Sun, Sangria...Spain in the Springtime!!

Rob is battling with the giant squid!
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Our trip out of Marseille got off to a very positive start. We had planned to leave ourselves enough time to catch a bus to the Metro and then the Metro to the Train Station and then a shuttle bus to the airport...which would probably have taken about 2 hours and cost us well in excess of 20 Euro...fortunately we overheard some folks from the Netherlands about to leave our hostel chatting about their own plans to get to the airport. Denise had the good sense to ask if we might be able to get a ride - since they had their own rental car and they kindly agreed [welcome to the blog Joke and Pieter!]. Ryanair departs from Terminal 2 at Marseille Airport - an open, clean and simple hall that mirrors the low-cost airline ethos. It was our first Ryanair experience and it was not bad - the seats don´t recline and even the magazine pouches you normally find on the seat in front of you were missing - but you expect that kind of thing with a low cost flight.

Murat with his first home-made chocolate cake!
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We got to Madrid by about 11pm - nice airport (quite large) but a long walk from where we landed to get to the Metro link. Denise has been to Madrid before, about 4 years ago, but it was my first visit and I have to say that it is now definitely one of my favourite cities in Europe. The Metro is just one example of why - it is spotless, modern, spacious, punctual, and totally convenient...plus it runs until really late, as I was to later discover, does the rest of the city. We ended up in the city centre at the Sevilla Metro station where we met up with Franca, an old friend and ex-colleague of Denise's, who had very kindly offered to host us for the Madrid leg of our trip. After a quick walk we found a picture-perfect square and grabbed some seats at a street cafe for drinks and my first taste of authentic Spanish paella. It's worth noting however that paella in Spain is, unless made by friends or at a more out-of-the-way restaraunt, likely to be a rip-off in terms of price. We paid more than 10 euro for a single portion - the same amount that we ended up paying for all the ingredients needed to make a home-made one later in the week that fed 9 people! Still, we were in Madrid and it tasted like it!

Madrid is Definitely one of our favourite European Cities

Some of our yummy ingredients!
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The other thing to be said about Madrid is that it REALLY never sleeps. I have been to cities before in which it has been said that the locals like to eat and party late...in Madrid this is 150% the case. Firstly NOTHING (except a few big chain stores) is open between about 2pm and 6pm (siesta does still happen!) and it is almost impossible to get dinner before 8pm. Most people eat between 10pm and midnight and then head to the clubs from about 2am onwards...and the parties last ALL morning. The result is traffic jams at 4am and more people out and about past midnight than I have ever experienced...it is great fun but hugely exhausting.

The final product!!
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Franca shares a 4th floor apartment in the centre of the city with Paz (a Spanish girl who works for a landscaping company) and Mourat (a Turkish guy who lived in Germany for a while and now works for American Express in Madrid). The apartment is very big and after doing the hostel circuit for a month now it was like heaven - free laundry, a roof-top sun terrace, and home-cooked meals. Franca had also decided to give up her room for us and so, whilst she slept in the attic, we had the luxury of a very comfortable double bed, into which we collapsed at about 3am!!

Rob with our star chef Paz!
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Wednesday was a quiet day of laundry and relaxation. Franca and her flatmates were working so we felt no pressure to emerge from the apartment until mid-afternoon when we left for a quick look around. We found a Turkish Doner Kebab spot just around the corner which became our regular quick food spot in Madrid (they also serve Ayran - a salty yoghurt drink on ice that Denise loves and I find impossible to stomach). We made our way to Puerta del Sol - one of the major squares that was quite nearby. Again the contruction crews and scaffolding were everywhere (seems Madrid is undergoing major facelifts) but we still managed to find the famous fountain, the statue of the bear pushing over the cherry tree (the symbol of Madrid) and one of the ubiquitous Museo del Jamon restaraunts (jamon is cured ham and one of the best features of Spanish tapas cuisine - although I may be biased since I love my meat so much) - eating at the bar saves you significantly over eating at a table - something to bear in mind if you are on a tight budget. The one feature of the square that we had been looking for and didn't find was the Zero KM point - literally the center of all Spain from which all distances in the country are measured (it took us 3 tries in later days to find - its a small semi-circular tiled plaque on the sidewalk directly in front of the door leading to the clock tower). We did find a fun performance artist in a side-street and then grabbed a few groceries from El Corte Ingles (the Short Englishman - one of the largest department store chains in Spain) and headed back. Franca was already home so we changed and headed out to a nice fusion restaraunt called Spott nearby for dinner. It was an early night - in bed before 1am!!

