Esther: Madrid es muy bien

I've been back for a week and a half now, but Madrid is not forgotten! What a wonderfull city, nice weather, beautiful buildings everywhere, good shopping opportunities and a nice cinema with movies in the original language, no complaints from me! I arrived Wednesday evening after an uneventful flight (although KLM you could do something about the food, those sandwiches are not something to get excited about). Got my luggage, a metroticket and off to the hostal. Easy as, thanks to google maps and the metro site which I checked back home. Only downside was that the people at the hostal do not speak one word of English, but checking in and out is quite obvious anyway and I was there to practice my Spanish :) After settling in I walked around a bit, got a nice big bottle of water and checked out the tv (all Spanish canals, woohoo).
My first full day in Madrid was a busy one (but not after I slept until ninethirty). The weather was lovely so I decided to do one of the walks in my tourist book. Today was 'squares of the city' day, so time to visit the Puerta del Sol, the Plaza Mayor (quite disappointing tourist office there, you can skip that and make sure you get a good book at home) and the Plaza de la Villa with the city hall. In the garden of the Plaza de Oriente (before the Palacio Real) it was time to chill out and read the book I bought on Schiphol Airport: Sarah's Key (in Dutch it's called Haar naam was Sarah). Absolutely a must read! I got so into the story that I had to finish it within that day!

After a bit of sun tanning and relaxing the Palacio Real was to be visited. Definitely worth the money! Only downside is that you're almost nowhere allowed to take pictures (so I sneaked in a few.... : ) The Royal Armery is seriously worth seeing with all those brilliantly made costumes for the knights, kings and there horses. The palace itself is also quite impressive and a good way to spend a few hours. Time to follow the route again and off to Plaza de España with its statue of Don Quichot and the last plaza of the day: the Plaza del Dos de Mayo.This was an important place during the independence war the Spanish had with the French in the beginning of the 19th century. A very authentic place with nice places to sit outside and enjoy a fresh beverage or some nice tapas. I finished my book there and chilled out at the hostal while deciding what to do the next day. Bit of shopping and a quick bite at McD.

Queensday in the Netherlands (30th of April) was another busy sightseeing day for me. Time to see the beautiful Monestario de las Descalzas Reales. After waiting 45 min it was time to explore, only downside was that they only do 1 English tour at 11.45 and I was there at 10.... like lots of the other tourists I decided to go with the Spanish guide and give it a go anyway. Ofcourse it was way too hard to understand, but there was lots to see, some things I could understand (thank goodness for the Spanish classes last 6 months) and she did some bits in English. Nice, but it would be nicer if they put up on the sign outside that the only English tour is at 11.45.... (lots of museums and other sightseeing things only have commentary in Spanish, which is a shame). I've decided it was another 'route' day and the theme of today was churches and holy places... Very nice (catholic country), but you're not allowed to take any pictures anywhere (again, I sneaked a few). They are less strict here in the Netherlands.... After a few churches I got hungry and had a menu del dia in the Calle de Postigo de San Martin. Do not do that, unless you want to get sick! The omelet with asperges was doable, but the main course with chicken and potatoes was horrible (dry chicken and potatoes literally swimming in olive oil). The icecream was nice though! To be as Spanish as I could I decided it was time to have a siesta! A nice little nap in the hostal, buying some fruit and juice to up the vitamines and I was ready to do one of my favourite things: go to the big bookshop Casa del Libro on the Gran Via :D What a lovely store to browse around and with lots of little books to learn Spanish. Ofcourse I bought some of those cause there is a lot to be learned in the Spanish department! As a well deserved treat after a long, holy, day it was time to get myself a caramel frapuccino with whipped cream from the Starbucks that is almost next to my hostal.... sigh.... that is life! On Saturday it was the first of May, labourday, which means most of the things are closed. There were a few protesters somewhere in Madrid but I completely missed those, so no pain there. The weather was lovely, and Madrid is full of nice parks so no worries there! I had lots of books with me and ample time, so after a quick glance at the Templo de Debot I settled myself on the grass of the Parque de la Montaña and chilled. I also checked out what times the movies in original versions where on in the theatres nearby and decided I'd go and see Oceanos in the evening. At lunchtime (2 o'clock in Madrid) I had a lovely meal at Café & Te (3 pastas, mmm) after which I felt terrible (the olive oil of the day before is finally kicking in, fortunately I always have my complete medicine stack with me, so after popping a few pills and some time out in the hostal I was good to go again). What I didn't realise was that the original version of Océans is in French instead of English haha, so I was watching a French movie with Spanish subtitles..... fortunately there wasn't a lot of talking and I actually understood a few things. Brilliant movie, go and see (although there are some very shocking images of poor sharks being slaughtered, how anyone can still eat fish and sharkfin soup is beyond me).

