The Adventures of Merrick: Madrid

April 18th, 2013

Courtrooms. Trials. Testimonies. In Spanish.

That's something I wasn't expecting to do during my study abroad.

Because the real court date for the robbery/assault case wont be for another few years, I was required make a date with the court systems here to do my part of the testimony against my attacker. It's been almost two months since the accident. However that doesn't make it any less awkward having to see him in person. Especially when he denies claims of assault against me. Seeing as he will have six other cases against him, I'm sure his false claims won't really have any effect.

But phew, I'm glad that I can officially put this all behind me!

And, within 48 hours of returning to Alicante from the Balearic Islands, I'm off to Madrid for the long weekend.

April 22, 2013

People generally ask, "Which city do you like more, Barcelona or Madrid?" Before I got here, I thought this was a perfectly appropriate question. One that seemed pretty straight forward, if anything. However, I now realize that it is impossible to compare the two. They are practically polar opposites.

Madrid, unlike Barcelona, is much more in touch with its Spanish roots. The city is teeming with classic Spanish architecture and monuments. They seem to be particularly fond of monuments of military leaders on horses. The city seems to go on forever (and it does), but at the same time is surprisingly walkable.

I'm feeling a list:

Things I loved about Madrid:

1. You can see most of the important sites and museums in one day walking
2. They have THE BEST park in the world. I could live there.
3. The metro system is ridiculously organized and timely. I never waited more than five minutes for a metro.
4. The life of this city is incredible. The streets are constantly flooded with people, and there is always something going on somewhere, whether it is salsa dancing during the week or inline skating at the park.
5. Outdoor rocodromos in the city. Open at all hours. How neat is that?
6. You can take day-trips to other neat places like Toledo and Segovia fairly easily for relatively cheap.
7. Churros and chocolate.

Things that weren't so great about Madrid:

1. Fucking Rastro resulted in the pickpocketing of the iPhone that I literally just got back. I know that's completely my fault, but still...
2. Because the city goes on forever, it's impossible to leave the city and see the mountains, lakes, or anything outdoorsy without a car.
3. Finding a general grocery store is pretty difficult.
4. Madrid likes to start fiesta-ing even later than the rest of Spain. You don't even leave to go out until 1:30am. My body can't handle that.
5. It can be expensive in Madrid.

There's of course more, but that would be starting to get into the nitty-gritty.

For anyone looking to go to Madrid, they offer a very informative, entertaining, and free walking tour offered every day. It covered about half of the main sites in the central Madrid area, and our tour guide was straight out of a Scooby-Doo episode. Complete with a tweed jacket and psychedelic shades, his dialogue was littered with "groovy" and "far out" slang.

Continuing with lists, this was also my first experience traveling alone:

Awesome things about traveling alone:

1. Get to do what I want, when I want, without having to compromise or consult with anyone else.
2. More inclined to meet new people, which leads to getting to know some really cool people from all walks of life. Not to mention expanding that traveling network :)
3. It is really relaxing to just wander through the streets of a beautiful city in silent admiration.

The other side of traveling alone:

1. Lonely.
2. It can get costly in terms of food. It's never easy buying for one.
3. Safety and overall comfort level is a little uprooted.

Despite there being con's to my pro's, the trip was undoubtedly fabulous. I met some really interesting people, including an Australian who was living in South America for 15 months and an Italian dude that gave a very impressive performance to all the people in our hostel during a group dinner. I got to experience yet another Spanish police station. Believe it or not, I saw MORE Spanish cathedrals :P I got to do a little outdoor climbing, both on real rock and at a really spiffy city rocodromo. Perhaps one of the most impressive parts of my 5 day stay was that I managed to keep spending to under 30 euro. In Madrid, that's saying something.

Would I go back? Yes. Would I go back from more than a day? Hmmm depends.

Madrid marked the beginning: I am officially homesick. I saw a picture of Kingman, AZ in the Reina Sofia museum, and I have never had such a weird sensation come over me. Just looking at the picture I was immediately longing to come home. I don't even live in Kingman; it's not even close to Phoenix. Yet, I guess my subconscious believes it's close enough.

It took 4 months to kick in, but there's no denying it now.

Pictures: