We travelled by train from Portugal to Madrid on a what should have been an 10 hour journey. It ended up being 12 hours. This was the first time and probably only time, I travelled in a sleeper car. I had the top bunk. It would have been fine if it was not for a loose screw that was rattling around whenever the train was going up and down hills. It was like Chinese water torture.
Madrid
April 19th
Cafeteria Cristi in Plaza Major
We had been in Madrid for a few hours now and it was the afternoon. We went to the tourist office to get some information at Plaza Major. We also decided to get a late lunch. We chose one of the many restaurants lining the square - 'Cafeteria Cristi'. We ended up with quite a 'pile' of food. Christian and I were speaking what Spanish we could with the waiter. But I cannot help but think that we was being a smart ass and speaking too fast for us to understand him completely. His plan it appeared was to get us to spend as much money as possible. We did end up spending just over 70 euros for a meal that was just ok. I was a bit miffed by this. Avoid this place if you can.
While having a lunch, a chap was asking me if I wanted my shoes shined. And actually my leather shoes could really have done with a shine. So, I agreed to let him do it. He kept looking from side to side as he watching out for someone while he shining the shoes and seemed just a little tense. Actually, he did not do a very good job. Amusing.
The 'Parilla' near Puerto del Sol
We were looking for a place to eat before going to check out a night spot on Wednesday night. The night spot turned out to be a dud but before that we walking through the district on the way to the club. There was a few streets full of restaurants. It was a very pleasant Thursday night. There was a wealth of choices. I was hoping for Mexican food but we did not spot any. Christian wanted steak and salad; and we found such a place. The name eludes me but the word salt might have been in the name of the place. We had a small little wooden table outside the front of the restaurant. Chrisitan had a salada mista and a steak. I was not too hungry and just had a dish of chicken. A parilla is a restaurant that specializes in grilling food. I had been exposed to such eating in Argentina last year. And the other thing was we did not get ripped off like we did earlier in the day and the food was good - result.
April 21st
Atocha Station
It seems Toledo was a popular destination today. We could not get train until well into the afternoon. I killed time reading while Christian went off for a bit back to the hotel to get his book. There is a large tropical garden right in middle of the hall. What a wonderful use of an open space. Credit to the person who came up with the idea. While on holiday, I had picked up the book "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell. A thoroughly interesting read; I took some time to read this while waiting. If you find yourself traveling through Spain, Portugal or France and looking for books in English check out FNAC. FNAC is something like the Virgin Megastore; FNAC sells books, music, computer, DVD's etc...
Wikipedia entry for Atocha station
Toledo
We took in some of the sights of Toledo. The city is situated on top of a hill. There is a massive cathedral and we had a look in; . I wondered how many people must be involved in just keeping such a place clean and functioning. We saw some painting by the famous El Greco. He had an interested and quite stylized way of depicting human form; I thought it was almost abstract. The figures would be very tall and thin in proportion.
The cathedral is absolutely massive. I was quite impressed by one feature that was high up; it was an alcove filled with musical instruments. You cannot take photos in Cathedral but fortunately, there are some on the web-site below.
Photo Gallery for the Cathedral
Toledo is a Unesco world heritage site. I have been to 2 Unesco sites now; the other one was Colonia in Uruguay.
We also did another tour by a tram; this was an truck pulling a series of cars behind it. The commentary was quite macabre at times talking about how people who have committed suicide for love and so on. One fact, that came up was that Pelicans will rip off their own own flesh to feed their young. I had never heard such a thing before. Christian and I looked at each and went 'what?' when we heard that. This one of the few days on holiday, where we got rained on. And it was torrential at times. But that made the day even more interesting albeit soggy; neither of us were prepared for the rain; Christian went and bought a shirt to have more protection from the elements; he did quite well shopping and buying clothes on this trip. Watching the rain spill from the roof tops and than follow the gutters in the medieval streets was something to see.
At one time, Toledo was home to large communities of Muslim and Jews; some of their architecture remains. What happened to them? Checking on Wikipedia, I see they were expelled in 1492.