View over Toledo
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Thursday was another late sleep - we were up at about noon. We sent a text message to our German friend Jana (who you may recall from our Marseille entry) to meet up for a drink at Puerta del Sol, since she was also in Madrid. Grabbing another kebab en route we found her and made our way to one of the myriad street cafes where we discovered one of the best features of Spain - the Spanish Hot Chocolate. It is so thick that you can stand your spoon up in it, and it is really more like pudding than liquid, but SOOO good! I had experienced it once before in Brazil, but was really happy to find it again - and Denise was hooked of course. After saying goodbye to Jana, who was headed off to Tarifa, we walked through the Plaza Mayor, which is worth seeing if for no other reason than the unbroken circle of buildings surrounding it, and then on to the Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Almudena - completed only in 1992 it is very modern inside (which may explain why it is less than popular with most locals) but we were suprised to also find the tomb within of the founder of the Opus Dei movement (if you have read/seen the Da Vinci Code you will know what that is) - which it turns out has been partially responsible for the Spanish economic recovery of the last decade or so. We also had a look at the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) from the outside, but it was already closed to the public for the day (doors close at 6pm in Summer) so we wandered through the very beautiful side streets of the palace and the Sabatini Gardens. The Plaza de Oriente (also mainly gardens) was filled with local enjoying the superb weather, and local musicians and performance groups. On the way home we stopped for another irresistable Spanish Hot Chocolate, this time served with Churros, a donut-like dough stick that you dip into the Hot Chocolate. Can it be any more decadent? We also met some new friends in our Chocolateria (RJ and Ena - welcome to the Blog!). It was a super way to spend an evening - especially since we later met up with Franca and enjoyed that great Spanish tradition - Sangria!!

Rob eating his favourite Santa Tomé Marzipan from Toledo.
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Friday morning was spent researching our Moroccan adventure and uploading pics to the blog. We left the apartment at around 15:00 and found a very well-stocked English bookstore near the Goya Metro stop to replenish our supply of reading material. We then walked to the Retiro Gardens, the Green Heart of the city. Wish we had had more time here - the lake is super and the Crystal Palace and hundreds of little green paths make the perfect spots for relaxation and reading. The lake was actually a hive of activity as it was being set up for a performance of Swan Lake to mark the festival of Madrid's Patron Saint later in the week. We rejoined Franca at the apartment and walked to one of the local fresh fish markets to get the ingredients for our home-made paella. From Eel head, to whole calamari, prawns, mussels, and clams - it was a feast for a King, and now we know how to do it! We also had home-made Spanish tortillas (very different from the Tex-Mex version). The meal was made with the advice and help of all the flatmates plus about 5 other friends who came over - we only ate after midnight but it was sooooo good.

Denise relaxing in front of the Cathedral in Toledo
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Saturday was our day trip to Toledo by bus. We arrived after about 1 hour on the road, and I was really impressed by our first views - the old city is up on the hill and looks very picturesque. We were pleasantly suprised that the city wasn't over-run by tourists as we had been warned, but was actually very quiet. We saw the main sights which included the Plaza de Zocodover (found the same marzipan shop in which Denise had, 4 years earlier, bought me the local marzipan treats), the Alcazar (fortress) which was closed, the Tajo River, the Military Academy, and the Cathedral (which we admired from outside since the entry fee of 6 Euro seemed a little steep). We also made our way to the two old Jewish synagogues, and the house of El Greco (under restoration so not open either). We stopped at a very quaint tree-lined square for drinks and to update our journals, and watched a wedding procession passing by. Back in Madrid we joined Franca and friends for a very raucous viewing of the Eurovision Music contest finale - accompanied by much food and sangria.

Procession in Toledo
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Sunday was our day for the bullfight - please take the time to read the description and see our pics under the "Thing to Do" section above this entry...it was spectacular!