Tag Archives: Madrid

Over Googled

Posted by dkrashb on
Distant Arch

Distant Arch

Madrid is full of arches.  Sometimes in surprising places.  Buildings converge and converge again and just where it seems there should be a dead-end, there is an open arch leading into a square.

Sometimes a really big square.

Places that, if they existed in the US, would have 4-lane roads, lots of traffic, and would be surrounded by parking garages suddenly appear through a discrete arch in the midst of narrow pedestrian passageways.  It gives the feeling of stumbling upon a well-kept secret.

This particular arch led to an extraordinary square that once again made me wish I’d looked up some kind of information about Madrid.  Since I have the luxury of google to assist me now, I discovered it was the Plaza Mayor, one of the more famous plazas in Madrid that was originally constructed in the early 1600’s.

Discovering the arch opens into a huge plaza

Discovering the arch opens into a huge plaza

It’s kind of interesting to have wandered around just seeing what we saw without knowing what it was we were looking at.  I’m sure someone knew.  They probably even told me.  But, it’s nice to know that I made it to the Plaza Mayor while I was in Madrid.  Kind of a second surprise to find out where I was!  🙂

The main sculpture in Plaza Mayor

The main sculpture in Plaza Mayor

That said, I find myself googling a bit too much to see if I can identify any of the other sites we walked by.  Over-googling leads to regrets.  It starts innocently enough.  You wonder what that cool statue was you saw.  You google something vague like “Madrid Square with Horse.”  Along with the photos of the place you actually were, you see photos of places like Plaza Puerta del Sol, Plaza del Callao, and Plaza Espana.  The list goes on.  You look at the images and think, “Really??  I was  minutes away from this incredible place and I didn’t get to see it!??  Really??!!  I spent 18 hours getting from my house to the hotel in Madrid and I didn’t get to see any of this stuff!!??!”

I was perfectly content that I got to spend one afternoon wandering around Madrid taking in whatever was in front of me.  Then, I over-googled and now I wish I would have done a little more research before the trip and made some sort of plan on how I was going to get to at least a few more of the incredible sites in the city’s center.

Sadly, it’s been nearly 15 years since I was last in Madrid.  There’s no telling if I will ever be there again or not.  You’d think I would think about these things before I went on a trip instead of after.

Another arch leads away from the plaza

Another arch leads away from the plaza

When I was much younger, I wanted to take a summer off and backpack around Europe.  There were rumors that people used to do that in college.  I never took a summer off to do anything like that.  Maybe I’ll take a summer off some day and make it to all the plazas in Madrid.

Archway towards the market

Archway towards the market

 

Market and outdoor diners through the arch

Market and outdoor diners through the arch

Mickey Mouse Valentine

Posted by dkrashb on
Courtyard in Madrid

Small church in Madrid

Here it is, Valentine’s Day, and I’m still working my way through photos from Madrid that have nothing to do with the holiday.  To top it off, I’m fighting a sinus infection and not feeling either romantic or like writing.

But, since when has that stopped me?

So, let’s start with Mickey in Madrid and see if we can end up at Valentine’s Day, shall we?

My last several posts have been from a meandering afternoon through the center of Madrid.  Here, we found yet another square but with the rather inexplicable surprise that Mickey Mouse was standing in the middle of it.

Mickey surprised us

Mickey surprised us

Clearly, this is not Disney World.  I suspect it was some sort of Disney recruitment program.  Perhaps for a Disney training program targeting people who might not be qualified for jobs that require them to speak or perform duties, providing them with gainful employment after receiving their Disney Character Certification.  I wonder if they offer classes online?

The final photo I will share today is of tables and chairs in yet another square.  You might think these tables and chairs are just being stored here, waiting for the spring before they will be used again.  However, on this sunny Sunday when it was about 45 degrees Fahrenheit, we witnessed many occupied tables in open squares.  Granted, the ones that were occupied were mostly under tents and had outdoor heaters around the tables.  But eating al fresco remains a priority in Madrid this time of year.

Outdoor eating

Outdoor eating

If I were in a more romantic mood, I would imagine a table in the corner of one of the more secluded squares.  I see a big white tent, filled with flowering vines of one form or another.  The heaters are on high, filling the tent with an enveloping warmth while the wind keeps the air moving through fast enough to keep it fresh.

There are candles.  Many candles.  And perhaps a young couple cozying up, sitting side-by-side at that corner table.  Holding hands, kissing.  Looking like the entire world is at their table.

