I arrived in Madrid on a lovely sunny day & I liked what I saw. Nice open spaces within the city. Grand buildings that tell their own stories. Greenery for visual & environmental balance. Great first impression. Helps too that the weather was oh-so-fine. I, however, don't have many photos of the city 'cos the highlight of Madrid (to me) is its museums. There's enough art in the Prado Museum, Reina Sofia National Art Museum and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza to last me for days. I had to pace myself.
I forgot what this was. I think I was outside the royal palace. This was barely an hour after I'd arrived. I was trying to ignore the map and was busy being impressed by the city.
Love the street lamp! I think I was still outside the royal palace.
Eh, more street lamps that I like. Details people!
Gold. A reminder of past glory perhaps? For me, it's these history "markers" around the city (or any other city in any other country) that really spice up and add character to the place. It's like living in today with a sense of the past.
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As I found out, Madrid and Barcelona are in constant competition as the 2 biggest cities in Spain, both vying for the top city spot. The rivalry is, of course, very obvious & very intense in their football/soccer clubs. To the point where it became a consideration for the government when it implemented a national vehicle licence plate system. Previously, each province had their own plates. And during soccer seasons, emotions ran so high that cars would get vandalized (or worse) because they had plates of the province where the rival team was from. An Irish guy living in Spain told me this. Not entirely sure if this is true, but I think that there's a bit of truth in this.
Anyway, I digress. When I mentioned that I would be visiting Madrid to a Catalonian in Barcelona, she immediately said that I should "judge" for myself & see which city I prefer. Hmm...having visited both, I must say that I prefer Madrid. It seems to be a nicer place to live in. And I remember thinking to myself (as I took a bus out of the city to El Escorial) "I could live here". But the next thought was "But the idea of siestas drives me nuts". Then "Oh well, maybe I could learn Spanish or something during those couple of hours everyday". And then I was distracted by an Aston Martin (we were on a freeway).
1 comment:
"I forgot what this was. I think I was outside the royal palace. This was barely an hour after I'd arrived. I was trying to ignore the map and was busy being impressed by the city.
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Yes, that's the facade of the Palacio Real :)
Siestas work more for small towns. It's pretty much business as usual throughout the day in large cities like Madrid & Barcelona - non-stop shopping!
Aud
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