Rachel in Madrid

Hola! I realize my trip was almost two weeks ago by now, so hopefully I haven't forgotten everything I wanted to say. Obviously I had a great time! Getting on Spanish-time was certainly a change... it seems like everybody is either eating, napping, or partying (or all three?) at any given hour of the day or night. Definitely different from France. Some observations and photos...

1. Getting to the airport was relatively simple, except for the minor fact that two stops away from my house I remembered I left my passport in my room, so I had to go back. Luckily I had plenty of time! Airport security was definitely more lax in Europe than in America; they let you in to much more of the airport without going through the security check and nobody ever checked to see if I even had a ticket until I was at the gate. 

View from the plane!

2. I was very proud of myself for getting to my hostel, although switching to what meager Spanish I still have left proved very difficult (aka awkwardly saying merci and pardon to everyone). I was fairly competent with understanding what people were saying, though, so it's not two years of high school Spanish completely wasted. By the end of the weekend I had even remembered to attach the pronoun to the end of the verb (wowee!!). The first day in Spain was the tail end of a heat wave - no complaints here. General first impressions: less dressy than Paris (but that's not hard to do I suppose), there were a lot more people around (I think because there were far more plazas and open spaces... so more people congregate there? Weaksauce, I know, but it was all I could think of. Paris just seems to be less densely populated for some reason, maybe because of all the winding side streets that make people spread out more) and much more colored buildings than in Paris. The architecture was definitely a different style but all I know is that it's not Haussman, although some things appeared to be inspired by that style. Yeah, there's a reason I'm a literature kid. Photos from our walking tour in the 65 degree "heat":

Moss wall!

3. Nightlife: insane. Staying out until at least six in the morning is completely normal. And not normal as in, "Oh yeah one time I did that and it was crazy" but, "4am bedtime? But that's so early!" The scene is definitely different from Paris, given that people actually want you to go to their bars and clubs. (Heh) There's a whole promoter system where workers come and find you on the street and give you coupons for free entry/drinks/both at their specific club or bar and it's, again, completely normal and not some weird dude trying to lure you onto a side street. Although I realize that whole explanation probably sounds really creepy. It's not. Something else I noticed about Madrid culture was that everything is very informal - everyone uses the informal 'you' form, essentially the opposite of Paris, where tutoyer-ing somebody before you're on, uh, that level is a big no-no. I'm not sure which system I like better... some people find the Paris formality unsettling, because they feel they're being put at a distance, but since I'm used to it now, I just view it as politeness and don't find it at all off-putting. So the Madrid casual (I don't think any shopkeeper ever said "Hola Señora" the way one would have had to say "Bonjour Madame" in Paris or risk being seen as mal élevé) was nice, but it was actually more off-putting for me, because it felt like fake friendliness. Everyone was really friendly though! I'm tired. I don't know what I'm saying. Le sorry. Ok more pictures of things (no nightlife pictures, so these are pictures of museum discoveries as we woke ourselves up during the late afternoon Spanish morning):

Museo Rena Sofia (Madrid's Pompidou)

ART.

This museum also had Picasso's Guernica, which was unbelievable to see in person. No pictures allowed so click the link if you're not as cultured as I am! (That is so clearly a joke.) They also had a photography series that was taken at the same time which showed his thought process outlining the painting and what he changed or added at the last minute, which was really interesting to see. After the museum, we went to Viva la Vida (gracias Hope!!) for a normal Spanish lunch...at 3pm. Quick food lesson: Spaniards aren't really into breakfast, maybe having something small when they wake up and then a sandwich at eleven (sound familiar?), then a giant lunch sometime after 2ish, then probably a snack around 6 or 7pm, then tapas or smaller dinner around 10pm (followed by churros and chocolate at 5:30am if it's the weekend and you're out on the town). Anyway. Viva la Vida is a vegetarian/vegan spot down a side street in Madrid that we went to for a Spanish-style birthday lunch (told you my 21st celebrations will never end). So. Good....

Vivent veggies!

 More city pictures:

The royal palace (now a museum - living in luxury ain't too shabby!)

The lobby of my hostel

Cute and cheap(!) hostel room.

Museo del Prado

Alright, that's about all I can remember I wanted to say about Madrid. I'm sure there was more but by this point it's all a blur of food and walking! :) I definitely enjoyed my time there, but I still love my Paris and still can't see myself anywhere else.

x R.