So the corny joke goes like this: what do you call Thanksgiving in Spain?
Thursday!
But yeah, there is no Thanksgiving in Spain.
However, there is a four day weekend, which made it perfect for our first overnight getaway.
Our first big trip was, naturally, Madrid. The purpose of the trip was two part: first and foremost, we wanted to visit our son who has been a university student there since January; and second, we wanted to see the capital of our new adopted country.
(okay, and third: I wanted to see a painting. More about that later).
How to get to Madrid from here:
From Rota, take the Rencife train. We drove to Puerto de Santa Maria and left our car for the weekend in the (free!) parking lot. The train is not cheap; it's about 50 euros for each way per person. Sometimes you can get specials (especially if you are willing to drive 1 1/2 hours to Seville) and children under 13 or so can travel for a discounted price.
We stopped and changed trains in Seville, but there are also direct trains. The trip was about 4 hours each way, with about a 20 minute layover in Seville.
The train takes you to Atocha station and has a metro, city buses, and taxis readily available.
You can also drive to Madrid from Rota in six hours, but between the crazy traffic and the limited (and expensive) parking, traveling via train was the best choice for us. Plus I love getting to see the countryside you can't see any other way.
The Lay of the Land:
My biggest advice to anyone going to Madrid for the first time is to get a map of the city and study it beforehand. We downloaded city maps using the Metro app on our phones, and we also used Google maps while navigating the city. There is no way to see all of the city in one weekend, but you can strategically work on visiting several of the big areas in a relatively short period of time.
Madrid has many distinct neighborhoods, each with its own personality. We stayed in the Salamanca district and chose the hotel for its proximity to several subway stops/line, because we knew we would cover much of the city in a few days. Although we didn't do much venturing into Salamanca, it is a great centralized location, surrounded by many neighborhoods we wanted to visit. It's quiet with a few restaurants and stores in the middle of the hotel area, but it's mostly a residential area.
Even with using public transportation, we walked all over the place. Madrid is definitely a pedestrian-friendly city, and you need to be prepared with good shoes---we walked almost 9 miles on Friday and over 10 miles on Saturday!
Highlights:
We walked all through beautiful Retiro Park in the center. Retiro Park is like a smaller version of Central Park---there are statues, running trails, lakes, manicured gardens, and groves of trees. It's a prime location for a picnic, people watching, and a leisurely stroll (or run, if you are so inclined), and as an extra added bonus, the fall foliage was gorgeous, with vibrant shades of oranges, yellows, reds, and browns. For someone who has lived in eternal green (and occasionally brown) in the Caribbean for five years, this was a big treat! There are several small cafés and many benches to stop and take in the people and scenery. It would be easy to get lost for a couple of hours wandering around this place---and judging by the number of people out on a Friday afternoon, it's somewhere Madrileños don't take for granted.
Guess what was the very first thing we saw in Retiro? A monument to Cuba, featuring our beloved iguanas! I miss iguanas so much. You have no idea how attached you become to those bizarre creatures until you leave a place.
We also went to one of the big three museums, the Reina Sofia. We didn't hit the Prado or the Thyssen, although you can certainly squeeze all three into a weekend, if you so desire.
The real reason I wanted to visit Madrid (other than seeing my kid):
The highlight of the Reina Sofia is Picasso's huge mural entitled Guernica. As art for art's sake, it's an interesting piece. It is huge, measuring 11 1/2 feet by 26 1/2 feet. It covers an entire wall of the gallery and is in its own room. The painting is typical Picasso Cubist style, with distorted faces of people and animals, all in contorted, injured, or frightened states. The colors are simple---shades of black, white, gray. It's the message and meaning that makes this painting so important to Spain (and the art world in general). It's not a subtle piece that gently wraps around you, requiring you to step back and think about it; Guernica is a sucker-punch, full of violence and tragedy. You can't take photographs, so you'll just have to trust my description (or this picture from the internet):
In 1937, defenseless civilians in this Basque village were in the town center for market day, when Italian and German planes bombarded Guernica for hours, killing over a thousand unsuspecting people, injuring hundreds more, and destroying everything with bombs and fire---homes, churches, bridges, stores. Guernica sat in the center of the Republican resistance, making it a target for Nationalist Franco and his allies. The munitions plant on the outskirts of town was left completed unscathed, leading many to the conclusion that the bombing was purely an act of terrorism. Picasso captures the terror of war and I've heard the mural referred to many times as the "most important anti-war painting."
