Day 46
Day 46: Madrid: 2/14/09
if you read yesterday's blog, you may think that Madrid is a horrible place to not offer me a place to sleep. Thankfully, a fellow volunteer from Pueblo Ingles helped me out. But he left in the morning and I had to check out before noon. So at 11:35, when I heard the maid next door, I turned in the room key. However, the receptionist was so nice! I asked where an internet cafe was and she told me, then she offered to put my suitcase in the corner while I went. I was uncertain at first, but as John said earlier this week, “how are we to be trusted by anyone unless we trust as well?”
But the internet cafe was a little harder to find than I thought. In Prague, the only things you can find more of than internet cafes are abandoned churches. I tried Starbucks but they didn't have WIFI so as someone tried to hand me an ad,
“Hola, hi. Hables Ingles?”
“Yes.”
“Where is an Internet cafe?”
“First you take my flyer, than I'll tell you.”
This made me laugh so I pocketed his paper then asked again. He told me with a smile and I thanked him “gracias” and went down the exact same road I came down.
As it turns out, the internet cafe was right across from the hotel I had left an hour ago. It was both a restaurant and a I-cafe. I made my way downstairs and paid half of a euro for ten minutes. But ten minutes wasn't enough to research Madrid hostels. No place was available by internet registration nor phone calls. I could book for tomorrow night, but tonight was a no go.
It then occurred to me that I could go back to the hotel and pay 40 euros for the night if I couldn't find anything else. So two euros and one hour later, I still had no place for the night. I now remember couchsurfing.com but I'm not too sure if my mom would appreciate that. I even checked hostels in Toledo but its apparently hard to book for a hotel the day of.
Walking back to the Filippe hotel was embarrassing. I asked the receptionist if there was a room available but there was only one she said with a grimace. Three beds for 80 some euros. Inwardly, I sighed. “But,” she continued in rather good English, she could let me stay here for one night, having heard my sob story. Besides, she said, “you seem a good boy.”
So with bags dropped and luggage behind a locked door, I was free to explore Madrid.
Having already been to Sol Plaza, I briskly walked past the old buildings, taking in the sights of people instead.
I passed a cheerful midget talking to a friend, a mariachi band busking, and a begging woman with deformed arms. Walking through the crowds, all through out the day, I kept my hands in my pockets and around my wallet, cell phone, and camera.
My first destination was the Palace of Communications. Odd name. Wikipedia calls it City Hall and it looks like a beautiful castle-esque palace.
Next was Plaza de Mayor. It looks big on the map and indeed it is. Dozens upon dozens of tables were scattered outside restuarants and people were just lounging around on the tiles. I spotted a man painted silver taking a break but the number one performer was a man who was a juggler second and entertainer first. He made a big show of getting on his unicycle and even got some little girls screaming when he finally got on. Then he started juggling sticks that were barely on fire but he stood up on one foot and juggled beneath his lifted leg once. I continued on my way to th Catedral de la Almudena. A gorgeous building built some time ago but with architecture that dazzles tourists. It and the Palacio Real look over a hill that stares out at the mountains beyond the city of Madrid. Inside the Cathedral, which I was surprised tourists got to go into, it was even more amazing. From the sun bursting in through stained glass windows to the huge organ pipes in the back, the whole church was great.
The Palacio Real, I think where official government stuff takes place, looks built in the 19th century, maybe earlier, but very Barogue.
I passed the Theatre Real opera house and the Senado, whatever that is. But the Temple de Debod was where I paused for a few moments. The Egypt government gave Madrid this authentic 3rd century BC temple for some reason. The park surrounding the Egyptian temple was very populated with young people as well as old, just chilling in the sun or the shade. Now the Egyptian remains are not that impressive to look at but its very cool if you think about how old those bricks are. Too young to be built by Hebrew slaves but still very old.
The Plaza de Espana held an amazing fountain and a tower of sorts, very photogenic. A lot of people were taking pictures and a man asked me to take his picture. He smiled and asked me in English so I was happy to oblige. The problem was that the sun was glaring off of the buildings behind him and I didn't see where the flash button was on his camera. He finally got it going and I took a halfway decent picture of him. Then he said gracias. But he knew I spoke English. Aw well.
I started to head back to my hotel room cause I was getting hungry and I had some food packed away. I went through Plaza Mayor again for fun and to see all of the different busking acts again. Later in the afternoon, there were more musicians, an Arabic woman dancer, and Disney characters selling balloons.
