Week 3 (I *am* going to finish these posts about Spain. Hopefully before I take another big vacation.)
It's been so long that now I'm mainly going off the trip diary I took, but re-reading it is bringing back memories.
Day 15 - I heard my host mom come into the condo at 8 a.m. That's when she got home from being out partying the night before. No wonder she looked at me as if I were crazy what with my early midnight to 1 a.m. bedtimes. Anyway, I slept more after that and finally got up and headed to Madrid for El Rastro. Which I actually found this time. At first I was in a part of it that was in the alleys between buildings. It wasn't as sketchy as that sounds. I wasn't super impressed - yes people had stuff out to sell, but it wasn't huge or even all that crowded as the guidebook had warned. Then I found the actual heart of it. And yes, it *is* huge. And crowded. And a teeny bit crazy. There were tons of stalls selling all sorts of things. There wasn't anything I needed or wanted to buy, plus it was intimidating, so I basically just walked through the masses and looked around. Then I headed to Plaza Mayor and grabbed another lunch from a restaurant on one of the side streets. I sat at a little outdoor table and just watched people come and go. Lunch took something like an hour and a half. There was just no hurry. It was really relaxing. And the waiter was extremely nice. A group of 4 people with British accents was at the table next to me for part of it and I got to overhear English again. Then on the way back to the Metro I was able to give directions to a couple from Singapore that was looking for the outlet mall in Las Rozas. In English.
Reading my trip diary and noticing every mention of English-speaking reminds me again how almost desperate I was to be able to talk and be understood. My Spanish was passable - I understood at least the gist of everything around me - but it took so much effort all the time. Plus I am worse at the speaking thing than at the listening.
Something that I really enjoyed about the trip was the feeling of accomplishment at mastering the public transportation. It's a silly thing to take pleasure in, but I really liked that I could get anywhere I wanted on the Metro. And when I could even start help with giving directions? Even better.
Day 16 - I spent some time in some of the shopping areas in Madrid. I do not know why. Because I am not a shopper. So I should not spend time shopping just because the guidebook says "Hey - cool shopping areas in location A and B." That means that if you like to shop, go to A and B. Not, go to A and B and what is there will wow even a veteran non-shopper. But hey, I did go into Old Atocha Station which is indeed almost tropical inside. And there are turtles. So that was marginally interesting. I'm not sure if it was this day or another one later (or earlier) that I located one of the few vegetarian restaurants in Madrid. It's near Atocha, so maybe it was this day. The food was very good. Some of the best I had while I was there.
Day 17 - Much more eventful. I managed to get up and out of the house early. Like by 8 a.m. The buses were way more crowded at that time than on my usual 10 or 11 a.m. trips! The reason for my sudden industriousness was a day trip to Segovia. After taking a bus to Madrid, a train to the right section of Madrid, walking to the private bus company that handles these trips, and riding on that bus for about an hour, I was in Segovia.
Practically the first thing you see when getting off the bus is the Roman Aquaduct left over from the 1st century. It looks stable and not like it is going anywhere which is impressive. As is the no mortar thing. It's also just attractive anyway. After that I walked to Plaza Mayor (small shops mostly, also the Catedral) then the Alcazar.
The Alcazar was really quite pretty. Painted and decorated ceilings, fancy tilework in the floors, etc. Really great views of the surrounding countryside from most of the windows. Very pretty precise gardens. That sort of thing. Also a room full of armor some of which looks like it would fit a modern 6 year old. They say that Cinderella's Castle in Disneyland is based on El Alcazar, but Neuschwanstein makes the same claim. Having seen both castles, I'd have to go with Neuschwanstein.
I think this is when I successfully located and used a post office. Including communicating my needs with an actual Spanish-speaking person. Yay me! It was so much easier to read and write essays in Spanish than it was to use it to communicate with people...
Afterwards I made a typical tourist faux pas - I ate lunch. I knew it was too early at the time (it was only about 1 p.m.) but I hadn't had breakfast and was starving. They were perfectly nice, but since I was at an out of the way place recommended by my guide book, I think I mainly confused them. So then during the actual lunch time I was left with little to do - mainly wandering the very narrow cobblestone streets and sitting in the Plaza Mayor listening to some piano music. And then some jackhammers. (Ugh. More of that "getting ready for the Olympics which - ooops - we didn't get" stuff.) I did a bit of souvenir shopping. Then I hurried back to Las Rozas expecting there to be English lessons which I specifically asked about the night before. But neither my host mom nor her son were there. *sigh*
Day 18 - Amusing tidbit: my host mom left the house at 11 p.m. on day 17 and returned, I think, at 6 a.m. on day 18. The guide book really wasn't joking when it said people stay out late to party. Oh, and day 18? Was a Wednesday.
I spent the day in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. It was a relaxing and fun day. The collections were sort of spread out chronologically - some older, some modern. Lots of early triptychs, some Degas/Monet/Renoir, some Juan Gris. Then, because I thought it would be amusing, and it was close, I had lunch at Planet Hollywood. Where I had the caprese salad made with grated hard mozerella and dried basil. Which was not what I expected. Oh well. Also they had VH-1 on several TVs. Sort of funny.
Day 19 - I started the day by trying to shop for ingredients for an easy pie I wanted to make with the host family son as a way to practice English. So I walked to the Carrefour near the condo - no tofu, no vanilla, no chocolate chips, no pre-made cookie pie crust. So I took the bus into Madrid and checked out a few stores there including the grocery section of El Corte Ingles. No vanilla or chocolate, yes on the tofu, but only the hard kind and the recipe called for soft. Nothing else to note except another verging on non-existent English lesson.
Day 20 - Another day wandering in Madrid. I checked out yet another store looking for ingredients. Taste of America had a few cake mixes, marshmallow fluff, Jiffy, etc. But no chocolate chips. No vanilla. (Okay - HOW do they survive? No vanilla? No chocolate chips?!?!)
I hit Petra's International Bookstore again and grabbed the latest (in 2005) Harry Potter. In English. Which I ended up leaving behind for the host son if he ever decides to read it. I loved that store. It was basically a used book store, but in several different languages. Lots of English. I really, really liked it there. Bookstores - my home in whatever country I happen to be in.
Day 21 - Stayed close to the condo. Did laundry. Walked to the outlets nearby. Read a bit. Listened to the Las Rozas festival that was taking place about a block from the condo. (Each little town has a festival - which is basically a big fair - for about a week. Carnival games and rides, food stands, very loud live music being performed, etc. It was in Las Rozas the last week I was there.)
Diana left the apartment sometime in the late afternoon saying "I'm going now." She was carrying her purse. So I said "Okay, bye." Remember this because it will be important later.
