Spain - Hola Madrid!

This and the following blogs are all going to be in a retrospective frame of mind. Since I'm writing much later, I wonder if I'll be able to capture the wonder that I felt at that moment in time. Lets try - Viva Espagne!! We started from Fonty with Hema and me having debated and discussed the best mode of transport to Orly airport. The delay of the train from the first stop Avon put an end to all discussion, Orlyval was all we had time for. Baguettes at the airport and into the flight for 7 baguette-free days. First stop - Madrid!
(A view of the palace from Parke del Oeste)Mucho mucho bonito. The first view was by force the train stations and the metro. You dont find a speck of dirt or garbage. We were, of course, comparing with the metro in Paris. Arrive at Alonso Martinez with directions from Apartapartments. An example of their directions - 'Exit from Calle de Santa Engracia. Turn right. Cross the street from the zebra crossing' - ?!!? The office was surrounded by some beautiful buildings and we found our hopes gradually rising. The background to this was that H and I had realised 24 hours earlier that our apartment was in the gay area in Madrid and we were having some palpitations on that score (Tweedledum and Rajni a little more than us, perhaps:-)). Keys picked up, we start walking to the apartment. The gorgeous buildings slowly turn dingy, we start looking at each other but fortunately our luck held out. One turn and we were back to lovely boutiques, restaurants and then our apartment, which turned out to have two baths (they had only advertised one) - WOW!!
Enter apartment - fridge is loaded with beer! And Hema had carried a packet of spicy snacks!! What more could we possibly have needed at that moment!!! A comment here - they were GREAT company to have along. Just the sort of folks Tweedledum and I are most comfortable with. We could crack all the jokes we wanted as could they, they both have a great sense of humour. No tensions, no hang ups. Not a moment was dull. The first evening went off in getting a hang of the city - a walk to Gran Via, Puerto del Sol and the Plaza mayor. They all turned out to be within walking distance of our appt. On our first round of sangria and tapas we discovered pisto (God knows what the hell it is but it tastes great). One beautiful building after another and crowds on the street till 10 in the night - when do these guys sleep and when do they work...dinner that night was at a Mexican restaurant across the street. The most amazing nachos with guacamole and queso (cheese), tortillas and...hell, I dont remember. Will have to check with Rajni if he remembers. People were walking in for drinks till 2 (the time that we crashed). The first two guys we saw smooching had us staring in wonderment. After the 11th, I even gave up on counting.
Day 2 of holiday, all fresh and bright, we started off for some 'sight-seeing'. I was the guide for the day, a hilarious sight with the tourist map in one hand and confusion writ all over my face. El Retiro, Crystal palace (what a fraud), the lake and the statues - a rest session - a photo session - a little gossip - walk on to Plaza de Cibeles (beautiful) - the Communications building with its petit, vieux mailboxes for all the regions (Gorgeous!!! Who can possible think of it as a govt block) and then it was time for lunch. We walked past the Plaza de Neptune and chanced upon 'El Cochina de Neptune'. A Spanish menucard with noone speaking any english - should we, should we not? How do you check whats beef? I tried doing the moo moo bit but I guess thats not the sound their cows make - the woman looked like she wanted to call the cops. So, we just decided to take a chance and order. Fabulous value for money!! A glass of wine (beer for the others), Entree (pumpkin soup for me, chicken for R&H and Paella for T), Main (Burger with fries and whatnot for T, Rice, fish and sauce for the remaining three), Dessert (cafe and cakes) - and all this for 9 bucks a head! Before the dessert, we were actually debating if we had made a mistake and what the hit would be. Couldnt believe the addition when we got it. The food suddenly tasted even better! Anyway, after this rest, walked on to the Puerto del Sol. Along the route we thought we caught a statue of Cortez. I ran for a pic but it turned out to be Cervantes. Caught the 3 markers - the king, the beer and the berry tree and the Madrid clock. Stopped for some churros. Walked on to Palais Reail and the Church. The church was lovely - we caught the stain glass windows at the perfect moment. Exit and another round of beer. Walk along the Viaduct trying to catch the setting sun. And then - the most beautiful sight in Madrid - L'Eglise de San Francisco. I had read that the interiors were painted by Goya but wasn't sure what the entry fee would be. It was four euros and somehow everyone willingly agreed to go in. WOW!! I wont even try describing it. The first impact has to be experienced. Am hoping the pictures will do some justice to the place but somehow I doubt it. The place is highly recommended to anyone and everyone. Rejuvenated after the beauty inside, we moved on to Plaza de la Toledo. There was an interesting Cervesceria - the first to start Rajni's photo session of beer fountains. Our order was, of course, multiple rounds of beer but the dude man actually gave us 'FREE' tapas with it!!! Potato Fries, fried fish, etc etc etc - what more could we possibly have asked for. It was two hours of bliss where we continued on with jokes and 'serious' discussions. Believe me, the day was still not over - more sight seeing, more photo clicking (the Metropolis building above) and then we ended up at Zahara on the Gran Via. We must have sat there for three hours downing pitchers of Sangria and tapas. The conversation flowed on as did the laughs. And when we finally moved from there, it was only to the restaurant back in Chueca for dessert. But, well, sleeping is a necessity.
The next day was even more relaxed. First to the Plaza de Colon which turned out to be walking distance from our metro. There were a couple of interesting sights;-)...we got so lost in them that I made the group walk almost 1.5 km in search of the Torres de Colon. before realising hey were exactly where we had started from. Anyway walked back to a cafe for a cup of coffee and discovered that they serve a variety of breakfasts for dirt cheap prices. Tweedledum had an english breakfast for 3.5 euros! We pay 8GBP in London! All of us stuffed, we moved on to the bull fighting arena - Plaza de Las Ventas, then Plaza Espana, Temple of Deblod, loads of kadalai, fabulously crafted facades of a multitude of buildings, walk along the Gran Via, boot shopping, bag shopping, (they were great boots and dirt cheap prices but I can never get myself to spend somehow - not on a student budget, at least. I'll be back in Spain when I start earning)Cervescerias and beer, loads of tapas (one of them, potato fries served kebab style, on a platter with a variety of sauces and dips) and then on to the train station for our over nighter to Barcelona.

A word of recommendation for the brave - Do not Take The Train!!!!! They say the bus is even worse. I cant think of anything more uncomfortable......but then I had memories of Madrid to put me to sleep.
Tweedledum and Rajni met up with a local on the train who gave them quite a few downloads on Barcelona while simultaneously displaying a great understanding of our culture. In fact, it came as a suprise that he had never visited home. The knowledge came only from observing friends. I wonder if our actual travels give us the same depth and understanding he displayed.