Visitng Madrid, lots of "first timers" including watching a bull fight...
My trip back in May '12
Finally arrived in Madrid after the usual not going to sleep but going straight to the airport kinda night. I got greeted by a Spanish lunch prepared by my friend. The sun was shining, it is quiet and it was just perfect here from my last vacation before my big move to NYC. By the way, Madrid is the third biggest city in Europe after London and Paris and the biggest in south Europe!
Seeing Madrid with my personal tour guide who is a "Madrileño", is the best thing that could have happened to me in this city! Plus, getting around on his motorbike only, no need to wait for buses or trains in the heat or getting stuck in traffic. So even better! One of the few attractions I saw tonight was the Temple of Debod. Which is an ancient Egyptian temple and it was rebuilt in Madrid's park "Parque del Oeste". It is near the Royal Palace which looks beautiful by night. We kept walking towards the city centre, down a street called "Cava baja". This street is full of little tapas bars offering "Cañas" (Beer!) served with tapas. We arrived at the "Puerta del sol" where you will find the herladic symbol of Madrid which is a bear kinda hugging a strawberry tree and it is also the monument of King Charles III, King of Spain.
Another interesting thing is the sign on the pavement in front of the post office which is called "Kilómetro cero". It shows the 0 kilometer point of Madrid. So you are standing at the central point of Spain! We had dinner at a restaurant called "Museo del Jamón" which is a chain here. The restaurant is right at the "Plaza Mayor" which is full of very touristic restaurants. This means, overpriced food and annoying waiters. If you wanna eat cheap here, go to "Museo del Jamón!" So far so good, my first day in sunny Madrid.
This trip showed me the first time in a big Spanish city as I had only been to small places before, first time horse riding (my entire body ached the day after and I respect horses much more now!) and first time watching a bull fight with the real Torero! This I am telling you was a fascinating and weird experience at the same time. I usually wanna experience certain things myself before people wanna tell me how bad or good it is. To be honest, I saw this once and I do not need to see it again. It belongs to the Spanish culture but there will always be discussions and different opinions about how the bull is treated and matadores will be injured. It was interesting to see for sure.
Simply explained it is a "sport" where the first guys with the pink towel are pretty much like assistants at the beginning to make the bull angrier and tired then the "Rejoneadores" are coming riding on horses to hurt the Bull and make it more tired and the Torero comes at the end with the red towel and sword playing with the bull to finally killing it by a precise hit and ensure that the Bull won't suffer any longer. The "Mula" carries away the dead Bull and that is the end.
Worth visiting also is the Market "El rastro". It is a very big flea market with lots of souvenirs and only on Sundays and public holidays from 9am until 3pm. It is located between Calle Embajadores and the Ronda de Toledo (South of "La Latina" metro station).
In Calle de Leon we had some great tapas! If you wanna have some natural cider out of a manual machine which is just right at the wall from the entrance you should go to "Sidreria el Tigre". It makes your cider right there deliciously sparkling and it is very refreshing on a hot day. The district "chueca" is a gay district, for the ones who are interested!
After all I would say Madrid is worth a visit, especially if you have friends there. As I have been there 5 years ago I am sure I might have forgotten something but I would always go back again for sure! Muchas gracias to DF for being my tourguide! Hasta luego!
K
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