Monday 11th July – Train to Madrid
Up early this morning t 6:00am as I have to catch the 7:35am train to Madrid. After a quick wash I was on my way at 6:30am. From my research I estimated that it was only a 20 minute walk. I did have an incident as I was passing the bus station. A seedy looking young guy approached me and asked for money. After my refusal he kept following and badgering me and would not leave me alone. He was attempting to intimidate me without actually threatening me. It was quite invasive. I noticed a police car and waved them down. My friend could see no further use from me and calmly asked the police for directions back to the bus station. I thanked the police who understood the situation and then proceeded to walk the last three minutes to the train station. The station itself is a modern complex and I had no trouble determining which platform my train was departing from. There was even time for a freshly squeezed OJ, coffee and pastry. The trip time from here to Madrid is scheduled for 3hrs 15mins and is a little over 300km. I had booked the ticket in advance on the RENFE website and it was a very reasonable 17.65euro which is cheaper than most of the tolls I paid in France and Italy. The route is mostly through the Spanish countryside with panoramic views of farmland, rivers and mountains. Like the saying goes, the only stops we make are the stations.
I have chosen my hotel in Madrid, Sleep ’n’ Atocha as it is supposed to be close to the main station aptly named Atocha. At 40euro a night in a capital city I do not have high expectations for my three night stay. The train pulled in ten minutes late at 11:00 and it was then that I realized that I did not know the directions to the hotel. I knew the address but did not have a map or internet direction to find my way. I started walking in the general direction of where I thought the hotel was when I spotted a map on a bus shelter. After a quick consultation and a few minutes later I was at the door of the hotel.
I checked-in and stored my bag as the room would not be ready until 3:00pm. No problem, the Reina Sofia museum is only 50 metres away so I went and purchased a three museum ticket (28.80euro). The ticket includes the Prado Museum which is the first stop on my museum tour and only 600m away. It was a good decision to pre-purchase the ticket as the queue was very long and there was no respite from the sun. The Prado houses a huge collection of Medieval and Renaissance paintings. On the main floor there are paintings by El Greco, Ribera, Murillo, Velazquez and other Spanish masters from their Golden Age. The Goya collection of over 100 paintings is spread over all floors. My favourites were from his black period especially Saturn devouring his child, quite disturbing. http://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/goya/9/
Other renown artist such as Rubens, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Botticelli, Rembrandt and Raphel are well represented. The Cardinal by Raphel was one of my favourites. After three hours I was exhausted and headed back to the hotel. Along the way I stopped at the Museum of Jamon and had a 90c cleansing ale which came with a small plate of chorizo.
"Black Paintings" in the Quinta del Sordo (1820-1823) www.wga.hu The 14 'Black Paintings' paintings (now in the Museo del Prado), so called because of the dark tones and predominance of black, originally decorated the Quinta del ...
It was already 4:30pm, my room was definitely available and I was ready for a shower. The room which is not huge is excellent. Good air-con, comfortable double bed, flat screen TV and a reasonably large bathroom with a rain head shower. This hotel is like an up market version of the Fragrance Hotels in Singapore. After relaxing for a couple of hours it was time to extend myself at visit the Reina Sofia museum which is open until 9:00pm. I wandered over at 6:15pm and headed for the first floor which had an exhibition of Cuban born artist Wilfred Lam. I liked his work but like Surrealism I did not get it.
The four floors are broken up into themes and supported by old film footage.
1. From Revolt to Post Modernity (1962-1982)
2. The Eruption of the 20th Century: Utopias and Conflicts (1900-1945)
- Picasso’s Guernica
- Salvador Dali and Oscar Dominguez, Surrealism and Revolution
3. Temporary Exhibitions
4. Is the War Over? Art in a Divided World (1945-1968)
I had just finished admiring a Jean Miro painting when the room attendants started herding everyone off the floor. It was nearly 9:00pm so it was time for Lord Kawaku to leave the building. Food beckoned, so I headed around the corner for a cheap feed at the Museum of Jamon. The meal itself was a little greasy and just edible. At least the 90cent beers diluted the effects of the grease.
Tuesday 12th July – Not Another Museum
A little after 10:00 I headed up the road for 10 minutes to visit the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. This museum completes the trifecta and compliments its more serious neighbours. It is a little smaller but the three floors still took 2.5 hours to visit. If you are not into art museums but want a broad taste then this is the one to visit. It contains one of the world’s most distinguished private art collections and covers seven centuries. Starting on level 2 it has good examples of Renaissance and Baroque Art. Level 1 displays work from the Dutch School, North American Art, Impressionism, Post Impressionism and German Impressionism. Level 0 is reserved for the 20th century and contains Cubism, Abstract Art, Surrealism and Pop Art. The artists include Miro, Picasso, Dali, Kadinsky, Raphael, Monet, Gaugin, Van Gogh and many others. It is definitely worth a visit.
