We catch the bus to Madrid early around 1pm, the bus ride is uncomfortable and uneventful. And Madrid, ultimately, is a city. It just doesn't have that same Spanish touch as Sevilla does. Claire and I were planning to go out and party til the break of dawn, but, um, room service and bathrobes? Yes please. So instead of partying Spanish style, we order delicious room service and call it a night.
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| La Reina Sofia |
Next morning is our last day of our trip, tear. We stuff ourselves with buffet breakfast and take the long metro into the heart of the city to the Reina Sofia art museum, housing some of Dalí and Picasso's most famous art. We go first to an exhibition about Carl Einstein and the Surrealist movement back in the 1920s after WWI. It was cool to see how omnipresent the Spanish Civil was (and still is). As devastating as it was, it produced massive amounts of passionate art, esp from the masters like Picasso and Miro. The museum closes early, so we are left to wander around, past the Prado musueum and up to Sol and Gran Via, the centre of the city. But the best part of the day is when we go off the beaten track, and stop being tourists and start
living . We stop in to Cafeteria Hawaii (promising, I know). Who knew we would have so much fun in there? the place is filled with smoke and locals. Our original plan is just to use the bathroom, get a cafe and then high-tail is outta there.
Well, instead we order from the menu some random drinks and a plate of shrimp. Well the waiter brings over a bottle of Cava, says he's charging us the same price, so...we drink up!! We are beside ourselves with laughter that it's like 4pm and we're here getting drunk off a bottle of champagne between two, rather than out exploring Madrid. The prawns were actually soooo delicious, I'd go back just for those! The guys next to us just play cards the whole time and give us a wink and smile here and there.
The old man next to us is "going to town", ordering an entire chicken for himself, a huge piece of cake, and then chain smoking his way through his pack of Winstons. Nice. The best part is when we pay at the end, over 2 hours later of doing god knows what, and the waiter charges us less than half for our meal. on the receipt he writes, "You girls are very beautiful, I would lke to get to know you. There's a fiesta tonight, here's my number..." HAHA! We are cracking up, I love Spain.
Back at the hotel, we swim in the pool and enjoy the hot sauna. So relaxing, although a part of me is disappointed that this is how we spend our last night in Spain, our last night of this trip. I didn't exactly throw myself out there, it hasn't exactly been a wild 3 weeks, although it's been super expensive. But I love having crazy experiences as well, meeting new people and wild adventures;
that's what makes a trip and all the money I spend worth it...I didn't really feel like that this time.
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| Madrid! |
Claire left this morning at 5am, I got up to say goodbye although I felt wide awake. Going back to bed all alone in that hotel room was really hard. I got this unmistakable feeling of sadness and loneliness, left to spend the whole day alone in my own company. So I suck it up, get dressed bright and early, eat breakfast solo and head out back into Madrid for a day to myself. This is precisely why I don't travel alone, I feel like such a loser! I go back to the Reina Sofia art museum and see Picasso's
Guernica piece, it is exquisite. I love the way they set up the exhibit because they show his process leading up to the painting. I see loads of Dali's early works, as well as some famous paintings, which are actually quite disturbing in real life.
And the winner goes to: (!!!)
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| Shiny boots, not one word of Spanish |
The highlight of my day: I walk up to a little shoe-shiner in Sol, thinking "Shit, how the hell do you say 'how much' in Spanish?!" Sit down after asking "Quanta costa?" (pretty sure that's not even Spanish, but Italian) and show him my change (I'm completely broke at this point, I had an array of pennies and 10 cent coins) He shines my boots, not knowing a
word of what he's saying to me in Spanish, not a single word!!! But he works so hard, what a cute little Basque man, asking me "Cuanaksjrk sfdjklj asktisfi csaloroiw?¡?¡" (Ok, well that's what it sounded like.) Somehow I understand that he's asking me where I'm from and I say "PARIS!" with a half English/half French accent (with a tinge of Spanish, naturally.) and walk away laughing laughing laughing to myself. Two people who don't speak a word of each others language can still manage to communicate. Brilliant.
Back to Paris, my new home. Ready for new adventures, always.
Well, instead we order from the menu some random drinks and a plate of shrimp. Well the waiter brings over a bottle of Cava, says he's charging us the same price, so...we drink up!! We are beside ourselves with laughter that it's like 4pm and we're here getting drunk off a bottle of champagne between two, rather than out exploring Madrid. The prawns were actually soooo delicious, I'd go back just for those! The guys next to us just play cards the whole time and give us a wink and smile here and there. 
The old man next to us is "going to town", ordering an entire chicken for himself, a huge piece of cake, and then chain smoking his way through his pack of Winstons. Nice. The best part is when we pay at the end, over 2 hours later of doing god knows what, and the waiter charges us less than half for our meal. on the receipt he writes, "You girls are very beautiful, I would lke to get to know you. There's a fiesta tonight, here's my number..." HAHA! We are cracking up, I love Spain.
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