I was last in Madrid in December, 2008. It was the peak of winter but I enjoyed my four days there (much more than my four days in Barcelona in January, 2010). This time I was not doing much sightseeing in Madrid but merely using it as a base to explore the towns of Toledo and Salamanca.
Maybe it was all those news items about the recession in Spain, and Europe, but I felt that there seemed to be more beggars and more pickpockets than I experienced on my last visit in 2008. I decided to take the metro into town on my way in and, in the process, almost made the day of some pickpocket. As I was navigating a set of stairs (lugging my suitcase) I felt something against my back pocket – when I reached the top of the steps and looked back I saw a Roma woman just a step behind me (sorry for reinforcing stereotypes, but true story). Fortunately, my wallet is always deeply rammed into my back pocket and even I have to struggle to take it out so I think it is really difficult for someone to secrete it out without my knowledge. But not wanting to take any chances, I immediately moved it to a front pocket.
After checking into my hotel, I was loitering around the Puerta del Sol (for those who ask, The Tio Pepe sign was under scaffolding). I did a fair bit of bar-hopping between Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor before I noticed a wee shop selling bull-fighting tickets for that day at the Plaza de Toros. As I was reading Hemingway’s ‘Death in the Afternoon’ at the time (to put into perspective the corrida I had seen at Sevilla), I decided, on the spur of the moment, to buy a ticket and go for the bullfight. It is a testimony to Hemingway’s skill with the written word, and his ability to explain things, that I was able to partly understand the corrida this time. So much so that I was able to make out that each of the six fights that evening were quite terrible.
The next day, I took an early morning train (hour long journey) to Salamanca to loiter about there. In the town, where most of the buildings are built in sandstone, there is a beautiful glow, especially in the evenings. The town is famous for its University – the main university building has a lovely façade and they say that if you can spot a frog on the carvings in the façade one of the following things may happen – you’ll learn Spanish, good luck will be bestowed upon you, or you’ll return to this town. Neither of these might happen to me since I was unable to spot the frog amongst the intricate carvings. My excuse was that the façade was covered with scaffolding (the second time in two days!).
The centre of town is the Plaza Mayor, a handsome square with lovely buildings – this square, built in 1775, is a nice place to do some beer-drinking and people-watching. There are a number of bars and restaurants dotting this square which was the scene of the action in the recent movie ‘Vantage Point’ (though the movie itself was shot mainly in Mexico).
Suitably inebriated, I then explored the rest of town for its other sights like the Old and New Cathedrals (from the 16th - 18th c), a 16th century ‘House of shells’ (which has about 350 sandstone shells on its façade), and a Peunto Romano (a bridge from the 1st AD) from where I got a beautiful view of town and it’s buildings.
As always, the combination of beer and the inability to locate toilets is a problem in Europe. Having consumed copious quantities of the golden liquor, I had to rush to a McDonalds, much against my wishes, before running back to the train station to catch my train into Madrid.
The next day, I did a similar day-trip to Toledo which, at one point, was the capital of Spain. The town has a number of beautiful gates and from the top of the bell tower, I could see a sea of tiled roofs spread out before me. Toledo's most famous sight is the 13th century Cathedral which has a beautiful altar and where there a number of stunning paintings by artists such as Goya and El Greco (Toledo’s most well-known resident!).
El Greco (1541-1614) was so called because of his Greek ethnicity (his real name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos). He was born in Crete and lived in, among other places, Venice, Rome, and Madrid, before moving to Toledo in 1577 where he lived for the rest of his life.
El Greco’s paintings are distinctive in their use of imagination, drama, and colour and the use of light. One of El Greco’s most famous paintings is ‘The Burial of the Count of Orgaz’ in the Santo Tome Church in Toledo. However, I loved the Museo de El Greco – a house which is recreation of El Greco’s home when he stayed in Toledo.
That was the last thing I saw in Toledo before catching the train back to Madrid.
Next stop – Porto.
Maybe it was all those news items about the recession in Spain, and Europe, but I felt that there seemed to be more beggars and more pickpockets than I experienced on my last visit in 2008. I decided to take the metro into town on my way in and, in the process, almost made the day of some pickpocket. As I was navigating a set of stairs (lugging my suitcase) I felt something against my back pocket – when I reached the top of the steps and looked back I saw a Roma woman just a step behind me (sorry for reinforcing stereotypes, but true story). Fortunately, my wallet is always deeply rammed into my back pocket and even I have to struggle to take it out so I think it is really difficult for someone to secrete it out without my knowledge. But not wanting to take any chances, I immediately moved it to a front pocket.
After checking into my hotel, I was loitering around the Puerta del Sol (for those who ask, The Tio Pepe sign was under scaffolding). I did a fair bit of bar-hopping between Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor before I noticed a wee shop selling bull-fighting tickets for that day at the Plaza de Toros. As I was reading Hemingway’s ‘Death in the Afternoon’ at the time (to put into perspective the corrida I had seen at Sevilla), I decided, on the spur of the moment, to buy a ticket and go for the bullfight. It is a testimony to Hemingway’s skill with the written word, and his ability to explain things, that I was able to partly understand the corrida this time. So much so that I was able to make out that each of the six fights that evening were quite terrible.
The next day, I took an early morning train (hour long journey) to Salamanca to loiter about there. In the town, where most of the buildings are built in sandstone, there is a beautiful glow, especially in the evenings. The town is famous for its University – the main university building has a lovely façade and they say that if you can spot a frog on the carvings in the façade one of the following things may happen – you’ll learn Spanish, good luck will be bestowed upon you, or you’ll return to this town. Neither of these might happen to me since I was unable to spot the frog amongst the intricate carvings. My excuse was that the façade was covered with scaffolding (the second time in two days!).
The centre of town is the Plaza Mayor, a handsome square with lovely buildings – this square, built in 1775, is a nice place to do some beer-drinking and people-watching. There are a number of bars and restaurants dotting this square which was the scene of the action in the recent movie ‘Vantage Point’ (though the movie itself was shot mainly in Mexico).
Suitably inebriated, I then explored the rest of town for its other sights like the Old and New Cathedrals (from the 16th - 18th c), a 16th century ‘House of shells’ (which has about 350 sandstone shells on its façade), and a Peunto Romano (a bridge from the 1st AD) from where I got a beautiful view of town and it’s buildings.
As always, the combination of beer and the inability to locate toilets is a problem in Europe. Having consumed copious quantities of the golden liquor, I had to rush to a McDonalds, much against my wishes, before running back to the train station to catch my train into Madrid.
The next day, I did a similar day-trip to Toledo which, at one point, was the capital of Spain. The town has a number of beautiful gates and from the top of the bell tower, I could see a sea of tiled roofs spread out before me. Toledo's most famous sight is the 13th century Cathedral which has a beautiful altar and where there a number of stunning paintings by artists such as Goya and El Greco (Toledo’s most well-known resident!).
El Greco (1541-1614) was so called because of his Greek ethnicity (his real name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos). He was born in Crete and lived in, among other places, Venice, Rome, and Madrid, before moving to Toledo in 1577 where he lived for the rest of his life.
El Greco’s paintings are distinctive in their use of imagination, drama, and colour and the use of light. One of El Greco’s most famous paintings is ‘The Burial of the Count of Orgaz’ in the Santo Tome Church in Toledo. However, I loved the Museo de El Greco – a house which is recreation of El Greco’s home when he stayed in Toledo.
That was the last thing I saw in Toledo before catching the train back to Madrid.
Next stop – Porto.
