18 April
this is becoming like a diary, so be it. one of those crazy days where i arrive somewhere without a prior confirmed room. well good thing they had a bed available at the hostel, else i would have spent the night at the airport, and saved 20 euros. it’s pretty easy to do stuff like that when you’re alone and you don’t need to get anyone else to agree. so i went to the hostel anyway and went out for ‘dinner’ at midnight. discovered a bustling nightlife, with lots and lots of people in the streets. lots of daytime eating places converted to drinking holes. or rather drinking holes that serve some food in the day. well. crazy stuff like Museo del Jambo, which is like a meat/ham selling place. it’s really weird to see ppl drinking away with chunks of meat hanging from the ceiling. but they seem to drink everywhere. and then i lost my way while trying to get back. i was astounded. it’s like i set off for the hostel but after awhile i found myself back where i started. i have almost never failed so terribly at finding my way. and i wasnt even drunk. to be precise, i didnt drink. anyway i suceeded on the second try. and i found that the basement of the hostel was a very happening dance floor. what the hell.
19 April
had a stingy breakfast at the hostel, well at least they provided something. it’s a decent place to stay, other than their silly wristwatch-like key. it was raining again, i absolutely hate it when it rains while im travelling. largely because im lazy to bring my umbrella out. i went to Pantheon de Goya, it was pretty hard to find, coz the lonely planet guidebook was horribly wrong and it did not exist on the tourist map. but i found it any way. little place with some goya frescos, or whatever u call it. decently pretty. it’s free anyway. at least it’s a half peaceful resting place. i remember my shoes got all wet from walking in the persistent rain. perhaps i should buy new shoes, something seemed to be leaking.
then i did a museum run, went to this T-B museum, i can never remember the full name. anyway there are only 3 proper museums in madrid so it’s not that hard to guess. it had a range of works from 15th to 20th century, sorted by style. i got absolutely sick of christian themes, well they used to be crazy about painting those. i was happy to see the impressionism, post-impressionism and cubism and stuff like that. realism as well. nice.
then i went to Reina Sofia, the museum of modern art. all the lovely Salvador Dali pieces. and they had a huge temporary exhibition of Picasso, borrowed largely from the paris museum. it was nice that entrance was free. i entered through the empty temp exhibit entrance, to find out later that the main entrance had an ultra long queue. whew. well i almost broke my legs that day going through so many museums. it’s insanely tiring to walk through entire buildings.
i kept being tempted to buy stuff from Desigual, but yay i din spend any money there. the clothes are so nice but so expensive.
had some expensive tapas-y food at a café near the hostel, with Carynl. the food was nice, but why are their servings always so little. do these ppl eat decent meals. argh. i sorely missed the free bread and water at french restos.
met this nice polish woman in our hostel room, who works and lives in france and is trying to become a yoga teacher. well interesting.
20 April
hm im still in madrid, should have gotten away. but anyway went to the palace, saw some nice rooms…well what. but what i really wanted to see were the 5 Stradivarius violin/violo/cellos in there. woot. the highest known public auction price was US$3.5million for a golden period Stradivarius. private sales are supposed to be higher in amount, according to wiki.
went to museo prado, but din have time to finish all that i wanted to see. too much Goya stuff around. i did see the Desnuda after some frustrating attempts with security and tickets. what a mess. an overdose of christian themes again.
bullfight. the famed cruel killing of bulls. true that it’s terrible and seems so pointless. i think the culture will die out over time. in one session they kill like so many bulls. one per matador. gosh.
went to Bernabeu stadium, but pity the game that evening wasnt at this stadium. crap. real madrid. met a funny security guard at a deserted shopping mall. it was so amusing when he tried to help us, especially since there was a huge language barrier.
yup madrid. a city with a name bigger than itself. a capital with little history, with little life. barcelona and seville win it for sure.
it’s got a great airport though, one good airport, close to the city centre, only 2€ away by metro, fantastic.