The painting means as much to be about how I learned about it as its actual historical and artistic merits. My husband and I both studied Spanish in college---it's his major and my minor---and Guernica came up several times in our classes. I most strongly associate it with our favorite professor, Dr. Karen Austin (we lovingly called her "Austin"), who made Spain come alive for a small-town Mississippi girl who had never been to Europe. I believe somehow Karen Austin lead us to this place. It sounds strange, but hearing her stories of life as a single, young woman living in Franco's Spain in the 1970s fascinated both of us and made visiting this country one of our life-long goals. I have her to thank for my love of Spanish history and culture, my courage to move to the unknown, and in part, because of her instruction, I was better prepared to move here than any other country in Europe. Guernica brought back memories of Austin, who sadly died right as our family was getting settled in Cuba, and also made me realize, "Wow, I live here." There's so much history, so much I can now connect to what I studied, and so much more to learn. There is only a handful of places and things I really want to see in Spain, and Guernica was number one for me. Everywhere else we visit is just an extra bonus of living in this beautiful place.
As I stood there taking in it quietly for several minutes, I was speechless. I tried to explain it to my youngest, but I couldn't find any words. I was overcome with emotion---what kind of person cries at a painting? But this is it for me: Guernica epitomizes my dream of visiting Spain. I just marvel at the fact that I can always come back and visit it as long as we live a few hours away. Wow.
So what else did we see?
There was the Sol district, with the famous statue of a bear and tree (and Madrid's city symbol). As we were eating outdoors, enjoying the cooler weather, we heard many "oohs" and "aahs" and realized that the city had come alive all around us with a gorgeous display of Christmas lights. We walked around, marveling at the amount of work the city puts into one of the prettiest outdoor light displays I've ever seen. Everywhere we looked, there were sparkling lights, gigantic trees, and extravagantly animated store displays . It reminded me a lot of New York at Christmastime and made me realize that it's the beginning of the holiday season.
We walked along the Gran Vía, where are youngest declared, "Spain would be great if it weren't for all the prostitutes!" Oh buddy, I guess we don't need to take you to Amsterdam! (They were conspicuous but dressed like anyone else out for the night---he probably would not have figured it out except he heard us talking about it). We got to visit our son's school (in Moncloa) and his flat (in Chamberí), met some of his roommates, ate out a lot, tagged along as our Madrid boy deftly navigated the metro system, accidentally ended up in the middle of hundreds of people in a protest march (against domestic violence), ooh-ed and aah-ed again at the city lights, ate out a lot (yes, I know, I mentioned it already), and walked off all those calories.
Then on Sunday, with happy hearts, we headed back to the train station. The Atocha station is clean and beautiful---there is an arboretum in the middle with turtles (!!) and lots of tropical foliage--our youngest captured the best picture of it from our lot:
Now that we have a frame of reference for what is where, we can go back again and visit more areas, more museums, and revisit the places we loved. I'm like the country mouse---I love the idea of living in a big city, but I am more comfortable in my small town. We get to experience the best of two worlds here---I can live in my town and visit the big city quite easily.
The best of all: we can visit our college boy again! I never dreamed when we said goodbye at the Jacksonville airport in January and headed back to Cuba, that nine short months later we would be only a train ride away.
Thursday!
But yeah, there is no Thanksgiving in Spain.
However, there is a four day weekend, which made it perfect for our first overnight getaway.
