Madrid Wrap-up

Okay, okay. We're not even in Madrid anymore. But we're been procrastinating terribly and are behind on posts.

We had some interesting days in our final Madrid weeks. We booked Brian’s “belated birthday dinner” (at a restaurant he saw online, a bit on the pricier side, but located in a CAVE) for a Tuesday night thinking we wouldn't have to deal with any crowds. Well that Tuesday ended up being the Spanish Constitution Holiday AND the Spain-Morocco World Cup Game. We had planned to walk through more of the Navidad lights in the squares, etc. I assumed the crowds were probably due to the holiday. We had previously seen a large police presence and crowds on Black Friday and thought nothing of it. THEN we realized that Spain is not stupid and the police were there to handle the soccer fans no matter which way the match went. And since Morocco won, there were celebrants and fireworks….and a lot of cranky Spaniards itching to make things much more interesting. We skirted around the part that looked the most riot-like and enjoyed the lights.

 

Excited Morocco fans.

These were the ambulances lined up after dinner.

 

My personal favorite moment was the police escort for the electricians’ van that was swooping in to deal with an outage in the Navidad lights. By the time we were done with dinner (at a very early-for-Spain 11:30) the riot-ish people were cleared out and the lights were repaired. All in all it was a very impressive municipal response.

 

Plaza de Canalejas

Dinner was tasty and ended up being not too expensive. So long as you stick to Spanish wines, it’s hard to pay more than 20 Euros a bottle. In the grocery store it’s about 3.50 Euros. Now that I know Aldi bought Trader Joe’s decades ago, the two buck chuck deals possibly make more sense? Definitely beef is less common than in the US. Instead, tons of pork and plenty of seafood. We're not complaining.

We did a final museum sortie and went to the Reina Sofia. It was....weird. I mean, obviously it's the Modernist museum that is supposed to round out the Prado and Thyssen. But whoa. Spain was an Imperial power for a very long time. So to treat Modernism is if it were the invading power - psychology from Vienna, Marxism from Germany, skyscrapers from New York, photography from France, etc, etc. Weird. 

Okay, I found the umbrella check in the museums hilarious. 

Even in our slightly suburban neighborhood, Navidad lights were de rigueur. (Or whatever the Spanish equivalent of that is.) 

Sound on.

Atocha Station at night

 

We found out this is the Four Seasons Hotel after B took this shot.

Post dinner selfie in the Plaza del Sol.

The other side of the festivities, away from the hooligans.

Lights everywhere.

Down the streets too.

This is the tour bus for the Christmas lights. We thought about it but just walked around instead.

~Lucy

More Madrid

We spent a day wandering the La Almudena Cemetery. It’s absolutely enormous, rather young in age (1884), and quite a mix of well-maintained graves and crumbling to nothing edifices. Plus, of course, it has cats.

 

The Familia Gamboa Crypt (hi Michelle!)

 

Work being done. Question is, where did they move the inhabitants?

 

 

Not in the ground yet!

 

 

We enjoyed a day in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (one of the Big Three. Museo Reina Sofia is still on the hit list). B probably spoke heresy when he said he liked it better than the Prado. But really, it makes sense. It’s organized chronologically so it’s a bit like your art history textbook. (Full disclosure, I never took Art History, Brian did.) It’s got a flow to it that makes the changes in themes and materials very clear. It’s eclectic, since it comes from a private collection and reflects the tastes of about three people (and their purchasing advisors?). But since the collection was begun so recently, it solidly nails a Who’s Who of artists. Several of my favorites were represented: Memling, Pissarro, Magritte.

 

Navidad is in full swing here and we went out on Black Friday to see all the lights. The major Plazas and Squares are filled up with trees (fake), ice rinks, carousels, creches, and so many lights. It was fun to wander up and down the car-free streets and marvel at the choices each neighborhood and Via makes with their décor. I do not know what ring-railed lemmings have to do with Christmas, but I am here for it. I also appreciated that with all the crowds the non-profits were out: the bloodmobile was recruiting off of the Plaza Mayor, and two separate dog adoption events were plunked down under holiday lights.  

 

Toward the Teatro Real

 

Plaza Santo Domingo (maybe? We were pretty lost at this point)

 

Navidad Lights. Somewhere in Madrid.

 Lemuridae Holidays to You All

 

 

We’ve spent time marveling at architecture, and managed to find the ugliest holiday sweater, all within blocks of our lodgings.

 

Just the Neighborhood....Something.

Really. What is happening here?

Bemusedly,

~Lucy

 

 

Madrid

We've been in a Madrid for a week now! We've been spending our time getting acclimated to the time zone and the new culture. Beginning at the airport, it's all been interesting. The post-Brexit Brits having to suffer through the non-EU passport control line were pretty funny. The Metro is easy and clean and quiet (no one blasting videos on their phone, etc). Plus, the rule is masks recommended in the stations and required on the trains. By and large, people are obeying. Since the metro is the most crowded (indoor) place we've gone, it helps my sense of security.

We are staying in a studio apartment which allows us privacy and the ability to come and go as we please (Brian says the kitchen could be bigger though). We are northeast of the city center in a nice little neighborhood called Cuidad Jardin. It's quiet, walkable and has easy access to the metro and buses. There are at least six grocery stores within 500 meters, along with all other kinds of shops and markets. We lack for nothing. Tho seeing signs for Black Friday sales was a jolt: the worst of American consumerism.

Groceries are ridiculously inexpensive, so we are enjoying most of our meals at home. That allows us to have good portion and time controls. Spanish mealtimes are still something of a mystery since we are not dining out much. We've been to one neighborhood restaurant, where we arrived at 7:30 pm on a Saturday night. Dead empty. And portion sizes were surprisingly large. We have since learned the phrase, "media racion" - half portion.

Not another soul in the place.

Our outings have included the El Retiro Park which even in November had blooming roses. 

 

Also a very large gang of peacocks and peahens.

Came around a corner and were surprised by this gentleman.

At this point we'd seen about 40 of this species.

 

Very taken with the trees. Some kind of pine, but haven't figured out the specifics yet.
 

 

Then we walked up the Gran Via where we encountered a rally/protest for Iran. It was very organized by the city it appeared, the police had blocked off the streets where they gathered to march so that there were no people/car conflicts. 

The Gran Via - Lots of People

Yesterday we went to the Prado Museum. I'm sure if I said it aloud to the Madrileños I'd be in trouble, but I really don't care for Goya and El Greco. Velasquez I can live with. So we cruised through some of the galleries quickly, and more slowly through others. We have at least 3 more museums we'd like to see while here.

After the Prado we walked to the Plaza del Sol where they are busily putting up the Christmas tree. It appears that the trees get lit Thursday night and the Christmas markets start in full on Friday. I am just telling myself it's because that is one month before Christmas, and nothing to do with American Thanksgiving. I hope I'm right. Either way, we're looking forward to all the lights. They are strung everywhere in our little neighborhood and I am sure it will be pretty when they are on. We will be going to the Plaza Mayor Christmas market in Madrid this week too.

The pace of our travels and expeditions remains slow. We've discovered that a one day in/one day out rhythm seems the best for staving off exhaustion and the other long-Covid symptoms. Dining at home keeps me away from noisy environments which exacerbate my noise processing issues. Our very small sample size of restaurants suggests that background music is not deployed here. A huge bonus.

~Lucy