After exiting the Prado museum, I headed towards Buen Retiro Park, which is very close by. Buen Retiro Park is the largest park in Madrid, covering around 350 acres, and dates back to the early 17th century. (I do read, sometimes.)
The park has two lakes, one of them large enough that you can rent a boat and take a trip across it. On the smaller lake, I happened along the filming of a music video. I walked behind the singer as he was lip-synching to one of his songs – maybe I’ll make it into a Spanish music video.
In addition to the lakes, there are numerous paths, monuments, statues, bridges and other things that you typically find in a big city park. There were also people. Joggers, readers, boaters, sleepers, sitters, walkers, sunbathers . . . your typical spring park mix. I walked around for a while and then went back to the hotel for una siesta.
My main goal for Tuesday evening was to find a place to watch the Champions League match between Inter Milan and Barcelona. I wanted to go some place different than I went on Sunday night, but an Irish pub still seemed like a good idea. I found a place called the James Joyce on the Gran Via which looked like it would have the food, beer and football necessary to quench my appetite for each. The match began at 8:45 pm, so I arrived at 8:00 to try and get a seat and to get some dinner. I was fortunate because there was plenty of space when I arrived, though the place was packed by 8:30. I had shepherds pie, which was really good, actually, and drank Murphy’s while I watched the match and rooted on Inter Milan.
Unlike the bar that I had been to on Sunday for the Real Madrid match, this bar was packed with more tourists than locals. I suppose the bar’s location on the Gran Via allowed it to catch the eye of a lot of tourists who were interested in watching the match. The crowd was about evenly divided between Inter Milan and Barcelona supporters. Inter Milan won the match and all was good in the world.
On my last full day in Madrid, I met up with the uncle of a friend of mine from Washington who lives in a suburb of Madrid. We tried to get into the Real Madrid practice field, but we weren’t allowed. Instead, we went to Alcalá. This is the home of Cervantes and has some beautiful pedestrian areas, though they were not very busy at the time of day (late morning) in which we were there. We stopped at a local bar for a beer, a bocadillo and some coffee. Afterwards, we returned to Madrid.
We drove around Madrid for awhile and my new friend pointed out some landmarks that I had missed. We went to the area around the Plaza Mayor and walked around. We went to el Palacio Real de Madrid and to a nearby cathedral. At both places were magnificent views of Madrid and its suburbs.
It was time to eat and I wanted to try something authentic and Spanish. We stopped by a little restaurant of which he knew and we had Cocino Madirleño. This dish is huge and packed with several ingredients including chickpeas (which serve as the main part of the dish), potatoes, carrots, cabbage, chicken, salt pork, uncured chorizo, blood sausage and other items that I couldn’t completely identify. The meal started with a soup made from pasta and the broth of the cocino. It was an excellent meal and was served with a strong red wine that we drank along with carbonated water. Afterwards, Tito returned to Alcalá and I returned to my hotel where I had a much-needed siesta.
That night, for dinner, I went out to a sandwich shop and had a jamon and brie sandwich along with a salad. It wasn’t anything special, and it lacked the exoticness and authenticity of the Cocino Madrileño, but it was quite tasty in its own right.
Those are the highlights of my trip to Madrid. I’ve said before that I fell in love with Madrid at first sight. The longer I was there, the more I loved it. Before I came here, I had been planning on spending some time in Barcelona during the summer and taking some Spanish classes. At this point in time, I’m convinced that instead of Barcelona, I’m returning to Madrid. It is definitely one of my favorite cities in the world. That being said, I am currently on a train heading from Madrid to Barcelona, which now has three days to try and change my mind back to its original Summer plans. Stay tuned.
Barcelona is a great town, but Catalan is much preferred there (though, obviously, Spanish lessons are probably still in abundance).
ReplyDeleteI've learned that and have already signed up for classes in Madrid rather than Barcelona. Learning in a place that uses both would be too confusing.
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