Disclaimer: Not wanting to use up a ton of trip time, these posts will probably be written rather quickly and may contain spelling errors. Photos will be available on my Flickr site! View the photos here!
DAY 2 : MADRID -
Sitting in the lobby of the Tryp hotel on Gran Via in the heart of Madrid around 7pm, considering what to do for the evening. It is day two of our trip to Spain. The evenings are the most exciting part of the day in Spain; dinners usually don't start until close to 10pm and locals are out and about until 3 or 4 in the morning. With the time change and the red eye flight, we could not make it much past 11 last night. Even though we were 6 hours behind, the overnight travel and all of the effort required just to figure out how to get through Frankfurt and then get from the Madrid airport to our hotel (and then getting lost in Madrid, while on foot) was just too much!
Jackie has certainly enjoyed her sleep! I'm not sure how she does it, but she can manage to sleep on both flights here and then get to the hotel and want to immediately go to sleep. Even today after a few hours walking around the city (after sleeping 10+ hours last night), she is right back to taking a nap for a few hours. Hopefully she will let us stay out to experience some more night life tonight because of her nap!
While the usual confusion of getting around an unfamiliar metro system in a foreign country ensued, the biggest mishap to strike on day one was Jackie's giant duffel bag not showing up in Madrid when we did. We waited while all of the bags went around and around, but no big black Jackie bag. Luckily all of the people we have needed to converse with have spoken enough English for us to get by (our bits of Spanish come in handy too). The lady at SpanAir told us that they did not deliver bags at night (this was only 5pm) so we would have to wait until the next morning at 8:30. Well, of course, the bag did not show up this morning. Jackie called SpanAir to find out that apparently there is no morning delivery either and that it would come in the early afternoon. Fortunately, after our little jaunt around the city, we returned to find the bag at the front desk. Jackie was so excited, she took a nap! :)
Today, our journey started by taking the Metro to Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum of Art. Well, that was right after we went to Starbucks for coffee and breakfast. It was our last choice, but oddly enough it can be rather tough to find places to eat sometimes here. And it happened to be right beside the museum...so be it.
The museum was very interesting...I have not been to an art museum in recent history, at least not since I was old enough to appreciate one. It was great quickly studying each of the styles and realizing where my tastes lie. In addition to the famous works of Monet and Van Gogh and O'keeffe, among many others, a few artists I was not previosly familiar with caught my eye. Namely Richard Estes and John Peto, both American artists with unique realist styles. Estes work is absolutely amazing and was showcased in a special exhibit. His works of art could easily be mistaken as professional photographs of classic American urban sites. I think Jackie also enjoyed the museum, although she quickly went to sit on the bench as soon as we entered each room, and hopped up when I started to walk to the next. She must have been still tired :)
DAY 2 : MADRID -
Sitting in the lobby of the Tryp hotel on Gran Via in the heart of Madrid around 7pm, considering what to do for the evening. It is day two of our trip to Spain. The evenings are the most exciting part of the day in Spain; dinners usually don't start until close to 10pm and locals are out and about until 3 or 4 in the morning. With the time change and the red eye flight, we could not make it much past 11 last night. Even though we were 6 hours behind, the overnight travel and all of the effort required just to figure out how to get through Frankfurt and then get from the Madrid airport to our hotel (and then getting lost in Madrid, while on foot) was just too much!
Jackie has certainly enjoyed her sleep! I'm not sure how she does it, but she can manage to sleep on both flights here and then get to the hotel and want to immediately go to sleep. Even today after a few hours walking around the city (after sleeping 10+ hours last night), she is right back to taking a nap for a few hours. Hopefully she will let us stay out to experience some more night life tonight because of her nap!
While the usual confusion of getting around an unfamiliar metro system in a foreign country ensued, the biggest mishap to strike on day one was Jackie's giant duffel bag not showing up in Madrid when we did. We waited while all of the bags went around and around, but no big black Jackie bag. Luckily all of the people we have needed to converse with have spoken enough English for us to get by (our bits of Spanish come in handy too). The lady at SpanAir told us that they did not deliver bags at night (this was only 5pm) so we would have to wait until the next morning at 8:30. Well, of course, the bag did not show up this morning. Jackie called SpanAir to find out that apparently there is no morning delivery either and that it would come in the early afternoon. Fortunately, after our little jaunt around the city, we returned to find the bag at the front desk. Jackie was so excited, she took a nap! :)
Today, our journey started by taking the Metro to Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum of Art. Well, that was right after we went to Starbucks for coffee and breakfast. It was our last choice, but oddly enough it can be rather tough to find places to eat sometimes here. And it happened to be right beside the museum...so be it.
The museum was very interesting...I have not been to an art museum in recent history, at least not since I was old enough to appreciate one. It was great quickly studying each of the styles and realizing where my tastes lie. In addition to the famous works of Monet and Van Gogh and O'keeffe, among many others, a few artists I was not previosly familiar with caught my eye. Namely Richard Estes and John Peto, both American artists with unique realist styles. Estes work is absolutely amazing and was showcased in a special exhibit. His works of art could easily be mistaken as professional photographs of classic American urban sites. I think Jackie also enjoyed the museum, although she quickly went to sit on the bench as soon as we entered each room, and hopped up when I started to walk to the next. She must have been still tired :)
Following the museum, we set out on a walk to the archeology museum about 10 blocks away. We took a detour so we could stroll through the Parque del Retiro. This giant park in Madrid is said to rival that of Central Park in Manhattan. It was beautiful, with tall tree shading the miles of walking paths and surrounding the lake, which was filled with rented row boats. I had to stop several times on our walk outside of the park to photograph the architecture...but not simply because of its style, moreso because of how photogenic the Spanish buildings became today with the tree lined streets to their sides and the bright, hot sun shining down and casting dramatic shadows in all directions.
Oh...and we never did go in the archeology museum. We finally did make it to el entrada, but hunger and back pain from standing in an art gallery for three hours struck, and we headed to the nearest cafe, Cafe y Te. (Please forgive me, for I am not able to add accent marks where they are needed :))
The weather today was perfect, very sunny and not a cloud in the sky. It was hot, but not overbearing. I think I may have even gotten a tan just from lunch, as the average seated meal seems to take close to two hours here. A wonderful and relaxing part of their culutre I am sure, but it takes a while for an American used to a life in the ultra fast paced north east to get used to. I remember how incredible meals were because of this in Italy so I am sure by dinner time I will be ready. I think the abundance of house wines and sangria will help pass the time!
Not a cheap city at all, that is for sure. Falls somewhere in between Rome and London (Rome being the cheaper of the major European cities I have been to, Paris topping them all). But our first day and a half here has already been a very exciting and culturally enriching experience! We look forward to a fun filled evening and another day tomorrow of museums, walking and sightseeing! The following day, we are off on the high speed AVE train to Seville.
Adios!
Karl
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