Madrid - Tuesday Feb. 24

Flamenco near the famous Bear Statue. Don't ask me why it's famous, I have absolutely no idea!

Our last day in Madrid was very relaxing. I had wanted to go to Reina Sofia, which houses Guernica and a bunch of other cubist and surrealist works. Sadly, though, Tuesday is the one day a week that it's closed! Oh well, I guess I have an excuse to go back to Madrid sometime.

We spent most of the day shopping and relaxing in Plaza Mayor. We had seen it at night, but hadn't explored it yet during the day. There are a lot of street performers, and the frescoes on the buildings are fantastic. We also shopped on the surrounding streets and had considered visiting the monastery, but really we all just wanted a day to soak up the sun and wander around. A bunch of people were there to see the Madrid vs. Liverpool match, so the atmosphere was quite festive throughout the city. Oddly enough, there were also supposed to be events taking place for Carnivale, but we never saw any. Apparently it's a lot more subdued in Madrid.

A whole bunch of views of the Plaza Mayor

Flamenco in the Plaza
A sad looking Charlie Chaplin
Chewbacca???

We grabbed some more queso for lunch, and this time went to eat it at the Royal Gardens next to the Palace. While we were there, a bunch of guys began taking pictures of us. We were stuffing our faces with cheese! Apparently that is attractive in Spain.

This leads me to my first lesson on traveling in Spain - do not wear a dress. I had decided it would be a lovely day to wear a dress since the weather was so warm. It was by no means revealing (even had sleeves!) and I wore it with some frumpy flats so I'd be comfortable walking around. That does not matter. I had gotten an excessive amount of stares and people trying to talk to me all week, presumably because of my hair, but the day I wore a dress was extremely uncomfortable. Way too many "Que tal Chica?"s and such. So be forewarned - don't travel with three blonds and a redhead if you want to blend in in Spain, and don't wear a dress or a skirt. I've never felt like such a freak show in all my life. I changed as soon as we could get back to the hostel.

Lunchtime in the Palace Gardens

Eating cheese wrapped in a map while wearing a dress and having red or blond hair = MAJOR Spanish scandal

That night a friend of Casey's studying in Madrid took us out for tapas. We had planned on going to el Tigre, which apparently is super good and super cheap, but it was closed so we ate at this place next door. It was probably the most uncomfortable meal we had. We were clearly very much the outsiders, and had trouble deciding what to order. Even Casey's friend, who has been there for some time now, had no clue what most of the stuff was - no patatas bravas (my favorite) or ali-oli. We ended up with the weirdest asparagus I've ever had in my life - white, pickled and served cold with mayonnaise. It was kind of an unpleasant, unsatisfactory meal all around - the atmosphere was so awkward - but I guess it was an experience.

So now for my overall impressions of Madrid...

The food - Food was either hit or miss. I loved the paella, the empinadas, the cheese, patatas, sangria, and I hated the flan and asparagus. The chorizo was sooo greasy, but the flavor was great. Not sure what to make of that really. The churros con chocolate were great too, but as I was soon to find out Granada's are even better! When you travel in Spain, if you know any word, learn "jamon" = ham. It will get you far. Oh, and in Madrid you don't tip. How awesome is that!

The language - Bring a dictionary at the least, but preferably go with someone with some experience in the language. Even though it's big and international, people don't often speak English. I barely got us by, but it was such a relief to have Katie in Granada!

The fashion - Spain is INCREDIBLE! You can find decently priced items of good quality, and their high-end stuff is just breathtaking. The people of Madrid tend to dress with impeccable taste - classic pieces tailored to perfection. If I ever had money to blow on an international wardrobe (which will probably never happen but one can dream), Spain would be the place to do it. Such a nice sight after Dublin, which really is the pits for fashion (try stuck in 1994, with a lot of Seattle grunge).

The city - Madrid has to be one of the cleanest cities I have ever been to. They literally hose the streets down every night! It's got incredible public spaces, and tons of things to see and do. Despite some language issues, most everyone we met was incredibly patient, easy going, and friendly. I'll be going back some day for another visit, most definitely!