Well, I’m
back home after a weekend in Spain! I actually did a couple of other things
last week, but I don’t want this post to be too long, so I’m just going to talk
about my travels in Europe. I had a wonderful time in Spain. It felt almost
like home; it was extremely hot, and everyone spoke Spanish. I had a hostel in
the city center, and I spent my days roaming the streets in search of tourist
attractions.
After a
relatively smooth combination of bus, plane, subway, and walking, I reached my
hostel in Madrid at around 3 pm. I’d done a little touring around the city
before the hostel opened and managed to see a lot of the main fountains and
architecture, and one of the parks, that were on my list.
Spain,
I should note, is really fond of statues and fountains. They’re also really
fond of plazas. Now, in case anyone is wondering, a plaza is basically a large
stone courtyard with no shade anywhere, unless you want to try to fit into the
shadow of a lamppost. I took pictures of a lot of them, but I didn’t stay very
long, and I was glad I’d brought multiple water-bottles with me on my travels.
However,
there are also a bunch of gorgeous parks in Spain in which I spent a long time
wandering and ate a couple of meals. I used to think gardening wasn’t an art; I
know better now. I’d been reading Tolkien on the plane over, and you can almost
picture mythical creatures playing in the royal garden or the public park.
Anyway,
once I’d checked into my hostel, called my parents, and rested a little (I’d
sprained my ankle slightly a couple of days before, and although it was a very
good sport, it needed the break) I headed back out to see what I could see. As
usual, things didn’t go exactly as planned. For one thing, a lot of the sites
weren’t open exactly when they said they were, and I had to keep going back.
This meant I got pretty well acquainted with center city Madrid – I probably
know my way around about as well as I know my way around Cambridge. Still, I
saw most of the sites I wanted to visit.
However,
I did make it into a few places the first day. First I went to a monastery,
which had a beautiful art collection, but was only available through one-hour
guided tours in Castilian Spanish. Fortunately, I found my Spanish still
perfectly intact, though I had to get used to interacting in a foreign language
and a foreign accent this time. I had
hoped to get a chance to sit and meditate, but it was more like being in a
museum than a monastery, albeit a museum with an overabundance of crucifixes
and pictures of the Virgin Mary.
After
the monastery, I saw the Almudena Cathedral, but it was too busy to let me
concentrate, so I moved on fairly quickly. I had time for a few other things
before grabbing some food from the supermarket and heading back to the hostel.
The hostel, by the way, was adorable; I had my own tiny room, bathroom, and
shower, and even a TV over the bed. I’m not claustrophobic; I kind of like
small spaces. They make me feel secure, as if they’re my space. So I was very
happy with my petite, quiet little room.
The
next morning I headed out early to see what I could see; I wanted to see the
second monastery, a few historical sites I’d missed, two museums, and hopefully
go to mass at the Cathedral, whose museum I hadn’t been able to get into
earlier. Due to logistical issues and misleading signs, I didn’t get to the monastery
tour or the mass, but I did see the historical sites, wander in the garden for
a while, and see the two museums.
The Prado
Museum is amazing; I highly recommend it if you’re ever in Madrid. Their art
collection is fantastic; I especially enjoyed seeing El dos de Mayo and El tres de Mayo, which I’d studied back in high school. I don’t really need churches for
reverent meditation; a quiet room full of beautiful things has the same effect
on me, especially when a lot of art uses religious stories or imagery. The
constant stream of people made it difficult to concentrate, but I thoroughly
enjoyed my visit.
I spent
quite a bit of time in the museums, which turned out to be free, and then
stopped by the Imperial Gardens, which were breathtaking as well as quiet and
peaceful (I immensely enjoy musing and meditating when alone, if that isn’t
clear yet.) On the second night I did have a Spanish dinner ordered in Spanish at a sit-down Spanish restaurant.
On the third day, I visited one other museum; it housed Guernica,
which I was very happy to finally see in person. I also visited a few other
parks and plazas and then finally made it into the Cathedral museum and the view
from the top of the Cathedral. By this time my camera had run out of space for
pictures, so I had to switch to my phone.
Finally,
in the half-hour before I needed to leave for the airport, I visited the Crypt
attached to the Cathedral. This was, in fact, my favorite part of the whole
visit. I know I’ve used a lot of synonyms of ‘beautiful’ in this post, but the
crypt really was beautiful. It was also almost empty, and silent, and contained
rooms solely for silent prayer and meditation. I spent a while drinking it in
and praying, and I was very thankful to have finally found the still, beautiful
place I’d been hoping for.
That
was probably my favorite part of Spain, but my second favorite moment was my
first night in the hostel. I had been walking in the sun all day; I was sweaty,
tired and famished. I had promised myself ice cream, but for logistical reasons
had ended up buying an entire pint of lemon gelato. When I got to the hostel, I
started to get ready to shower, but decided I needed to eat the gelato before
it melted, since I didn’t have a refrigerator. That’s when I discovered I didn’t
have a spoon.
Now, on
the plane over I’d been reading Tolkien’s mythology, and part of me was
entering Gondolin with Tuor son of Huor and defying Morgoth with Hurin, full of
high and noble thoughts. Part of me was living the dream, adventuring in the wide
world, and hoping and planning to use my life for a greater purpose. And part
of me was sprawled out in my room half-dressed, listening to music and eating a
pint of lemon gelato with my fingers.
Which
of those people was really me? I’m not sure there’s an answer to that. I think
that, really, I'm whatever strange combination of those three things has led
to. We all are, really. We all have a noble side, a practical side, a romantic
side, and a – well, an eat-gelato-with-your-fingers side. What a piece of work
is a man!
Pictures:
I actually took hundreds of pictures this weekend, so this only scratches the surface. The others I will get up on facebook in time, but my internet connection is questionable now, so bear with me.
This is Plaza del Sol, where my hostel was.
At this point, my camera didn't have room for more pictures, and I can't get the pictures off my phone for now, so the view from the top of the Cathedral will have to wait until next week. Hope you enjoyed what I could post!
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