Monday, September 28, 2009
Days 1-3
Day One
So… needless to say I feel like a fish out of water. No, more like a fish suffocating on a beach inches from water, torturous. Day one was not how I had imagined it would be. In my head I was this jet-setting American, who would casually come through the airport doors, have my ride ready and waiting and I would be off! Nope. I struggled with my luggage and I have a fat bruise on my leg to prove it. I had Spanish men staring at me up and down through customs and to top it all off my ride was M.I.A. Not only did I ask for help, more than once, all four (yes four) sources of information sent me in absolutely different directions. Finally, I headed to a taxi and was yelled at by numerous cab drivers.
Now the hotel I am staying in, in Madrid, through my school program is located a little off the Plaza Mayor on Atocha street, if any of you know where that is from your travels. In the midst of unpacking my belongings I have discovered that I forgot toothpaste, apparently I did need that whole bag of mint chocolates D. Jokes on me.
Day Two
Not only have I been all over Madrid I have purchased some toothpaste, found a wonderful market that serves wine and visited a palace. I wandered along the Calle de Atocha and headed to the Plaza Mayor. It was quaint with its overwhelming construction. I kept me stay short and decided to head to the Plaza del Sol. Again, quaint with its construction. As a ditch effort to find a place to eat and somewhere to hang for a bit I headed to the Palacia Real. This is the Palace of Spain’s current Royal fam. They use it for tours and for press releases. Not much else, apparently. They live in a mansion nearby, though ☺. Did I mention that the Palace was also under construction? My best find yet was the Mercado de San Miguel. Where I snagged a baguette, some local queso and a glass of vino tinto! Luckily I missed the rush of locals and foreigners alike, and my saving grace is that people are assuming I’m Spanish! Yay! If I can’t speak it well enough, fortunately I look it. I was eating at a little bar side table and the (very cute) waiter started talking to me. Of course he was talking way too fast for me to understand, finally he switches over to English and tells me that I shouldn’t be eating on a dirty table. Either that was his way of flirting with me or I have just made a total fool of myself. To give myself the benefit of the doubt I went with flirting, but then he proceeded to clean off the table for me, so maybe I am an idiot. I continued wandering around the palace and the gardens that surround the whole shin dig. I happened to witness a Spanish treat, Spanish guards were coming out of the royal palace dressed to the nines and on horseback. I have no idea what they were doing, but trumpets were blaring and they seemed to have a purpose. I then headed into the Cathedral attached to the Palace. How would you like that, a Cathedral attached to your casa? I would consider this a nouveau Cathedral, of sorts. A “suggested” one euro was requested at the front door. There was somebody sitting there giving you surly looks if you didn’t “help the Cathedral in serving the lord,” seriously that’s what it said. I paid the one-euro and got the brightest fake smile I have ever seen. You can also light an electronic prayer candle for an additional euro. Sorry guys, I will just pray for you instead of lighting a fake candle in your name. It was pretty cool, I was hoping their confessionals were open, but they weren’t. It appeared that you had to schedule an appointment to come take confession. I wonder if they’re backlogged on confessional appointments?
Later I headed off to a cell phone store to attempt to get an international sim card. Not only did it take way longer than expected, it took multiple tries. First I discover that I need me passport, so I have to wander back to the hotel to grab that along with the code that is supposed to unlock my phone. I head back to Orange (the store and yes its called Orange) to find six people in line. In the ten minutes I was gone, the line filled the entire store and made it claustrophobic for even a person, like myself, that doesn’t really mind close spaces. Forty-five minutes later, it’s my turn! The kid behind the counter has no idea what a sim is, so I pull mine out from my cell and then in unison we say “Sim!” So, he did know, jerk. He whips out a new sim, asks for my passport and in my head I’m thinking, “yes, I still have time to head across town!” Shenanigans. It takes him another twenty minutes to download all my information, make sure I’m not an illegal alien that crossed the Spanish border through Morocco on boat and then finally after all that he says that there is a problem. Crap. Well I discover that the problem is his bad data computation. Thanks dude. Now I get to wait, again, while he goes through the whole process. The line has now exceeded the six that had originally been in the store to nine plus. It’s hot, I’m getting frustrated and I can feel the angry glares on the back of my neck. FINALLY! He gets me to sign a few things and he tries to explain to me, in Spanish, how a sim works. I try to tell him, “no it’s ok, I know how they work,” but his fervor was not diminished. He was thorough sucker. He told me my new Spanish number, I think, three times and told me how to dial the number another three times. At that point the grumblings behind me had turned to dull roars and rude remarks so I grabbed the sim box, my phone and said goodbye as I spun around to leave. At that precise moment I almost slammed my entire body into a very larger, very in charge black man who could not have been very pleased with me. I peeped out a “lo siento” and peaced. I think there was a sigh of relief that followed me out the door.
