Un-pausing Madrid

I stayed in Madrid for 6 weeks. It was a comfortable spot to “perch” before resuming my travels and meeting family in Rome. I took a month of Spanish classes, sampled the culture, met some natives, and had a lot of conversations... Basic ones... With a lot of pantomiming and “Como?” (What?) thrown in... But my Spanish ability had come a long way from the first day I set foot in Spain. I was happy with what I had accomplished while there.

My Spanish roommate had been working on a play the entire month of August, and finally the day came when it was presented—one single performance, and I made sure to see the show. I stayed in Madrid long enough to see it. It was to be my last day in Madrid.

Santiago arranged for his friends to give me a ride to the play, so I joined them and we were off. Aranjuez is the city where the play is performed, about 30 minutes south of Madrid.

The play was entitled “The Mutiny of Aranjuez”, Motín de Aranjuez (story), and it was impressively done. It is community theater, but the appearnace was quite professional. Although my Spanish HAD come a long way during my time in Madrid, I could rarely understand what the actors were saying, so it was a little boring plot-wise for me.

However, the songs, the costumes, the dancing, and the stagecraft were all fascinating! The play was performed at a large outdoor venue with a raised stage and thousands of seats

Behind the stage was the wall of the Palacio Real de Aranjuez, the summer royal palace

Using enormous projectors they used the palace walls as a giant backdrop, instantly changing the scene from a fancy ballroom to a street scene.

Here you can see me, illuminated in a stray beam of light from one of the coordinated projectors, with the stage behind me, and the backdrop behind that. (Aranjuez, Spain) During the play when they weren't singing or dancing, I was wandering around, looking at the technology they'd used... I always like to look "under the hood" to figure out how the magic works!!

There were fabulous period costumes and great dancing and music... Santiago and his crew did a fantastic job!

In the final moments of the play. (Aranjuez, Spain)

After the play, I got to meet more of Santiago’s friends, and got into a philosophical and religious conversation (my FAVORITE!) with Angel, a really cool hippy. We drank and danced at the after-party and had a really, really great time.

By the time we were done, it was 3:30 in the morning, so the same friends who gave me a ride to the play gave me a ride back to the apartment in Madrid.

I had not completed packing before I left for the show, and since I had to leave the apartment at 6 to catch my train, I was in a bit of a panic... I tossed my remaining items into my bags, left a lot behind, and grabbed the box that I did not have time to send—I would have to send it from Barcelona. Needless to say, I did not sleep that night!

I was warned ahead of time that unlike almost everything in Spain, the high-speed Renfre trains to Barcelona ALWAYS LEAVE ON TIME, so I made sure to get to the train station at the correct time.

Once aboard, I was pleasantly surprised to find that these trains were some of the nicest I’d ever been on—even nicer than the Shinkansen high-speed trains in Japan. They were nicely upholstered, the even put headphones in each seat to listen to music or watch TV.

Looking out the windows at the beautiful pre-sunrise sky as I departed Madrid from the Atocha station. (Madrid, Spain)

The countryside on the way to Barcelona is quite pretty (Outside Barcelona, Spain)

Soon I dozed into a restless sleep as the scenery whizzed past at high speed. I restlessly adjusted and readjusted myself in my seat... Trying to find a comfortable position... And reminded with every move to check my bags... Look up at them... Make sure nobody had grabbed them... That they were secure.

As restlessly as I was dozing, I finally decided to get up and do something.

This was my breakfast on the train (Between Madrid and Barcelona, Spain)


As a fairly experienced traveler by now, I really appreciate good signage. The electronic status displays on the Renfe trains were really good... They show the train’s journey number, time, the number of the car you’re in (it is easy to lose track when you go to the dining car and forget how many cars you have to walk through to find your seat again!), and speed. (Between Madrid and Barcelona, Spain)

Arrival in Barcelona... First surprise: they have “Man Toilets!” Heh heh... (Barcelona, Spain)

Surprise 2: THEY HAVE SHOESTRING ACACIA TREES HERE! JUST LIKE BACK HOME!!! WOO HOO! AND THEY’RE BLOOMING!!! (Barcelona, Spain)

Public Art (Barcelona, Spain)

Boardwalk. They pay serious attention to how things look here (Barcelona, Spain)

To make a verbal comparison, I say that Barcelona is the exotic, beautiful, haughty little sister to Madrid. Where Madrid is lively, friendly, and accessible, Barcelona is fiery, snooty, and aloof. The language spoken here is Catalan, different to the Castillian Spanish we know as simply “Spanish”, taught in school. There are many shared words, but the language simultaneously sounds a lot like Spanish, and a little like German and Portugese.

Surprise number 3: They are selling TEXANS HERE! Surprise number 4: They’re REALLY affordable! (Barcelona, Spain)

Street performer. Yes, that is a real toilet. And yes, of COURSE there were sound effects! :) (Barcelona, Spain)

Barcelona is a vain beauty, and they do a great job of keeping her clean. Here they use a power-washer on the stone (Barcelona, Spain)


The Pier (Barcelona, Spain)


Barcelona appears to be fairly forward-thinking public-transportation-wise. These are rental bikes. (On the boardwalk, Barcelona, Spain)


The horribly named but really, really beautiful “Magic Fountain” (Barcelona, Spain)

Cool apartment building near the beach (Barcelona, Spain)


The beautiful Gaudi Park (Parc Guell, Barcelona, Spain)


The spires of the whipped-meringue buildings of the Parc Guell (Parc Guell, Barcelona, Spain)


Beautiful spikes topping the entry gate to the Parc Guell (Barcelona, Spain)

Unknown beuatiful building (Barcelona, Spain)

Cool!!--Swoopy balconies! (Barcelona, Spain)

Casa Batlló (Barcelona, Spain)

Looks like this building had a bad hair day. It’s an artspace (Barcelona, Spain)


Gaudi: La Pedrera (Barcelona, Spain)



Ornamentation of La Sagrada Familia (Barcelona, Spain)

Night view of La Sagrada Familia’s spires (The ones Gaudi designed, and the spires that are BUILDING the spires Gaudi designed) (Barcelona, Spain)

Me

Front View, La Sagrada Familia (Barcelona, Spain)


Entry to a club on the Beach (Barcelona, Spain)

The ceiling at the Post Office (Barcelona, Spain)

Modernity meets the remains of an ancient Roman Wall (Barcelona, Spain)

They take art seriously here: A church door (Barcelona, Spain)

My last day in Barcelona was my birthday. For breakfast, a lovely, sprightly Californian named Julie bought me a cappuccino and a croissant that looked like a scorpion... Little did I know it would ALMOST make me late for my flight (the monitors were flashing “LAST MINUTE!”), AND serve as a foreshadowing for what would happen to me in Florence, Italy... (Barcelona, Spain)

Posted: 2008 Oct 3