Romance is for people who can forget about bills, jobs, dishes, laundry, and all the other realities of life.  It requires the ability to suspend disbelief.  The willingness to ignore our imperfections, our limitations, sometimes even outright lies.  There was a time when I knew how to do that.  But, somehow the suspension of disbelief seemed to also mean eliminating good judgment for me.

I’m sure there are people in this world who have found a way to combine romance with healthy relationships.  In fact, I know there are books out there about how important romance is to healthy relationships.  But, for me, I’ll take the guy who will walk the dog for me in the morning because I’m staying in bed with a sinus infection over the guy who takes me out for an expensive dinner in a romantic courtyard (even if it were in Madrid).

Entertainment in Madrid

Posted by dkrashb on
Another lovely fountain in front of a horse monument (yeah, I should have bought a tourist guide book)

Another lovely fountain in front of a horse monument (yeah, I should have bought a tourist guide book)

One of the popular sources of entertainment on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the center of Madrid seems to be street performers.  We discovered a clown of sorts performing in one large square.  We stopped to watch for a while, but as hard as the crowd was laughing, his humor didn’t translate for us.

Reminds me of when I was in Korea as a teenager.  I went to see one of the Beverly Hills Cop movies with some Korean friends.  It was in English but subtitled in Korean.  I would laugh out loud about 10 seconds before the rest of the audience.  That was embarrassing enough, but what was really embarrassing was when I would laugh so hard my eyes would water and the rest of the audience never started laughing even after they got caught up reading the subtitles.  Not sure what was lost in translation, but I felt a little exposed laughing in the dark surrounded by people wondering what was so funny.

A relatively empty passage leading to an arch that opens onto another square

A relatively empty passage leading to an arch that opens onto another square

Back in Madrid, as we wandered from square to square and fountain to fountain, we discovered different forms of street performance around every corner.  There was the fairly traditional “dress like something that shouldn’t move and hold really still” approach.  Then, there was the “put three heads on a table and try to startle passers-by” approach that seemed like it had been borrowed from a haunted house.  There were also collections of puppet-like animals that would start making a variety of noises as people walked by.

There were the requisite magicians as well.  While I was tempted to take some shots of all of these clever performers, etiquette requires change if you take a picture.  Since I only had American dollars on me, that wasn’t an option.

I did cheat on this rule.  Two magicians were clever enough to create the illusion that one of them sitting on the ground was holding a chair over his head in one hand while the other magician sat in it.  This was just so much effort on their parts that I had to take a picture.

Clever street performers

Clever street performers

Unfortunately, so as not to breech etiquette too much, I took the shot from far away–hopefully you can tell from the image what they looked like.  We figured out that the hand holding the chair was fake and that a metal support was going up the sleeve and down to the seat the guy on the bottom was sitting on, allowing him to balance the weight of the guy above him.  It’s still rather ingenious.

I have to wonder what makes a person decide to invest this kind of creativity into their street art.  Are these guys engineers Monday-Friday and magicians on Sunday afternoon?  Were they watching some other magic trick one day of perhaps a guy spinning a chair on his hand and they suddenly looked at each other and said, “Hey!  Wouldn’t it be cool if . . . “?

Whatever their story is, I appreciate the trick.

Another look at the cobblestone street bordered by buildings

Another look at the cobblestone street bordered by buildings

Wandering Madrid

Posted by dkrashb on
Looking down a main street in Madrid

Looking down a main street in Madrid

After indulging in delicious Spanish dishes (not to mention Sangria), we wandered around Madrid at a slow pace perfect for how I was feeling.  One of the questions I always ask myself is how do you describe the difference between a European city and a city in the US?

I’ve spent time in about a dozen major European cities over the years.  While each of them has their own characteristics that make them unique, they also have something in common that I find difficult to articulate.

Perhaps it’s a factor of age.  Or density of the architecture.  The buildings are literally on top of each other.  Entire city blocks have no gaps between buildings.  Yet, there are blocks just as crowded in NYC.  They still don’t look European.

Perhaps it’s the pavers they use for sidewalks and streets?  Sometimes more like cobblestones than pavers.  Rarely is the sidewalk simple concrete and the road plain asphalt.  In fact, I often find myself walking in the street thinking I’m on a sidewalk because they are sometimes indistinguishable.  The roads are often so narrow they seem like they must be for pedestrians only.

