Madrid
(yet another installation of backlog travelogue)
On our way back from Morocco, Tippe and I had two long layovers—one overnight in Madrid (getting in around 4pm and leaving the following morning at 8am), and a brief layover in London (just enough time for us to have a couple of hours in the city with enough time to make it back for our departing flights). We talked about some things we'd like to see and do in our brief time in each city and made a plan to make it happen! It helps when you have lots of downtime in the airport, on trains, etc. to firm things up and map them out.
Tippe was so fun to travel with because we are kindred spirits in our love of great architecture, design, and city infrastructure. It was a dream to have someone along to geek out with over amazing buildings, beautifully designed parks, and minute but brilliant details (she is a city planner, so even more attuned and knowledgeable about these areas!).
All of the above photos are from our quick jaunt through the Jardines del Buen Retiro (akin to NYC's Central Park). Being late in November, it was getting dark early, but we made it to the Palacio Cristal as the last of the daylight was fading! The Palacio was built for the World's Fair in Madrid and now houses various rotating exhibits. It was perhaps even more lovely for our viewing it at dusk; the lamps around the park had been turned on and glowed their reflections on the lake in front of the palace. The park was laced with tiny winding paths and large wide walking avenues (like the one pictured above with the row of sycamore trees) and we cut across wide swathes of the park on these paths to get to the Museo del Prado.
One of the top items on my list was a visit to the Museo del Prado. We knew we'd be arriving in the evening, and when we checked museum admission times and rates, it worked out that we'd be able to enter the museum for free! The line was long, but definitely worth it. There are so many works there I was thrilled to be able to see, even for a moment—Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights triptych, Fra Angelico's Annunciation, Diego Vélasquez's Las Meninas. After the museum, we stopped at a tapas restaurant (that gazpacho! that jamòn iberico!) and then went back out into the city on foot.
Arguably one of our favorite stops was Chocolateria San Ginès, which Tippe had discovered on a previous, lengthier trip to Madrid. We waited in the longest line of locals (always a good sign) and oh my, their churros con chocolate were heavenly. Most of that chocolate went unfinished (because we were still full from dinner, even after a couple hours of walking in the interim) which was devastating because I knew we were returning to the subpar chocolate of America (I guess we'll just have to go back).
As it was less than a month before Christmas, every inch of Madrid was decked with tinsel and Christmas lights! The Puerta del Sol is a large plaza where some of the major roads leading through Madrid converge. Each street leading into the plaza was hung with different ornaments and the chandeliers above with the red tinsel garland were my favorites of all.
A side note: I find it interesting in retrospect that this is almost the exact opposite of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, where the Champs-Élysées converges with other main boulevards—in Paris this convergence is marked with a monument with traffic flowing around it, whereas in Madrid, this convergence dissipates into a public plaza space.
Madrid is definitely a city with a bustling nightlife. At 10pm and 11pm (and even later), young kids were still out and about with their families—the streets and plazas were filled with crowds of people, most of them local Spaniards. The overall atmosphere was so festive, Tippe and I couldn't help but get caught up in it, too. In one area of the plaza, there was the sign pictured above: "From Madrid with Love." The attractive Spaniard standing between us is the graphic designer who was trying to launch his tourism brand in his hometown of Madrid. We were happy to help further his cause—ha. Also the photo below makes me laugh because it is the one he took of us. Besides the crazy angle (I still have no idea why, as the photo above didn't sacrifice much of the design or the Christmas tree behind us with its orientation... Madrid's mysteries), it documents our matching aqua jackets that garnered comments for the duration of our trip. LOL. At least we were warm! (But really—Morocco was unseasonably cold and I was grateful for that crucial extra layer.)
The Puerta del Sol is also home to the "El Oso y el Madroño" statue—I loved its miniature on the sewer and water grates.
Circling back to the metro which would take us back to the airport, we passed through Plaza Mayor, with similarly great Christmas lights on display. The Christmas markets were shutting down for the night, but we got to browse and see some beautiful nativities and other things for sale there. We got back to the airport around 2am and tried to get some sleep before our departure a few hours later. Sleep was impossible, but our sleepless night was worth the adventures in Madrid! I was surprised how much I loved the city, and ever since, I've looked forward to (hopefully) going back some day. First on my list is spending an afternoon at Buen Retiro, as we didn't see nearly enough.
Have you been to Madrid? Any recommendations I should add to my list for next time?
