Keep Calm and Viva España: Alicantinos in Madrid

Following the train accident on Wednesday night, I was left a little shaken to say the least. Not only was it the worst train accident Spain has seen in 40 years, but I was set to travel on the AVE the next day to Madrid. While it was a terrible event, I was assured by many a Spaniard that the Spanish railway system is extremely safe, and that due to human error, the accident on Wednesday occurred. It had nothing to do with the train itself. Feeling a little bit better Thursday seemed to fly by. It was our last day of class so we decided to celebrate by going out for crepes and gofres (waffles) as a class. After that I proceeded to pack and plan our mini-vacation with the rest of the group going. The next morning at 6am, we were Madrid bound. The AVE ride went very smoothly, especially since the in-ride (in-flight, but in a train?) movie was Pitch Perfect. In Spanish. But hey, it was a learning experience.

Sleeping on the AVE

. Upon arrival we wandered around Atocha, the train station in Madrid, for a while, and suddenly we came upon some epically creepy baby head statues.

It all started with a baby head..

Of course, we had to get a picture. We asked a gentlemen sitting on a bench to take it for us. It just so happened that he was a police officer that worked for Atocha. I asked him where and how to take the metro to Puerta del Sol. Instead of rapidly giving directions, he proceeded to give us a tour of Atocha! We saw the tropical garden inside the older part of the station (yes, a garden!) and the security office where he had pictures and autographs of famous futbol players. After that he led us to the metro station where he showed us how to board and buy our tickets. It was probably the easiest traveling I’ve ever done, and it was all thanks to our amigo, Luis!

Luis, our own personal tour guide, and the tropical garden

We rode the metro to Puerta del Sol, where our hostel was only 150 meters away. Our hostel was very nice, and the staff was super helpful. Our rooms were arranged close together, breakfast was included, and we got free towels! (a lot of times towels are available to rent). We got settled in for a while and then decided to go on a free walking tour of the city. We met at a bear stature in the plaza (the bear is a symbol for Madrid) and proceed to walk through historic Madrid and see the Palacio Real, the cathedral, Plaza Mayor, and the Museum district.

Bear statue

Palacio Real

Cathedral

Courtyard of Palacio Real

Plaza Mayor

We then branched off to go see el Parque Retiro, kind of like the Central Park of Madrid. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! After that we went to the modern art museum Reina Sofia. The main exhibit we wanted to see was one of Salvador Dalí. With 11 rooms of artwork ranging, from his early works to present. While some of his earlier stuff was very tame, once he hit the surrealist period his artwork became darker and more complex. My favorite period was during the Spanish Civil War. His political commentary through his art was simply astounding. After the Dalí exhibit we went to the second floor to see the infamous “La Guernica” by Pablo Picasso. It was a lot bigger than I would have thought and I’m so glad we were able to see it. After Reina Sofia we headed towards El Prado, a classic art museum. However, during the “free entrance” hours, the line went down the street. So we proceed to take pictures of the outside of Prado and headed back to the hostel.

Prado

Parque Retiro

Gardens at Retiro

The lake in Retiro

The Crystal Palace

Reina Sofia

"I touched Prado!"

Our feet were aching, we were dripping in sweat, and our eyes were heavy, but one of the main things we wanted to do was go on a flamenco pub crawl. The group met at 8:15, and for 26 euros we got a tapas dinner, tickets to a flamenco show, and a pub crawl deal (4 bars with free shots, discounted drinks, and free entrance to a discoteca). First we headed to a local tapas place where we had wine and at least 8 different kinds of tapas! After dinner we headed to the flamenco show, which in my opinion, was an AMAZING cultural experience. I loved every second of it, both the singing and the dancing.Following the show we were feeling a little sleepy, but we all were too excited to skip out on the pub crawl in Madrid. Each bar was better than the last, and we all had a blast dancing and getting to know other people in our group from all around the world! After the fourth bar/discoteca, we were pooped. We decided to head back to the hostel. At this point it was around 4am, and after 4 bars, none of us (except Alex) were in the condition to navigate. Luckily we found our way to La Puerta del Sol, and then miraculously to our hostel.

Lookin' good Keel (guess who helped pick out that outfit)

At the flamenco show

Opening performance

Night on the town

Palace at night

Attempt at navigation

We crashed but awoke on time, around 9:30, to make it to free breakfast. The most surprising thing we found that morning was the fact that is was overcast and raining in Madrid. And upon leaving the hostel we were shocked to find ourselves COLD in Spain. Well, the rain in Spain falls mainly in Madrid I guess. Had we taken a picture of ourselves that morning, we would have resembled something out of a zombie movie. Luckily there’s a Starbucks every 100 ft in Madrid, and after a Café Americano I was feeling a LOT better. We walked along Madrid’s famous Gran Via, the shopping and entertainment district, for a while and found La Plaza de España. We then went back to the area around our hostel to try Madrid’s famous churros and chocolate! The chocolate is like a richer hot chocolate used primarily for dipping. While the churros were amazing, I almost prefer the larger churros in Alicante more, but maybe that’s just me. We then went for lunch and proceed to shop for souvenirs. With a couple hours to kill we needed a game plan: “Let’s just walk until we find something free”. Good plan, in my opinion. We did end up finding a local park/garden, which was absolutely gorgeous. We sat for an hour or so and then headed back to the hostel to pick up our luggage. After riding the metro to Atocha, we proceeded to wander around asking people where we could catch our AVE. Our resourcefulness proved successful and in an hour or so we were Alicante bound. All of us fell asleep at some point on our 2 hr ride home, and eventually fell asleep for real that night. It was definitely a fantastic trip! I love Madrid and would for sure go back if I had the opportunity! Until that opportunity arrives, I’ll keep calm and go mad for Madrid J.