With the financial crisis taking its toll on almost everyone this year, I had already waved goodbye to the prospect of having my yearly holiday abroad.
Gran Via
Once you get habituated to travelling it kind of becomes addictive, therefore I just couldn’t accept it! Financial crisis or not I ended up going to Madrid.
After visiting Barcelona last year, I was adamant to go to Madrid at some point in time but certainly it was not on my mind for this year. In fact I was thinking of going to Amsterdam or Mykonos but once I shelved both destinations, my friend suggested Madrid as an alternative and at that point I couldn’t say no.
We were 5 friends in total and therefore it was more of a group holiday. Living alone and being a nervous person I was afraid of this group thing but at the end our different characters complimented each other. Though some clashes are inevitable I really enjoyed their company.
Whereas Barcelona is the city that never sleeps Madrid is the city of everyone and for everyone. No matter what or who you are Madrid welcomes you. It’s a capital city bursting with people coming from different cultures that found a way to live together and making this City theirs. In this aspect, Spain’s capital city lacks that high dose of national identity associated with the other cities I’ve been to. Indeed this is a huge contrast with all government and national edifices situated in the heart of Madrid.
Though there are various barrios which make up Madrid, daily city life revolves around the Gran Via – Madrid’s most famous street. Full of shops,
Plaza de los Cibeles
restaurants & important buildings this street leads you on one end to Plaza de Espana and on the other end just a few paths away from the Retiro Park – which is the lung of Madrid. I have to say this park is one of the best I’ve seen, it’s a huge mass of greenery coupled with palaces, monuments and even a small lake.
The area surrounding the Royal Palace is simply enchanting especially by night. An inside visit to this palace is definitely a must. We had the chance to visit the royal armoury, pharmacy and important halls. Each room is filled with splendour and richness that will take your breath away and make you wish you lived there for at least a day in your life! The good thing about it is that we entered gratis since on Wednesdays E.U citizens have free entrance.
Another place worth visiting is the Temple of Debod a real Egyptian Temple situated right in the heart of Madrid. It was given as a gift from the Egyptian government back in the 70’s. An enjoyable experience is a cable car sightseeing tour that will let you admire Madrid’s skyline from a height of 40 metres. While on this tour you can get the ‘only’ chance to see the river that passes from Madrid. Actually it resembles more of a canal rather than a river.
Nightlife in Madrid is very vast during weekends but less good during weekdays. The off putting thing is that either you pay to enter a bar or else you’re
Crystal Palace in El Retiro Park
forced to buy a drink. On the positive side is the type of music they play inside clubs: emphasis is on international and Spanish pop music that will make you dance and sing all night away. I have to admit I expected more out of the nightlife because I was comparing it with Barcelona, though it is fair to say that September is not a peak month for tourism.
Before going to Madrid I already knew I did not like the Spanish cuisine, now that I’m back I can confirm I like it even less! Not that all places we’ve eaten from were all bad but on the whole they weren’t so good either. One thing which the Spanish don’t know how to cook is definitely pasta, they will over boil it to the point that you can’t pick it up with a fork. My goodness even the British know how to cook it better! On the other hand they know how to cook pizza. The worst experience we had food wise was when we decided to eat in Plaza Mayor – one of the most beautiful piazzas in Europe. We were served horrible sangria and chicken pieces floating on a sea of oil with some chips thrown in it! Please do take the advice and just don’t eat there if you happen to be in Madrid!
As part of our itinerary away from Madrid, we chose to visit Toledo the old capital of Spain. This medieval city is really worth visiting. It offers a good
The Royal Palace at night
break from the hectic city life of Madrid. With narrow streets, old houses, huge fortifications and great views it will transport you to the glorious era of the Spanish empire. I can imagine why up to about 60 years ago it was still the Capital of Spain.
We spent our Sunday at the Warner Bros Park just on the outskirts of Madrid. I had never been to an amusement park before and therefore the child in me had a great day! For me it was one of the most enjoyable days I had during the holiday but if I had to do it again I would certainly think it twice. I can say I’ve lost 5 years out of my life because I rode on every scary ride there was.
Something about the people of Madrid: I found the Madrilenos very hospitable and they certainly know how to enjoy life. I was really surprised by two behavioural things; to see many people reading books and to see most of them cleaning after their dogs. Being a bookworm myself they left me wondering because you don’t see that in many countries, the least in Malta! On the other hand I could not stop noticing the laziness or laid back attitude in most of Madrilenos. Certainly they give the impression that they don’t like working, but after all who does?
During the 9 days that we were there Madrid resembled a construction site. Almost in every street there is a project going on, restoration of buildings, new metro stations being built and others renovated, new pavements for piazzas and so on. All this infrastructural work is part of a major plan by the Spanish government called PlanÉ which literally means ‘economic plan’. The ultimate goal is to modernise Madrid and make it more glamorous.
One thing that left me perplexed was that this Capital lacks something in comparison to other major European cities. Actually I don’t know what it is, it
Toledo's Cathedral as seen from an alley
is a feeling I’ve got. It could be that it lacks that glamorous touch, that lack of identity or the lack of water symbolism. By lack of water I mean the sea or a big river that passes through the center and symbolizes life. Whatever this unexplained thing is it should not deter anybody from visiting it.
Madrid is currently a city in transition that is doing its utmost to become one of the best cities in Europe. Its chance to show it to the world was lost when Madrid was not chosen as the host city for the Olympic Games of 2016. However I am sure that once the transition is over I would find it more beautiful & elegant on my return.
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