Mmmmmadrid

I’m actually in Dublin already (and have been to Lisbon as well – I’m just so busy seeing new places that I don’t really have time to write about them!), but here comes Madrid!

Looking out from the bus window on Saturday I could see snow-topped mountains on my right and the silhouette of Madrid with some impressive skyscrapers on my left. A funny fact: Madrid has the same amount of inhabitants as the whole of Finland (over 5 million).

I’m so happy I got to stay at S’s family’s place, because that way I could see the more authentic side of Madrid, not just the tourist attractions. With S and her parents as my local guides, I had a Madrid-sight-seeing tour by car: the skyscrapers, the football stadium Santiago Bernabeu (first time we drove by it Real Madrid was just playing against FC Barcelona and you could hear the horns and cheering coming from the stadium), statue of Columbus, the huge museum Prado, Nuevos Ministerios, embassy buildings, posh hotels, bull fighting ring, Bank of Spain, the National Library…

Madrid is so huge I would totally recommend seeing it by car in order to get a bigger picture. Though I’d never try to drive one there by myself… Even though the traffic isn’t as bad as in Rome or in Beijing (in China you don’t have to go to a driving school, you can just buy yourself a license), it’s still somewhat chaotic in a Nordic scale. There are more than one traffic lights in each crossroads with all of them showing a different colour, and I couldn’t really tell the connection between the light and where and when it actually was okay to go or not, based on what I saw the drivers do. Slaloming past slower drivers was totally accepted also in the middle of crossroads, and nobody bothered to use a blinker when doing so.

Things to see by foot and by subway: the city center. The Cathedral, Royal Palace, Opera, Plaza de España, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol (the “0 km” spot is located there – all the distances are being measured from that point), Grand Via and the surrounding streets for shopping. I visited the Royal Palace on a rainy morning; the entrance was 5 euro for students. I went very touristic and decided to take a guided tour as well: 7 euro. That was a bad idea, because it so wasn’t worth it… I suppose I had wished the guide would tell some juicy gossip and real life stories of the past and present royals, but nope. She was only telling in her bad English the same things we could’ve read on the signs standing in every room and what we saw with our own eyes: “The chandelier is made of silver and crystals, can you see it?” Oh yes we can, we’re not blind.

I heard that of the big cities in Europe, Madrid has the greatest amount of trees. They’ve been planted to give shadow in the summer, when the temperatures easily rise to 40 degrees Celcius. A great place to enjoy nature in the metropolis is Retiro park, the “Central Park” of Madrid. I went there jogging on Sunday and it was full of tourists and locals enjoying the sunny afternoon. There’s a lake in the middle of park where you can rent a small rowing boat, I’d love to try that on my next visit! There are also lots of cafés and statues, fountains and a couple of palaces there in addition to the sand paths and asphalt roads (great for roller skating) along with the forest and large grass areas. A lovely place for a picnic in the summer!

I also got a glimpse of Spanish gastronomy during my stay in Madrid. S’s mom cooked something typical Spanish for each lunch and dinner, unfortunately the only name I can remember is paella. But everything was so delicious! With S I visited the best churro café in Madrid, Chocolateria San Gines, and had a cup of hot melted chocolate with some warn churros. I was so full afterwards that I could barely walk anymore! After that we went to a huge ham store to buy some iberico for the dinner. There were all kinds of ham everywhere: in the counter, on the wall, hanging from the ceiling. It was the first time I actually saw a real pork leg and the way the ham slices were cut from it. I’ve always eaten any kind of meat with a good appetite, but after seeing how real (pig-like) the ham looks before it’s in slices – I couldn’t eat ham that night in the dinner.

Another authentic experience was a birthday party of a university friend of S. The atmosphere was great: everyone (including and especially the guys) were dancing to the Latino music from the very beginning (and I mean really dancing, not just waving their arms), there was a real piñata with candy, confetti, carnival horns and masks etc. inside it (it was the first time for me to see a piñata live and not in America’s Funniest Home Videos. This time nobody got hit by the stick, but after the piñata had been exploded on the floor, everybody kept slipping on the stuff and falling down), me teaching them how to make an “ice fishing” dance move and them teaching some rude Spanish words to me.

Another culturally interesting experience was my visit to S’s university to have lunch in the uni cafeteria. It’s a private catholic university, which can be seen in many things: there’s a church inside the university, their master’s diploma is signed by the Pope, almost everybody’s wearing designer clothes and the cafeteria is more like a restaurant with its white tablecloths and waiters serving you (you just sit and order from the table). There’s also a huge difference in the student culture when compared to the Finnish one: it’s an exception not to live with your parents through the university studies (whereas in Finland most of us move out the second we get our high school diploma).

And, once again I got a bad conscience for being so “old” and not being a graduate yet. “What, you’re 22 and not even a bachelor? In Spain that would be way too old…” Apparently in Spain you graduate from high school when you’re 18, go straight to university and get your master’s degree by the mature age of 23. As much as I respect the exceptional Spanish efficiency in this field, I prefer the Finnish culture with its gap years and not rushing through your studies. You’ve got the rest of your life time to work, so why not enjoy the freedom of student life while you still can!

THANK YOU S for the best possible days in Madrid!!!!! And neeext episode: alone in Lisbon, the promised city of pick pockets! Not the best place for a blondie to travel to on her own…

Budget so far:

Flights: 112 €

Other transport: 221 €

Accommodation: 102 €

Food: 122 €

Shopping: 87 €

Others: 50 €

=694 €