I took a short trip to Madrid this weekend. Jessica, Greyson and I left Friday afternoon and returned to Toledo late Saturday evening. We didn't have a concrete plan, except to get out of Toledo for a bit. After setting into our hostel, we wandered in search of a snack. It was chilly and drizzly so we ducked into a warm looking bar and quickly improved our condition. We wandered the city for awhile, stopping in for a caña (small house beer) whenever we needed a break from the wind. By chance, we ended up in front of a jazz bar that Jessica had heard about; the last time she tried to go it was too crowded. The live music (a very talented piano and harmonica duo) didn't start until 9:00, and it was 7:15, but we went inside to get a spot. We munched on chips and olives (and wine) until the show started and we ordered dinner. The music was great, and the atmosphere was cheerful and relaxed. It was a lovely evening. We went back to the hostel "early" by Spanish terms (in bed before 1:00am? Silly).
We were greeted with sunny skies Saturday morning as we left the hostel in search of churros con chocolate.
After "breakfast" we wandered (we did a lot of that!) in the direction of the Cathedral and Royal Palace, taking our time and enjoying the life of the city. We toured the Cathedral and then walked to the Temple of Debod, which is an ancient (over 2,200 years old) Egyptian temple gifted to Spain in 1968 in thanksgiving for military help. I visited both sights in my trips last year, but I can't complain about simply being in Madrid.
After a hearty lunch in the Chueca district we were...sleepy. So we did some window shopping in an alternative mall and walked the streets, thankful that it was not rainy. We ended up in Puerta del Sol, and took in the different street performers (earlier, I was scared, really scared, by two "heads" sitting on tables who loudly growled as I walked passed. I jumped in the air and shrieked...). We noticed a crowd drawing across from the Correos building and we thought we stumbled upon Los Goya awards-the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars. There were guard rails set up and we had a great view of the red carpet. Jessica and I immediately assumed that we would be graced by the presence of Javier Bardem himself, and we forced Greyson to wait with us. Ninety minutes and several guests later, we had frozen fingers (it was 7:40pm at this point), poor-quality pictures of people we didn't recognize, and no Javi. I did a little research today and I don't think that it was the actual awards, but some sort of reception for nominees, perhaps. It was still an experience!
We meet a fellow auxiliar and her husband for dinner at a small Thai restaurant and with full stomachs we made our way back to the bus station and caught the 11:00pm bus to Toledo.
I really love Madrid. I don't think I would enjoy calling it home, but I do intend to make more trips like this. It is so close! Today I am catching up on lesson prep and homework for my online class.
I hope you all are well: safe and warm. I will admit, I miss having snow!
Un abrazo.
Sarah
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