After I caught my breath I walked up Paseo del Prado to take a picture of the Cybele fountain which is located in the middle of a large roundabout at Plaza de Cibeles. As an extra bonus I discovered that for 2E I could visit the viewing platform of the Palace adjacent to the plaza. The 360 degree views over Madrid were fantastic and it is certainly worth a visit. One block further to the right at Puetra De Alcala is Madrid’s Victory Gate, the Alcalá Gate of Madrid.
It was just on 2:00pm so I decided to take a break and treated myself to a fine lunch at the Mallorca restaurant situated on Calle de Serrano. Soup, smoked salmon and two glasses of a fine red should be enough to keep me going. After a long break it was back into the sun and another block to another monument, the plinth of Christopher Columbus. It is situated at another roundabout at Plaza de Colon. The plaza has an impressive huge modern concrete sculpture which is dedicated to the discovery of America. On one side it is bounded by the equally impressive facades of the Archeological Museum and the National Library. The heat was too much so I headed back to Atocha .
At 6:15 I donned my walking boots. My goal was to walk to Puerta Sol which is about 20 minutes away and then follow Rick Steves walking tour to the Royal Palace. There is plenty to see on this route including The Bear and Madrono Tree statue, Plaza Myor, Cathedral of Almudena and the Royal Palace. From here it is worth continuing on to Plaza Espana where there is a great statue of Cervantes, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Continue up the hill and you arrive at the Temple De Debod. It was donated by the Egyptian government as a thank you for Spain’s help relocating temples when the Aswan dam was built. I wanted to watch the sunset and take in the great views along with hundreds of others. It did not look like setting until 9:45pm and I had yet to eat. It was a bit of a walk back to Puerta Sol so I took a gamble on the metro. Eventually I worked out how to purchase a ticket (1.5euro) and soon back to Sol.
Dinner tonight was Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes in a spicy red sauce) washed down with some red wine. Casa Toni has a helpful English menu and several classic dishes but after the patas there was no room left. Toni even threw in a couple of extras which rounded off an enjoyable evening. With my belly full I waddled my way back to the hotel and a blissful sleep.
Wednesday 13th July – Hop On, Hop Off
I’m in no rush this morning as I have ticked off everything that I wanted to see locally. A tour to Sergovia would have been okay but I was too lazy to arrange anything. Instead I went for a walk to the railway station to familiarize myself for tomorrow’s journey to Barcelona. With a few hours to kill I opted for a trip on the Madrid City Tour. I ended up being able to purchase a seniors ticket for 10euro and two days would have been 13euro. Route 1 which I caught has a stop just around the corner from my hotel. The route covers most of the city sights that I had walked to yesterday. It was good however to relax and listen to the commentary on the 90 minute round trip. I did manage to glean a few facts from the commentary.
At Puerta del Sol I alighted and took a break for lunch at another of the Museum of Jamon stores. Over a beer and a ham and cheese croissant I had a good sports chat with two Indian guys from London. They loved their cricket and rugby and were off to Seville in the morning. With lunch over it was back on the red bus for a trip on route 2 which takes approximately 60 minutes.
This route is less popular than the other and I had a seat to myself under the shade canopy. The bus travels some of the more affluent areas of Madrid. It passes some high end stores, palaces and embassies. The highlight for football fans is a stop at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the home of Real Madrid. I think even Alice knows that they are recognized as one of the world’s premier sporting teams. With the tour over I returned to my hotel. I have kept my ticket as I will probably use it when I go out for a late dinner.
No such luck as there was a decided reduction in service after 7:00pm. In the end I gave up waiting and walked up to St Anna Plaza where I had a couple of Natural beers. Naturally, they were quite expensive compared to the 90 cent special from the Museum of Ham. I think the cheap beer even tasted better. The entertainment was the barman playing up with four older women who were slightly sloshed. When I looked around the room 70 percent of the patrons were glued to their mobiles. Whatever happened to the art of conversation and a good topic to fire up the consonants and the vowels. At 8:15 I moved digs to Casa del Abuelo which is supposed to a good job on Gamba (prawns). I selected barbeque prawns which were very tasty but in hindsight I should have chosen the garlic or chili prawns which looked delicious. It was slightly expensive, 11.75E for eight medium sized prawns. From here I went to Casa Toni for my last dish of the night, mushrooms grilled on the hotplate. It was a huge dish which tasted great but could have done with a little less oil. Business was humming but Toni still found time to give me a small complimentary plate of lightly fried anchovies. A couple of wines later and it was back to the hotel.
Thursday 14th July – Barcelona
Have thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the Sleep ‘n ‘ Atocha and would recommend this budget hotel.
