Missing the Bus

Nestled in the crook of a tree in the depths of Parque Del Buen Retiro, I come to you from Madrid. The grass beneath me is lush and fluffy and the rushing of the lakeside waterfall blends with the soft rustle of leaves to create a sound where one is barely distinguishable from the other. I love this park. Wandering through it at dusk only a couple of eves ago, I was swept up in the romance and constant change that it embodies. How can one place evoke so many different auras? It reminds me of a box of Roses chocolates- something for everyone.

My guide book had advised me that Retiro was a romantic place frequented by couples, and had I heeded this warning perhaps I would not have been so affronted by the number of twosomes dotting the hillsides in passionate embraces. At sunset, the most romantic time of day in my opinion, I could not help but feel a pang of envy as I realised I was alone. As much as I am relishing my newfound singledom, a girl still needs to be held once in a while. And fed grapes. And massaged.

An outing on the man made lake in Parque Del Buen Retiro

Crystal Palace in the centre of the park

Several people who had made the pilgrimage from Madrid to Barcelona had forewarned me that there was not a lot to do here, but after four days I beg to differ. This city houses some of the worlds greatest works in it's museums (of which there are plenty), and with a palace the size of a Westfield and parks and buildings to admire, there is much to explore. Nightlife rivals no other place I have been yet, in the sense that the Spaniards of Madrid run according to their own clock- Typically, breakfast is at 10, lunch at 15:00 and it is not unusual to see people taking their evening meal at 22:00. In fact, on my first night out, restaurants were only packing up at 1am! Unsurprisingly, I have found it easy to slip right in to local time. Vastly different from Barcelona, if it is a local experience you are after than Madrid can deliver. Many people can speak a bit of English, but most don't bother to. Also there are not packs of tourists taking over the streets like gangs here, which makes a nice change in the middle of summer!

Sol is one of the main party areas, and on Saturday night I found myself drawn to the main square which was positively buzzing! A demonstration in one corner, tourists and locals milling around sitting on fountain steps and eating ice creams and a couple of shirtless young men pulling off amazing stunts on rollerblades- once again, all this at 1am. In Spain it is illegal for people to sell goods on the street, but of course you see it everywhere. Walking down an alley I stopped to admire this man's earring collection. All of a sudden he jumps up from his cardboard box stool, yanks the handles of his two large display cases closed, and tears off down the street like he has just robbed a bank. I turn around to the sound of sirens and the police speeding down the alley toward me, in hot pursuit of this illegal vendor. Talk about exciting!

Disney!

This entire first night was exciting, and I found great joy in ignoring my map and just following the hordes of people wherever they led me (of course, they led me to all the major nightspots which is exactly what I had hoped for).The next day, Sunday, was a completely different story. I should have learnt by now that in Europe, this is the day that a vacuum from space reaches down into the towns and sucks all the people from it- temporarily of course. Like a ghost town, I wandered the streets in amazement at it's emptiness, and even caught sight of how the maintenance men keep the streets so clean! (Actually, this was very interesting!)

One of my highlights was visiting the Prado Museum, which has an incredible body of Spanish paintings, and also Italian, Flemish and Renaissance. Having feasted my eyes on the unconventional and twisted work of Hieronymous Bosch at the palace in Venice earlier in my travels, I made a bee-line for his body of work upon entrance. His famous piece- The Garden of Earthly Delights, done on triptych- was every bit as spectacular as it is made out to be. What a smorgasbord of treats was whipped up by the artist and thrown onto canvas in lashings of pure, sinful temptation! I need one of these El Bosco paintings in my future house.

Royal Palace and Sabatini Gardens

Yesterday I took a day trip to Toledo with two wonderful new friends from the hostel- Eric from Malaysia (studying in Scotland) and Geraldine from Puerto Rico (soon to be studying in Madrid). We make a lovely trio, and have bonded quite nicely over the last few days. Only a short distance from Madrid, Toledo is well worth a visit. An old, medieval walled town, it used to rival Madrid for desirable place to live. There are remnants of buildings which pertain to the co-habitation of three succinctly different religions that operated at one time, namely Jewish, Christian and Moorish. The influence of these three cultures can be seen throughout the architecture of all the narrow cobbled streets. Here we visited the El Greco Museum, a house built in Spanish style to reflect the type of residence that the painter, El Greco, was inspired to live in. I took lots of “potential future house design” photos.

Moorish influence

Toledo

By now I am nearing the end of my trip, and feel like I have almost completely embraced travelling backpacker style. On a whim, I decided to check out of the hostel upon return lastnight and lug my second person to the major bus station with the intention of boarding the night bus to Portugal. Well, I'm all for spontaneity but this attempt was a fail of mass proportions. The tickets were all sold out so me, ever the fool, had to return to the hostel and book another night. Probably a good thing as it has prompted me to revisit Retiro with a picnic lunch of chorizo, tomato and mozzarella on french stick, and knuckle down and write this.

Oh, and you'll be pleased to know that I still remain a fast learner, despite the brain cell and liver abuse that has been going on this trip. Never one to make the same mistake twice, I booked my ticket to Lisbon for tonight lastnight while I was at the station. Cannot WAIT to get my Portuguese BBQ on!!!!

Eric, Geraldine and Lola

Recommendations:

• Accommodation: Turismadrid Hostel.(Also called Arti hostel, this place was 10Euros a night even in peak season as it is a University residence. Brilliant location and breakfast included for 1Euro.)
• Day trip to Toledo.
• Prado Museum
• Parque Del Buen Retiro and the Palacio de Cristal inside it.
• Go out and eat dinner late. Like 11pm. Then party ANYWHERE! (NB- Keep your eyes peeled for the guys trying to reel you in off the street- they often have deals which will make things cheaper for you.)