I'm in my hotel room now, and now I plan on going to the famous Prado art museum. It is supposed to be free after six, I think. So now I'm going to go to that internet cafe, load up this blog, maybe say hi to people on facebook, and go see some art by way of Puerta de Alcala and Plaza Canovas del Castillo.
if you read yesterday's blog, you may think that Madrid is a horrible place to not offer me a place to sleep. Thankfully, a fellow volunteer from Pueblo Ingles helped me out. But he left in the morning and I had to check out before noon. So at 11:35, when I heard the maid next door, I turned in the room key. However, the receptionist was so nice! I asked where an internet cafe was and she told me, then she offered to put my suitcase in the corner while I went. I was uncertain at first, but as John said earlier this week, “how are we to be trusted by anyone unless we trust as well?”
But the internet cafe was a little harder to find than I thought. In Prague, the only things you can find more of than internet cafes are abandoned churches. I tried Starbucks but they didn't have WIFI so as someone tried to hand me an ad,
“Hola, hi. Hables Ingles?”
“Yes.”
“Where is an Internet cafe?”
“First you take my flyer, than I'll tell you.”
This made me laugh so I pocketed his paper then asked again. He told me with a smile and I thanked him “gracias” and went down the exact same road I came down.
As it turns out, the internet cafe was right across from the hotel I had left an hour ago. It was both a restaurant and a I-cafe. I made my way downstairs and paid half of a euro for ten minutes. But ten minutes wasn't enough to research Madrid hostels. No place was available by internet registration nor phone calls. I could book for tomorrow night, but tonight was a no go.
It then occurred to me that I could go back to the hotel and pay 40 euros for the night if I couldn't find anything else. So two euros and one hour later, I still had no place for the night. I now remember couchsurfing.com but I'm not too sure if my mom would appreciate that. I even checked hostels in Toledo but its apparently hard to book for a hotel the day of.
Walking back to the Filippe hotel was embarrassing. I asked the receptionist if there was a room available but there was only one she said with a grimace. Three beds for 80 some euros. Inwardly, I sighed. “But,” she continued in rather good English, she could let me stay here for one night, having heard my sob story. Besides, she said, “you seem a good boy.”
So with bags dropped and luggage behind a locked door, I was free to explore Madrid.
Having already been to Sol Plaza, I briskly walked past the old buildings, taking in the sights of people instead.
I passed a cheerful midget talking to a friend, a mariachi band busking, and a begging woman with deformed arms. Walking through the crowds, all through out the day, I kept my hands in my pockets and around my wallet, cell phone, and camera.
My first destination was the Palace of Communications. Odd name. Wikipedia calls it City Hall and it looks like a beautiful castle-esque palace.
Next was Plaza de Mayor. It looks big on the map and indeed it is. Dozens upon dozens of tables were scattered outside restuarants and people were just lounging around on the tiles. I spotted a man painted silver taking a break but the number one performer was a man who was a juggler second and entertainer first. He made a big show of getting on his unicycle and even got some little girls screaming when he finally got on. Then he started juggling sticks that were barely on fire but he stood up on one foot and juggled beneath his lifted leg once. I continued on my way to th Catedral de la Almudena. A gorgeous building built some time ago but with architecture that dazzles tourists. It and the Palacio Real look over a hill that stares out at the mountains beyond the city of Madrid. Inside the Cathedral, which I was surprised tourists got to go into, it was even more amazing. From the sun bursting in through stained glass windows to the huge organ pipes in the back, the whole church was great.
The Palacio Real, I think where official government stuff takes place, looks built in the 19th century, maybe earlier, but very Barogue.
I passed the Theatre Real opera house and the Senado, whatever that is. But the Temple de Debod was where I paused for a few moments. The Egypt government gave Madrid this authentic 3rd century BC temple for some reason. The park surrounding the Egyptian temple was very populated with young people as well as old, just chilling in the sun or the shade. Now the Egyptian remains are not that impressive to look at but its very cool if you think about how old those bricks are. Too young to be built by Hebrew slaves but still very old.
The Plaza de Espana held an amazing fountain and a tower of sorts, very photogenic. A lot of people were taking pictures and a man asked me to take his picture. He smiled and asked me in English so I was happy to oblige. The problem was that the sun was glaring off of the buildings behind him and I didn't see where the flash button was on his camera. He finally got it going and I took a halfway decent picture of him. Then he said gracias. But he knew I spoke English. Aw well.
I started to head back to my hotel room cause I was getting hungry and I had some food packed away. I went through Plaza Mayor again for fun and to see all of the different busking acts again. Later in the afternoon, there were more musicians, an Arabic woman dancer, and Disney characters selling balloons.
I'm in my hotel room now, and now I plan on going to the famous Prado art museum. It is supposed to be free after six, I think. So now I'm going to go to that internet cafe, load up this blog, maybe say hi to people on facebook, and go see some art by way of Puerta de Alcala and Plaza Canovas del Castillo.
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