Madrid is beautiful. It is far more Westernized than Lisbon, with McDonald´s, Starbucks, and other chain establishments around every corner. But these lie between magnificent buildings reflecting every style of architecture imaginable - I´m no expert, but terms such as Neo-Classical and Neo-Gothic were thrown around. There are also many groomed and well-kept gardens, and gorgeous statues around every corner (mostly of men on horses, as usual).
The first location we visited is called Puerta del Sol (Door of the Sun), a central plaza of the city that would soon become a very familiar focal point for our travels. We also visited Plaza Mayor where we were surprised to see hundreds of people doing some sort of organized yoga. We then entered the busy street market, where we had our first taste of Spanish cuisine with some Paella, a rice dish mixed with thick sauce and other toppings, e.g. vegetables, seafood, chorizo, or any of several other options.
Our first major sight was Almudena Cathedral, which is even more amazing on the inside than on the outside. We paid for entrance to the indoor museum where unfortunately photos were forbidden, but it included the most beautiful mosaics I have ever seen.
We then walked across the way to visit the Royal Palace, where again we paid for entrance and photos were forbidden. The palace is absolutely enormous, with 100s of rooms each serving a very specific historical purpose - "This is where the king got dressed", "This is where the china is kept", "This is where the royal family watched films" etc. We were also able to visit the Armory and some of the Gardens, before finding a small restaurant to eat lunch and, of course, drink Sangria.
We returned to the hostel for much-needed showers, naps, and internets, before going out to experience the legendary Madrid nightlife. Indeed, the bars and clubs don´t close until 6am and the streets are continuosly packed with both residents and tourists until that time. We went on a hostel-organized pub-crawl with about 40 other college students and had a great time. At about 4am I decided to part ways and head back to the hostel, and found that my rudimentary K-6th Spanish was surprisingly helpful for getting me back home. It took 20 minutes and I got lost twice, but the streets were so packed with people that help was always nearby.
After such a long night we got off to a late start today (Sunday, June 2) before eating lunch and having the necessary foreign experience of ordering food and receiving something that completely dodged our expectations (Carne Asada in Spain is NOT the same as in Mexico, by the way). We then walked towards the beautiful Plaza de Cibeles where we saw the Bank of Spain, Cibeles Palace, and Cibeles Fountain, all of which are astounding. We also walked down the Paseo del Prado and saw the Fountain of Neptune, before heading back to the hostel. We plan to return to this area tomorrow.
We changed our clothes and headed back to the Metro which we took to Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, were we would see A REAL-LIFE SPANISH BULLFIGHT!!! We had purchased tickets the previous day, and were very lucky to coincidentally be in Madrid on a Sunday, the only day they host Bullfighting. We were even more lucky to see a special show in which the toreros fight on horseback instead of on foot.
The show consisted of 6 different toreros fighting (and eventually killing) 6 different bulls. The fights are not as I imagined they would be - they are incredibly one-sided in favor of the torero, such that it does not seem he is ever in any real danger. The show is more a man tormenting a bull to death than it is a "fight" per-say. As such, the very first display was quite difficult for me to watch, but after that I grew accustomed and was able to enjoy the performance. The bullfighters were indeed very skilled, and their horsemanship was the best I´ve ever seen (but I´m no expert). The procedure was repetitive, but each torero had a slightly different style. Additionally, the experience of the roaring and cheering crowd was one I am glad not to have missed.
The most exciting part of the show was when the 3rd bull was able to ram the horse on the side, and knock the torero off of it. It then proceeded to attack him on the ground with its horns repeatedly, while his entire crew rushed out to distract it and drive it away. As far as I´m concerned, this means that the bull should have "won" the "fight". But of course, thanks to the help of his crew the torero escaped relatively unhurt, got back on his horse, and proceeded to conduct business as usual.
All in all, the bullfight was an incredibly special experience that I´m glad I got the chance to see, but it is definitely not for the faint-hearted and poses some tough questions concerning animal rights and Spanish tradition (which I hear is a growing topic of controversy). I will not comment on the matter, but I will say that if you can handle seeing lots of blood and are in Madrid on a Sunday, I recommend that you go to one.
Tomorrow we plan to wake up early and visit the east side of the city that we only got a glimpse of today. We intend to return to Paseo del Prado and visit Museo del Prado, a European Art museum documenting the 12th - 19th centuries. We also plan on seeing Puerta de Alcala and Buen Retiro Park, with its many attractions including the Crystal Palace and Monument to Alfonso XII. I´m not sure if I´ll have time to blog more before we leave for Barcelona on Tuesday morning, but I´m sure all those places will be just as incredible as they appear to be.
Thank you for reading. Next time, I will probably be in Barcelona!
-Yuval
P.S. I´m sorry that there are still no pictures from Madrid or Lisbon. The internet in the hostel is simply too slow to upload them.
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