As I ponder exactly what it is that European cities have in common that make them distinguishable from US cities, we wander through a square.  Rows of market stalls full of goods cover the majority of the square–it’s the Sunday market.

Entering the Sunday Market

Entering the Sunday Market

Thankfully, my colleagues are not inclined to wander through the market for hours.  I have little patience for shopping; particularly when I’m jet lagged and in a foreign country.  Although, foreign markets are usually more interesting than the markets at home since you can learn something about a culture from what’s at the Sunday market.  I need to be well rested for an anthropology expedition to the market, however.  All I could think about at this point was how long could I stay awake.  My belly was full and the sun was shining.  Finding a spot to lay down was sounding appealing.

The first fountain

The first fountain

From the market, we found a fountain.  This is not hard to do.  There are many fountains in downtown Madrid.  It would probably be harder to not see a fountain than to see one.  As we made our way around the fountain, we looked up and saw a group of modern looking skyscrapers ahead of us.

I would have loved my full-frame camera with my 16-35mm lens–I could have captured the older buildings in the foreground against the modern buildings in the background.  That’s definitely one of the characteristics of European cities–buildings that pre-date Columbus’s arrival in the new world juxtaposed against modern buildings like some sort of anachronism.

Rome is particularly surprising in how tightly integrated the ancient and modern can be.  I suppose this is the natural outcome of having had a massive, ancient civilization and then having had the crap bombed out of it during the wars, leaving gaps that had to be filled.

 

Modern sky scrapers with just a smidgen of older architecture in the foreground

Modern sky scrapers with just a smidgen of older architecture in the foreground

Sunday Afternoon

Posted by dkrashb on
The front of the restaurant

The front of the restaurant

Traveling to Europe is something I really do not enjoy.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love Europe.  It truly is a different world from the US and everyone should experience at least some part of Europe first hand.  I just don’t like getting there.

I left my home at 11AM on Saturday morning in the first “snow storm” we’ve had since moving here.  It took nearly an hour to get to the airport (normally a 15 minute drive) because there was about an inch of snow on the ground.  With no snow clearing equipment and lots of steep climbs, traffic was a mess.

It's not a biker hang out--this is just typical in Europe where gas is so expensive

It’s not a biker hang out–this is just typical in Europe where gas is so expensive

When I arrived in Madrid, it was about 9:00AM Madrid time Sunday morning.  AKA 3AM Eastern time.  Therein lies the problem.  The vast majority of the time I would have spent sleeping evaporated into thin air.  Fortunately, my hotel room was available for an early check in and I managed to lie down for a nap by 11AM.

One of my well-traveled colleagues called my room at 1PM and informed me we were going into town and we were leaving immediately.  I had apparently missed a few text messages while I was napping.  I jumped out of bed, splashed water on my face, threw on some clothes, and was in the lobby 10 minutes later.

Couldn't help but drool a little over the Ducati

Couldn’t help but drool a little over the Ducati

Getting outside is quite important to time shifting.  The sun helps your body reset its clock.  So, although still somewhat incoherent, I forced myself to join my colleagues on this little adventure.

Since the conference we were there to support was at an airport hotel, it was about a 20 minute cab ride to the center of town.  Fortunately, one of my colleagues is fluent in Spanish and managed to convince the driver to go through town rather than taking the freeway so we got a bit of a tour on the way.

Closer view of the restaurant - not a big place

Closer view of the restaurant – not a big place

Armed only with an iPhone for a camera, I attempted to get some shots of the city.  Wow is it hard to get decent landscape photos with an iPhone!  I have admired other bloggers’ iPhone photos in the past–I am now in awe of their abilities.  The dynamic range of the iPhone is not good and I found it impossible to hold it stable or straight.  The dynamic range issue was exacerbated by the fact that it was early afternoon with strong shadows and bright sunlight.  But, I wasn’t about to lug my 5D Mark III along on a business trip–the iPhone was better than nothing.

We wandered our way through the streets to a tiny restaurant known to my Spanish-speaking colleague.  The couple who owns the restaurant greeted us and welcomed us in a way that made us feel like we were visiting their home.  They patiently explained the menu to us, sometimes in English, sometimes in Spanish.  They served us pitchers of Sangria freshly made and filled our bellies with traditional Spanish dishes.

Attempted to get a shot of the inside--not so good with iPhone, but gives an idea

Attempted to get a shot of the inside–not so good with iPhone, but gives an idea

I was really glad I’d gotten out of bed.