Sunday is a day when lots of museums have free entry, so guess what I did..... I went to the Prado museum! The walk towards it from my hostal is amazing (Gran Via, Paseo del Prado, both streets with amazing buildings). It was extremely busy, but it's a big museum and if you don't follow the highlights route (which all the Americans and Asians do) it is quite enjoyable (I got the audio guide which is very handy if you don't know too much of art like me). After 1,5 floors in 3 hours I was done and decided to go to the Retiro Park to enjoy the puppet shows and the boats on the lake. What a big park and so green and beautiful! Another meal at Café & Te (but this time the one close to my hostal) and a little siesta in the hostal. In the evening I went to the Plaza del Dos de Mayo again to see an opera there (well just 10 minutes, am not that much into opera), since it was the second of May and so a day with lots of events on the square there.

Monday was shopping day (all museums are closed anyway) and what a lot of fun that was! Cheap, nice clothes and I actually fitted into some of them (which I didn't expect to before I went to Spain since most Spanish people are tiny and skinny, at least that was my prejudice). Bought lots of summer clothes (mainly for the Thailand trip) and even two dresses.... I also scored a new day-bagpack, so a very productive morning! I went to Plaza de España again (one of my favourite places) to read a bit in the sun and had some amazing lasagna in the Pizza shop nearby. Only 10 euro's for 3 lovely courses! Time for a little siesta and packing my new clothes into my big suitcase. In the evening I went to see Fish Tank, a pretty dark movie about a teenager in the lower social classes in the UK. Sad to see, but happy I went. After that I finally finished the Master and Margarita by Mickhail Bulgakov. I wasn't too enthousiastic about the book (had to force myself to read), but the second half is better than the first (and all those Russian names, very confusing). Proud to have finished it though, it felt like a little victory.

Tuesday was my last full day in Madrid and I have to say I was a bit done sightseeing etc, a week is quite long in one city. Obviously there was a lot to be seen yet, so I decided to do a few must sees and must do's. In my street I had a nice little authentic Spanish coffeeshop where I had the traditional Café con Leche (milk) and churros, how Spanish! After that filling breakfast it was time to lose those calories again by walking towards the Calle Serano, shop in the ABC shopping centre to get some gifts for the family (I maneged to have a complete conversation is Spanish with a bit of gesturing, woohoo), walk along the street that is called Calle Oro (gold, aka the golden mile, because all the famous stores and designers have a shop there). Obviously I didn't buy anything there... After that the Calle Alcala followed (again, loads of amazing buildings) and I ended up at the Puerta del Sol. A last bit of shopping and some last reading at the plaza de España. There was a strong wind, so it got too cold for that after 20 min so I headed back to the hostal for some reading. One last movie that evening: The edge of love with Keira Knigthley (one of my favourite atrices). The movie was ok, not brilliant, not bad. A good way to spend my last evening in Madrid! Time to pack my bag and say goodbey to the city. The next morning I checked out early and had plenty of time in the airport (and a windowseat : ) People before me had 40 kg each with them. Nope, you're not allowed 40 kg each, only 40 kg for the two of them. That was an expensive trip for them..... Another uneventful flight and a good trip home. Lots of unpacking, washing and chilling. Two days working, 2 days weekend, 3 days work, four day weekend. Am at the end of the four day weekend now. Good times! Yesterday I went to The Hague to visit the

Escher Museum (lovely) and catch up with Judith. We had lunch together, explored the city a bit and some coffee and cake. A good way to spent a free Saturday!

Binnenhof from the outside