Day Three
Today has been by far my best day yet! Not that two days really makes a big difference, but I felt more relaxed and resilient today. Although, I got woken up for the second time, for room cleaning. In attempt to not have my passport or belongings stolen (not that they would, I just don’t want to risk it) I have kept the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the outside of my door. I think the cleaning lady knows I’m lying. She says that she is cleaning NOW, no exceptions. Have any of you ever encountered a feisty cleaning lady? It’s weird. I’m standing there in a shirt and a pair of underoos and she barges in with all her cleaning supplies ignoring the fact that I am not even awake yet. She made my bed, vacuumed and cleaned every surface in the room. She says a very snooty “Gracias” and leaves in a matter of minutes; I don’t think that I’ve moved. I try to crawl back into bed and the sheets are pushed so far under the mattress I have to yank them out. I think she was trying to drop the hint that I should get my tush out of bed and do something with my life. After breakfast I disappear off to the Botanical Gardens immediately. Now, to backtrack one minute, I am under the impression that this Botanical Garden in going to be like the other Botanical Gardens I have visited. Think of the one in LA and you know what I mean. It’s not like that at all. On the pamphlet it is quoted as the “Live Museum of Plants.” That is exactly what it’s like. The feral cats around the place were the most entertaining things to watch, or see, for that matter. The fun thing about the Botanicl Garden is that it back up to the Prado Museum, a massive local park (that is significantly prettier) and Yuppie central. Since I’m doing the whole museum thing in a day or two with school I wander around the grounds and find a very friendly looking tapas bar. I also discover that I am not the only one that finds the bar charming and a German couple asks if they can share the table with me, since there are no more tables open. I must look like a low risk endeavor, because this is already not the first time Germans have sat at my table. Good thing they did though, we chatted a bit and we shared some tapas and wine. They were kind enough to even cover my tab! After that I explored the gigantic park and found a nice shady spot to catch up on some reading. All in all it was a very relaxing day in Madrid!
So… needless to say I feel like a fish out of water. No, more like a fish suffocating on a beach inches from water, torturous. Day one was not how I had imagined it would be. In my head I was this jet-setting American, who would casually come through the airport doors, have my ride ready and waiting and I would be off! Nope. I struggled with my luggage and I have a fat bruise on my leg to prove it. I had Spanish men staring at me up and down through customs and to top it all off my ride was M.I.A. Not only did I ask for help, more than once, all four (yes four) sources of information sent me in absolutely different directions. Finally, I headed to a taxi and was yelled at by numerous cab drivers.
Now the hotel I am staying in, in Madrid, through my school program is located a little off the Plaza Mayor on Atocha street, if any of you know where that is from your travels. In the midst of unpacking my belongings I have discovered that I forgot toothpaste, apparently I did need that whole bag of mint chocolates D. Jokes on me.
Day Two
Not only have I been all over Madrid I have purchased some toothpaste, found a wonderful market that serves wine and visited a palace. I wandered along the Calle de Atocha and headed to the Plaza Mayor. It was quaint with its overwhelming construction. I kept me stay short and decided to head to the Plaza del Sol. Again, quaint with its construction. As a ditch effort to find a place to eat and somewhere to hang for a bit I headed to the Palacia Real. This is the Palace of Spain’s current Royal fam. They use it for tours and for press releases. Not much else, apparently. They live in a mansion nearby, though ☺. Did I mention that the Palace was also under construction? My best find yet was the Mercado de San Miguel. Where I snagged a baguette, some local queso and a glass of vino tinto! Luckily I missed the rush of locals and foreigners alike, and my saving grace is that people are assuming I’m Spanish! Yay! If I can’t speak it well enough, fortunately I look it. I was eating at a little bar side table and the (very cute) waiter started talking to me. Of course he was talking way too fast for me to understand, finally he switches over to English and tells me that I shouldn’t be eating on a dirty table. Either that was his way of flirting with me or I have just made a total fool of myself. To give myself the benefit of the doubt I went with flirting, but then he proceeded to clean off the table for me, so maybe I am an idiot. I continued wandering around the palace and the gardens that surround the whole shin dig. I happened to witness a Spanish treat, Spanish guards were coming out of the royal palace dressed to the nines and on horseback. I have no idea what they were doing, but trumpets were blaring and they seemed to have a purpose. I then headed into the Cathedral attached to the Palace. How would you like that, a Cathedral attached to your casa? I would consider this a nouveau Cathedral, of sorts. A “suggested” one euro was requested at the front door. There was somebody sitting there giving you surly looks if you didn’t “help the Cathedral in serving the lord,” seriously that’s what it said. I paid the one-euro and got the brightest fake smile I have ever seen. You can also light an electronic prayer candle for an additional euro. Sorry guys, I will just pray for you instead of lighting a fake candle in your name. It was pretty cool, I was hoping their confessionals were open, but they weren’t. It appeared that you had to schedule an appointment to come take confession. I wonder if they’re backlogged on confessional appointments?