Our first big trip was, naturally, Madrid. The purpose of the trip was two part: first and foremost, we wanted to visit our son who has been a university student there since January; and second, we wanted to see the capital of our new adopted country.
(okay, and third: I wanted to see a painting. More about that later).
How to get to Madrid from here:
From Rota, take the Rencife train. We drove to Puerto de Santa Maria and left our car for the weekend in the (free!) parking lot. The train is not cheap; it's about 50 euros for each way per person. Sometimes you can get specials (especially if you are willing to drive 1 1/2 hours to Seville) and children under 13 or so can travel for a discounted price.
We stopped and changed trains in Seville, but there are also direct trains. The trip was about 4 hours each way, with about a 20 minute layover in Seville.
The train takes you to Atocha station and has a metro, city buses, and taxis readily available.
The Lay of the Land:
My biggest advice to anyone going to Madrid for the first time is to get a map of the city and study it beforehand. We downloaded city maps using the Metro app on our phones, and we also used Google maps while navigating the city. There is no way to see all of the city in one weekend, but you can strategically work on visiting several of the big areas in a relatively short period of time.
Madrid has many distinct neighborhoods, each with its own personality. We stayed in the Salamanca district and chose the hotel for its proximity to several subway stops/line, because we knew we would cover much of the city in a few days. Although we didn't do much venturing into Salamanca, it is a great centralized location, surrounded by many neighborhoods we wanted to visit. It's quiet with a few restaurants and stores in the middle of the hotel area, but it's mostly a residential area.
Even with using public transportation, we walked all over the place. Madrid is definitely a pedestrian-friendly city, and you need to be prepared with good shoes---we walked almost 9 miles on Friday and over 10 miles on Saturday!
Highlights:
We walked all through beautiful Retiro Park in the center. Retiro Park is like a smaller version of Central Park---there are statues, running trails, lakes, manicured gardens, and groves of trees. It's a prime location for a picnic, people watching, and a leisurely stroll (or run, if you are so inclined), and as an extra added bonus, the fall foliage was gorgeous, with vibrant shades of oranges, yellows, reds, and browns. For someone who has lived in eternal green (and occasionally brown) in the Caribbean for five years, this was a big treat! There are several small cafés and many benches to stop and take in the people and scenery. It would be easy to get lost for a couple of hours wandering around this place---and judging by the number of people out on a Friday afternoon, it's somewhere Madrileños don't take for granted.
Guess what was the very first thing we saw in Retiro? A monument to Cuba, featuring our beloved iguanas! I miss iguanas so much. You have no idea how attached you become to those bizarre creatures until you leave a place.
We also went to one of the big three museums, the Reina Sofia. We didn't hit the Prado or the Thyssen, although you can certainly squeeze all three into a weekend, if you so desire.
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The highlight of the Reina Sofia is Picasso's huge mural entitled Guernica. As art for art's sake, it's an interesting piece. It is huge, measuring 11 1/2 feet by 26 1/2 feet. It covers an entire wall of the gallery and is in its own room. The painting is typical Picasso Cubist style, with distorted faces of people and animals, all in contorted, injured, or frightened states. The colors are simple---shades of black, white, gray. It's the message and meaning that makes this painting so important to Spain (and the art world in general). It's not a subtle piece that gently wraps around you, requiring you to step back and think about it; Guernica is a sucker-punch, full of violence and tragedy. You can't take photographs, so you'll just have to trust my description (or this picture from the internet):
In 1937, defenseless civilians in this Basque village were in the town center for market day, when Italian and German planes bombarded Guernica for hours, killing over a thousand unsuspecting people, injuring hundreds more, and destroying everything with bombs and fire---homes, churches, bridges, stores. Guernica sat in the center of the Republican resistance, making it a target for Nationalist Franco and his allies. The munitions plant on the outskirts of town was left completed unscathed, leading many to the conclusion that the bombing was purely an act of terrorism. Picasso captures the terror of war and I've heard the mural referred to many times as the "most important anti-war painting."