· Short walk from Madrid Atocha train station. Airport buses stop here and trains link most of the Spanish cities
· Easy walk to three major museums
· Hop on Hop off bus stop less than 100 metres
· Atocha metro station 100 metres (line currently under repair)
· Twenty minute walk to Plaza Mayor
I have booked the very fast train which departs Madrid at 10:30am. The 621km journey is due to arrive in Barcelona at 1:15 pm. This is a far better option than flying as it is quicker when you take into consideration the time spent travelling to and from the airport, security and check-in. There are travel options that cost between 30E and 40E but the travel time is around six hours.
I arrived at the station around 10:05 and went straight to the departure platforms on level 1. The security line moved quickly and I was soon seated in my comfortable seat which has a lot more leg room than economy class on any airline. We departed on time and were soon in the countryside humming along at over 200kmph. I kept an eye on the train’s velocity gauge which eventually hit a high of 301kmph. Even at that speed the ride was smooth and I was able to enjoy a small bottle of red and a ham and cheese croissant that I had brought along for the ride. It was great to look out the window and watch the very parched landscaped rolling by. Time to play an old song by Peter Starsted, “Frozen Orange juice. As the train approached Barcelona I spotted Alice’s favourite cava winery, Freixnet. The train arrived 5 minutes early and within ten minutes I was on the metro heading for Hostal Abrevadero.
Check-in was smooth and I was soon in a comfortable room with reasonable space for two. The room is a little tired but I cannot complain about the rate. I then went and retrieved my luggage that I had stored two weeks earlier. Everything was in order and I now have the luxury of more clothes and the old just functioning netbook. I basically hung around the hotel for the day catching up on administrative tasks. In the evening I treated myself to prawns and chewy octopus.
Friday 15th July – Barcelona Flight Time
Breakfast at the Abrevadero which cost 3.50euro was a substantial affair. It was a small buffet but had plenty to fill you. The customers are mostly African and Muslim and I suspect at 36euro a night it is a good bargain for them as well as me. This is definitely a good hotel if you are on a budget. It is in the Montjuic area with two metro lines, funicular and about a ten minute walk to the Ramblas.
Check out time is at midday and I was at a loss at what I could see or do prior to being picked up for the airport at 6:30pm. I stored my luggage in the hotel lockers (2euro) and decide to walk to the Ramblas. I passed a bicycle store that offered tours in English at 11:00am but alas it was already 11:20am. I then saw a store offering Segway tours so I went in to see what was on offer. For 55euro I could take a two hour tour at 1:00pm. With no money down they booked me on the tour. I still had over an hour to kill so I continued onto the Ramblas and sauntered up the magic mile. The stomach was rumbling so I ducked into the famous La Boqueria Market. After a bit of thought I ended up purchasing 300g of fresh large cooked prawns and some cold gazpacho soup to wash it down. There is an open concrete park area at the rear of the complex which was the perfect place to sit and savor the succulent crustaceans.
Back at the Segway store our group of eight was given some operating instructions and after some practice we were on our way. It didn’t take long to master the intricacies of these mobile machines and the whole group was pretty confident going forward. Our route took us over towards the Ramblas and then headed along the waterfront to the nearby beach. We took a couple of breaks and our guides explained some of the history of the area. The tour ended up being close to 2.5 hours and I know Alice would have enjoyed it as much as I did.
It was only 3:30pm so I decided to take the 12euro tour of Parc Guell which was designed by Antoni Gaudi early in his career. The audio guide which is included in the price gave an excellent explanation of what Gaudi and the master craftsmen tried to accomplish with this site. Another glad I did it experience.
Back at the hotel and I have another hour before I am picked up. What to do? I can’t believe that I did not notice this place last night. Right next door to my hotel is the A Birra Derro which has around 40 craft beers on tap. I started with a Double IPA, Black IPA and finished with an Imperial Stout. They all tasted great but the verdict went to a very bitter creamy Imperial Stout. My Emirates chauffer limousine arrived dead on time to transport me in style to terminal 1 at the International Airport. I was surprised by the number of passengers checking in as it was still 3.75 hours until departure. Even the business class line had a queue which was me. I did ask if an upgrade was possible between Dubai and Colombo and with a little help from the Emirates team leader I may have succeeded. I won’t know for sure until I get to the gate around 10:00pm. Meanwhile it didn’t take long to clear security and immigration and then find the Sala Miro lounge where I enjoyed a few wines. It was okay but nowhere near the opulence of the Emirates lounges.
When I arrived at the gate my upgrade was waiting for me.The flight was typical Emirates, plenty of good quality everything to enhance your flight experience. I think that I even managed two hours sleep and a movie before we touched down in Dubai.
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