 2 p.m. was in a fancy hotel near Sol, and it was nice to see everyone together, all our exams out of the way, everyone in the same boat of bittersweet parting with Madrid. Unfortunately, the food actually sucked big time at the lunch. I didn't really like any of it, and only ate a little bit (the meat main course, and the dessert, which was basically the only good part). I also didn't get to sit with the people I was closest to in the program, except for Alex and Valentina, who luckily needed a table just as I was walking in. But I also got to talk to Ryan a little bit, which was nice because I didn't get too many opportunities to talk to him throughout the program. We had fun, despite the fact that the food was iffy and that our table was by far the emptiest one. Nevertheless, I left at like 3:15 because I'd told Nik I'd meet him then at Sol, and I was ready to go see the Palacio Real. I said good-bye to some people and went to the table where the administrators were sitting to thank them for everything.
Then I met up with Nik and we walked ove
r to the Palacio Real to finally go inside (I'd put off the visit because I figured Nik would want to see it on the inside). We stopped at a restaurant in the Plaza de Oriente because Nik hadn't had lunch yet, and I was still hungry-ish because of the lackluster lunch, so we had a quick little meal out looking out at the Palacio Real, and the sun was out but we were in the shade drinking sangria...it was pretty nice. I had my last encounter with those delectable croquetas at that restaurant. I also got a kick out of going inside and seeing the elaborate staircases and restrooms, since I suppose the restaurant felt the need to look elegant due to its proximity to the Palacio Real. We went into the Palacio Real a little bit after 4 p.m. I liked seeing all the rooms and all the different kinds of decorations, even though for the most part it was the expected Versailles-esque elaborate, excessive Rococo insanity. We had fun, and we actually ended up spending a lot of time looking at 1) all the silver things, like utensils and dishware, because it was interesting to talk about how all this s
ilver was coming from the New World and the New Worlders weren't getting much from selling it to Spain, and 2) the arms, guns, and suits of armors in the armory, because there were so many different styles of suits of armors, many of which were short because people were so much shorter back then. Some rooms were pretty cool, when they weren't scary Rococo business; and there was one fascinating, huge dining room which had personifications of different parts of the New World, like Mexico and Peru, in roundels on the walls.From the Palacio Real, we made the long trip on the Metro line 1 to go to the outer parts of Madrid, to see these giant funky towers that Ryan had recommended I go see. When we got out of the Metro, after like 35 minutes, we realized that basically we could look up at these two giant black leaning towers, but there wasn't really much else to do. It was kind of a business area, with not much to see besides the towers. But, whatever, at least we went up to a different part of Madrid and got a couple of pictures of the towers.
When we got back down to Atocha, we had to stop by my apartment first because I really needed to pack up my stuff. That was weird. All of a sudden, I was in my room making sure that none of my belongings were out and about. My room was pretty cozy (I never took a picture of it, besides my self-portrait!) and it was sad to have to put all my stuff away. I managed to do it pretty quickly and efficiently, too, though I was still paranoid that the bad was going to be too heavy (it was). But I wanted to leave absolutely everything packed up, except for the clothes I was going to wear the next morning to fly to Amsterdam, because I knew Nik and I would head off to dinner and a bar, and I wouldn't want to do any last minute packing late at night. The plan was also to take the large bag over to Nik's hostel right then, so it would be there, ready to go; that way, I could just walk up with my carry-on bag and meet him outside his hostel at 4 a.m. to go to the airport. Because it was already like 9 p.m. at this point, I knew this was the time to say good-bye to Francisca, since she would be asleep by the time I left (it was so weird that, at that moment, I only had like 7 hours left in Madrid before heading to the airport). She definitely got teary when she said good-bye, and told me she would miss me very much. I think she really enjoyed my company, especially because I legitimately devoted time to talking to her, besides at lunch, and because I spoke Spanish so well, especially compared to the girl she had for the spring semester...It was sad to leave her, because I think she really appreciated having some company and doing something more than watching TV all day. But at least she already had plans to go to Cadiz with her son the following Sunday, so she was really only going to spend one day by herself.
Nik and I dropped off my bag in his room and also organized his bag so th
ey would both be ready to go at 4 a.m. Then we headed off to Sol/Plaza Mayor area, because we'd decided to have dinner, not in the Plaza Mayor like we'd previously discussed (because many of my friends told me that the restaurants there don't have very good food but it's really expensive because it's in the Plaza Mayor), but at Botín, the oldest restaurant in Madrid. I was worried we wouldn't get a seat, because it was already like 10:30 when we got there, but there was plenty of room, and the waiters were sooo nice. Thus began another one of the best dinners I've ever had. The sangria was delicious, and rather strong. I ordered the plate of half a roasted chicken with potatoes, and Nik ordered the filet of lamb with potatoes. Both were AMAZING. We ate pretty much everything because it was all so good. The waiters continued to be super attentive and genuinely friendly. The atmosphere was awesome, because just by looking around, we could tell that this place has been around for ages (est. 1725). And then, the best part: while we were eating, a group of minstrels (seriously) came in. There were four of them, two guitars and two lutes, and they said they were university students studying music who do this on the side. They came in playing a merry song (haha...but it's true!) and when they finished, they asked if anyone had any requests. I basically sprang up and asked them to play "Sombras," which is a GREAT song. So they started playing it--really really well--and I almost burst with happiness. The food was so delicious; the day had been well spent, despite the Toledo fiasco; the whole six weeks in general had been absolutely fantastic; and here I was, on my last night, enjoying so
me sangria while really talented musicians sang a song that I specifically wanted to hear. I felt like Madrid was saying good-bye to me, as silly as that sounds. I was beside myself. I don't think I stopped smiling the whole time we were there. Even now, I think about sitting in Botín, listening to the minstrels sing "Sombras" and a couple of other songs that other people requested, thinking about the whole trip and being so grateful for everything I go to do and sing...it's no wonder that I was probably the happiest person in Madrid during the course of that dinner. Oh, and we had dessert, which was ALSO crazy delicious. Ahhh, it was all so perfect! Couldn't have asked for a better send-off (because, even though I had one more dinner in Madrid, the night we returned from Amsterdam, before we left to return the next day, this was the end to my last full day in Madrid, and it was awesome).After that incredible dinner, Nik and I went up to Gran Via and stopped by El Tigre for a little while. We bought some drinks and I had a bite of the free tapas while we talked to some of my friends from IES, who had agreed to spend a little while in El Tigre during the last night in Madrid. El Tigre is a super touristy bar, with really cheap drinks and, like I said, free tapas, so it tends to be packed and generally kind of grungy, but it's all part of the night-life, twentysomething-year-olds in Madrid experience. It was fun. Plus, I liked that I got to see some of my good friends in the program before we all went our separate ways for the summer.
And that was it. At 4:30 a.m. or so, we went to Barajas and got on a plane to Amsterdam. And despite the fact that we had to cart our very heavy bags around, I kept feeling like it was just another one of my weekend trips outside of Madrid. So it was weird to keep telling myself, "No...next full stop is L.A." No more Madrid, besides the brief dinner the night before returning. It was all so great, though...I had such a fantastic time, every step of the way, and I'm so glad to know that Madrid was even more amazing that I expected it to be.
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