The painting means as much to be about how I learned about it as its actual historical and artistic merits. My husband and I both studied Spanish in college---it's his major and my minor---and Guernica came up several times in our classes. I most strongly associate it with our favorite professor, Dr. Karen Austin (we lovingly called her "Austin"), who made Spain come alive for a small-town Mississippi girl who had never been to Europe. I believe somehow Karen Austin lead us to this place. It sounds strange, but hearing her stories of life as a single, young woman living in Franco's Spain in the 1970s fascinated both of us and made visiting this country one of our life-long goals. I have her to thank for my love of Spanish history and culture, my courage to move to the unknown, and in part, because of her instruction, I was better prepared to move here than any other country in Europe. Guernica brought back memories of Austin, who sadly died right as our family was getting settled in Cuba, and also made me realize, "Wow, I live here." There's so much history, so much I can now connect to what I studied, and so much more to learn. There is only a handful of places and things I really want to see in Spain, and Guernica was number one for me. Everywhere else we visit is just an extra bonus of living in this beautiful place.
As I stood there taking in it quietly for several minutes, I was speechless. I tried to explain it to my youngest, but I couldn't find any words. I was overcome with emotion---what kind of person cries at a painting? But this is it for me: Guernica epitomizes my dream of visiting Spain. I just marvel at the fact that I can always come back and visit it as long as we live a few hours away. Wow.
So what else did we see?
There was the Sol district, with the famous statue of a bear and tree (and Madrid's city symbol). As we were eating outdoors, enjoying the cooler weather, we heard many "oohs" and "aahs" and realized that the city had come alive all around us with a gorgeous display of Christmas lights. We walked around, marveling at the amount of work the city puts into one of the prettiest outdoor light displays I've ever seen. Everywhere we looked, there were sparkling lights, gigantic trees, and extravagantly animated store displays . It reminded me a lot of New York at Christmastime and made me realize that it's the beginning of the holiday season.
We walked along the Gran Vía, where are youngest declared, "Spain would be great if it weren't for all the prostitutes!" Oh buddy, I guess we don't need to take you to Amsterdam! (They were conspicuous but dressed like anyone else out for the night---he probably would not have figured it out except he heard us talking about it). We got to visit our son's school (in Moncloa) and his flat (in Chamberí), met some of his roommates, ate out a lot, tagged along as our Madrid boy deftly navigated the metro system, accidentally ended up in the middle of hundreds of people in a protest march (against domestic violence), ooh-ed and aah-ed again at the city lights, ate out a lot (yes, I know, I mentioned it already), and walked off all those calories.
Then on Sunday, with happy hearts, we headed back to the train station. The Atocha station is clean and beautiful---there is an arboretum in the middle with turtles (!!) and lots of tropical foliage--our youngest captured the best picture of it from our lot:
Now that we have a frame of reference for what is where, we can go back again and visit more areas, more museums, and revisit the places we loved. I'm like the country mouse---I love the idea of living in a big city, but I am more comfortable in my small town. We get to experience the best of two worlds here---I can live in my town and visit the big city quite easily.
The best of all: we can visit our college boy again! I never dreamed when we said goodbye at the Jacksonville airport in January and headed back to Cuba, that nine short months later we would be only a train ride away.
I totally get you crying when you saw a piece of art. I did when at 19 or 20 I saw the soundbox from Ur (SO OLD!), and many times in Israel.
ReplyDeleteAnd who DOESN'T love Cuban iggies?
As a little girl, I stood with my family in line for what seemed like hours to get to see King Tut in New Orleans. Little did I know that about a year earlier, a little boy in D.C. saw the same exhibition---and we would get married and have 2 boys who would see it with us in Dallas. It was the first big art exhibit I remember seeing, and seeing it again as an adult was also an emotional event.
DeleteI guess I'm just a softie for art? Ha.
And yes, I love those crazy iggies and miss them EVERY DAY.