D'oh, the web hyperlink will not work - here it is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo%2C_Spain
Zara Cuban restaurant
We were walking around the 'Gay' quarter in Madrid looking for places with character to have some dinner. Christian spotted a Cuban restaurant. It was about 11:30 and night and we had to wait a bit for the table as the restaurant was packed. We were luckly, we were the last table to seated that night. The food was very simple but with a Cuban flair; I had pork, beans and rice and Christian had the meatballs, fried eggs and plaintain with rice. I could not resist and had a few daiquiris with the meal. One of the waiters was a white haired man in his sixties; he moved about the restaurant knowingly with a certain cautious bearing. I wondered what his story was; was he one of the owners? Cuban food is not known for being spicy at all. Years ago, someone told me they had a Cuban room mate and she had never had any kind of spicy food in her life growing up in Cuba; having Indian food was like a shock to the system for her.. I remember going to an allegedly Cuban bar/restaurant in London and it was nothing like the real thing.
This was my last night in Madrid; I was off to Barcelona in the morning.
April 20th
We made a start to the day by having a coffee and a pastry. We had a quick bite in a fairly large coffee shop in Puerto Del Sol.
Museo d'America
This museum is dedicated to the Americas. And has extensive exhibits about the colonization of the new world and artifacts from pre Columbian societies. The craftsmanship of the pieces from Peru really blew me away. My original plan was to actually go to South America at this time and see more of the continent besides just chilling out in Buenos Aires but I had opted to make a shorter trip to Spain and Portugal. These pieces made me feel curious to see them in the context of where they came from. It was the middle of the week and the museum was practically empty. At times, Christian and I were the only people in some of the rooms asides from people who worked there. Also, in the museum there sections dedicated to anthropology. It is definitely worth a visit when in Madrid if you have any interest in history and the 'New World'.
Christian and I got into a discussion of the reasons for the Europeans went to the new world and what their goals where. I said it was driven by a finding an alternate trade route to India and the pursuit of wealth. Obviously, the indigenous people got shit on by the colonizers as a result. Remember the film the Mission for example and the story it told : The Mission (summary at IMDB)
When I got back to the U.K., I read a bit more about the period and the term 'enlightenment' came up as another driving force for exploring the new world in the 18th century. There was a growing interest in the Western world to know more about the flora and fauna 'found' in the new world.
Bus Tour
We hopped on a bus and did a tour of Madrid. And I took a few photos.
Gallery Soledad
We made a stop to check out some art that I had read about in the magazine 'b-guided>'. I always pick up a copy when in Spain; for me, it such a perfect magazine to know what is going on with contemporary culture in Spain. The gallery was featuring the works of the American artist Jennifer Steinkamp. Her work is quite mesmerizing; it was all based around computer animation of plants forms; the animations were projected onto the walls; if I would chose one word to describe the works, it would be finesse. It never ceases to amaze me that other people think of the similar things to me. Years and I mean years ago, I had played around with doing animations of flowers and plants with my Amiga home computer. But look at what people have done now. It is still a subject that I am interested in.
There is a now a different exhibit at the gallery now but have a look: Galleria Soledad Lorenzo
And there is the artist's own web-site : Jennifer Steinkamp
Tapas Bar and Flamenco Bars
Later that night, the plan was to get a taste of some Flamenco. In the guide book, a place was mentioned. We got to the place around 10 and it was quite empty. So, we went for a bite to eat down the road.
We went to a restaurant on Calle de Orilla a few blocks down from the Flamenco bar. The menu had a selection of Galacian tapas on the menu. We orderd a few dishes; one dish was a new treat - Pimentos de Patron. It was a plate of little green peppers that were cooked and slightly blackened. I was not sure if they were fried in oil or sauteed. A fine dish to acompany beer drinking. I need to find a source for such peppers. We also ate, octpous with paprika and a few other dishes. The two women and man who ran the place were very accomodating and asked if the food was to our liking which it was. For me it really made the evening to go such place. I wish I could remember the name of the place. I did try to get some photos with my camera phone. If you can figure out the name from these blurry photos, do tell me.
When we went back to the Flamenco bar there was a few more people about; we hung about for an hour or so but it never really took off; I was hoping there might be some musicians showing up and a jam session would happen; I have been to such jams in London. In fact, the street to go to is Hanway street which is behind the Virgin megastore on Oxford Street. One curious thing was a man who just kept pacing up and down the floor of the bar; he did this endlessly. It seemed he was waiting for someone or something to happen and he he could not just stand still meanwhile. He was almost a floor show watching him pace up and down the centre of the bar.
We did proceed to another Flamenco bar and this place was a lot more happening. It was more like a night club than a bar and people were dancing. We had a drink here and took in the vibe for a bit. The crowd was an interesting one to observe; many of the young men had long hair and wearing suits; yes, there were mullets; their aim appeared to be looking the business. While in the other bar, people looked a lot more alternative rockers and university students.