Later I headed off to a cell phone store to attempt to get an international sim card. Not only did it take way longer than expected, it took multiple tries. First I discover that I need me passport, so I have to wander back to the hotel to grab that along with the code that is supposed to unlock my phone. I head back to Orange (the store and yes its called Orange) to find six people in line. In the ten minutes I was gone, the line filled the entire store and made it claustrophobic for even a person, like myself, that doesn’t really mind close spaces. Forty-five minutes later, it’s my turn! The kid behind the counter has no idea what a sim is, so I pull mine out from my cell and then in unison we say “Sim!” So, he did know, jerk. He whips out a new sim, asks for my passport and in my head I’m thinking, “yes, I still have time to head across town!” Shenanigans. It takes him another twenty minutes to download all my information, make sure I’m not an illegal alien that crossed the Spanish border through Morocco on boat and then finally after all that he says that there is a problem. Crap. Well I discover that the problem is his bad data computation. Thanks dude. Now I get to wait, again, while he goes through the whole process. The line has now exceeded the six that had originally been in the store to nine plus. It’s hot, I’m getting frustrated and I can feel the angry glares on the back of my neck. FINALLY! He gets me to sign a few things and he tries to explain to me, in Spanish, how a sim works. I try to tell him, “no it’s ok, I know how they work,” but his fervor was not diminished. He was thorough sucker. He told me my new Spanish number, I think, three times and told me how to dial the number another three times. At that point the grumblings behind me had turned to dull roars and rude remarks so I grabbed the sim box, my phone and said goodbye as I spun around to leave. At that precise moment I almost slammed my entire body into a very larger, very in charge black man who could not have been very pleased with me. I peeped out a “lo siento” and peaced. I think there was a sigh of relief that followed me out the door.
Day Three
Today has been by far my best day yet! Not that two days really makes a big difference, but I felt more relaxed and resilient today. Although, I got woken up for the second time, for room cleaning. In attempt to not have my passport or belongings stolen (not that they would, I just don’t want to risk it) I have kept the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the outside of my door. I think the cleaning lady knows I’m lying. She says that she is cleaning NOW, no exceptions. Have any of you ever encountered a feisty cleaning lady? It’s weird. I’m standing there in a shirt and a pair of underoos and she barges in with all her cleaning supplies ignoring the fact that I am not even awake yet. She made my bed, vacuumed and cleaned every surface in the room. She says a very snooty “Gracias” and leaves in a matter of minutes; I don’t think that I’ve moved. I try to crawl back into bed and the sheets are pushed so far under the mattress I have to yank them out. I think she was trying to drop the hint that I should get my tush out of bed and do something with my life. After breakfast I disappear off to the Botanical Gardens immediately. Now, to backtrack one minute, I am under the impression that this Botanical Garden in going to be like the other Botanical Gardens I have visited. Think of the one in LA and you know what I mean. It’s not like that at all. On the pamphlet it is quoted as the “Live Museum of Plants.” That is exactly what it’s like. The feral cats around the place were the most entertaining things to watch, or see, for that matter. The fun thing about the Botanicl Garden is that it back up to the Prado Museum, a massive local park (that is significantly prettier) and Yuppie central. Since I’m doing the whole museum thing in a day or two with school I wander around the grounds and find a very friendly looking tapas bar. I also discover that I am not the only one that finds the bar charming and a German couple asks if they can share the table with me, since there are no more tables open. I must look like a low risk endeavor, because this is already not the first time Germans have sat at my table. Good thing they did though, we chatted a bit and we shared some tapas and wine. They were kind enough to even cover my tab! After that I explored the gigantic park and found a nice shady spot to catch up on some reading. All in all it was a very relaxing day in Madrid!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Getting Started!!!
I am days away from my departure into Spain and I still don't have all of my to do list done. I have not made reservations for my hotel, I haven't printed out my boarding pass and my half packed bag at my feet is reminding me that I still have packing to do. My girlfriend Alana was kind enough to help me figure out everything that I am going to need to take, but I have made a mess of her once folded piles of my clothes. Crap. I am nervous and excited and pretty sure I need to brush up on my spanish pronto, but I have the essential phrases down. "Yo necessito mas vino" and "Donde esta el bano?" Everything else is just secondary. :)
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