Musings from an Anchored Traveler: First Two Days in Madrid

view from top of Town Hall in Madrid

When I arrived in Madrid, Enrique picked me up from the train station and drove me back to his flat which is in the heart of the city very close to a major metro station. It's a very nice flat with three bedrooms (he has two flatmates, a girl named Belle and a guy named Perete) and a living room which a sofa which I'm sleeping on. I was very tired after my night in the overnight train, so I took a nap first. I got up at 1:30 and Enrique had to study for a class, so I went into the city on my own. First I went to the Town Hall because Enrique said I had to climb to the top of the tower to see the view; however, they were closed until 4:30. So, I just walked along Paseo del Prado where many museums are off of it and it's very pretty. Then I walked to a little bakery shop and got a tuna baguette for lunch before finally returning to the Town Hall where I climbed to the top of the tower (which was free). The view was lovely and since I love being up high, I had a good time.

Town Hall

After that I tried to walk to a museum, but missed it and ended up by the Real Botanical Gardens, so I decided to just go there. It was only 1.50 euro, but Enrique scolded me later because there are many more beautiful gardens that are free around Madrid. After that I took the metro to the Royal Palace of Madrid which is free the last three hours of the day on Wed and Thurs. It was a very beautiful palace, but would have probably been more significant if I knew who Carlos III was (Enrique explained later that he was a very significant king from the 1700s that built many things similar to the Parisians with beautiful streets and statues and such).

On top of the tower.

I then went to the gardens next to the palace before walking to the Temple of Debod. I'm not really sure what the significance of the temple is, but the view at sunset was breathtaking. I lay on a grassy spot for a while, relaxing, then after sunset, walked to a nearby fountain that is very pretty all lit up and is also a spot where I remember going with Lieselotte before. Finally, I arrived back at Enrique's about 10 p.m., just as he was getting home from class.

On Thursday, I slept in a bit before heading to the Thyssen Museum - one of the largest private collections of art in the world. There were paintings by Monet, Degas, Van Gogh and many other famous painters. They had a large collection of Dutch art which was cool because it said the birth and death places of the painters and I'd been to many of the cities (or been through them via train).

Real Palace, Madrid.

From there I went to the El Retido gardens which are like Central Park of Madrid. It used to be place where the kings relaxed inside the city and is really huge. I got an ice cream, took some photos, then headed back to Enrique's. After he got home from work, we got groceries, then Enrique decided to take me on a walking tour of Madrid. Along the way, we found this little park which had adult equipment like a bar to do pull ups on. There was some other guy playing on it, but I was like "Oh, let's wait!" I was so excited to have the opportunity to do arm workouts since I've been missing my silk classes.

back of the palace, the old hunting grounds in background

When the guy on the bar heard us talking, he asked where we were from. He was from Dallas, TX. So he started talking to us and asked how we knew each other and turns out, he knew/is on CouchSurfing as well. After talking for a while (and me playing on the pull up bar), we offered to have him join us on our little walking tour. He (Stephen) agreed and we walked around the city which is so beautiful, especially after sunset when it is all lit up.

From Temple of Debod overlook, with palace and church in back.

For dinner (at 10:20 or so p.m.), we went to a place and got tapas (basically like appetizers). We each got two for about 3.25 euros each. I got meatballs and this potato stuffed with ham pieces and topped with a fried quail egg. I also tried some of Enrique's mushroom crepe, some tuna topped with roasted asparagus, and goat cheese topped with red bell pepper. They were all good. :)

Afterward, we got frozen greek yogurt and then we split from Stephen and Enrique and I went home. I didn't get to bed until 1 a.m. - it was a long day.