Last month, driven to restlessness and boredom by an unexpected dry spell at work, I decided it was time to take care of this 2012's installment of my goal to visit one new country every year. I sat down at my computer, fired up Orbitz, and just started searching flights from New York to various random European cities for the following weekend. The clear winner, by hundreds of dollars, turned out to be Madrid.
A week later, with borrowed guidebooks in my carry-on and far lighter luggage than I'm used to schlepping, I was on a flight. After a year of trips that lasted anywhere from three weeks to two months, packing for a 4-day trip to one city was absurdly easy. Also, since my goal for the trip included little beyond wandering in the sun and stopping to enjoy some sangria and tapas, a hotel reservation and a basic list of major sites prepared at the airport bar seemed like more than sufficient planning.
Madrid was every bit as laid back as I hoped it would be. Although the forecast called for rain for half my trip, I lucked out and only had a passing shower here and there my first two days. And while I saw everything on my list, I didn't manage to do a single thing according to the rough itinerary I had sketched out for myself. It was all so delightfully spontaneous and relaxed.
The heart of the city (at least for tourists) is Plaza Mayor, a large pedestrian square surrounded by old buildings and arcaded shops.
In the warm weather, the restaurants on all sides of the square spill out onto the cobblestones and set up tables where people can sit for hours on end, just eating and drinking and watching the world go by. I spent many an hour at the various places, enjoying some sangria and soaking up both the sun and the local flavor.
The rest of my days were filled with parks, Spanish opera, flamenco shows and the requisite visit to the Prado to see Goya's "Black Paintings." The other big highlight of Madrid, in my opinion, was the Palacio Real, the stunning royal palace (where indoor photography was, unfortunately, forbidden).
As lovely as all of the sites were, the real attraction of Madrid is simply walking around. The city is compact enough that almost everything can be reached on foot, and everywhere you go, no matter what time of day or night it is, the streets are full of people strolling aimlessly. Without any real fear of getting lost or ending up in a bad area, it was easy to spend hours turning down random side streets and popping into little shops along the way. The slow pace of life was a welcome change from New York, although I did have several moments when I wondered how anyone ever actually got anywhere by walking that slowly.
And we must not forget the tapas. There are so many delicious food options everywhere you turn that it would be impossible to come close to trying them all during your stay.
The seafood was amazing, as were each of the 100 different ways that they have come up with to prepare ham. And I didn't even mind the olives, which is saying a lot. Thankfully all of the food was offset by all of the walking....
And on that note, I need to find myself some lunch.
A week later, with borrowed guidebooks in my carry-on and far lighter luggage than I'm used to schlepping, I was on a flight. After a year of trips that lasted anywhere from three weeks to two months, packing for a 4-day trip to one city was absurdly easy. Also, since my goal for the trip included little beyond wandering in the sun and stopping to enjoy some sangria and tapas, a hotel reservation and a basic list of major sites prepared at the airport bar seemed like more than sufficient planning.
Madrid was every bit as laid back as I hoped it would be. Although the forecast called for rain for half my trip, I lucked out and only had a passing shower here and there my first two days. And while I saw everything on my list, I didn't manage to do a single thing according to the rough itinerary I had sketched out for myself. It was all so delightfully spontaneous and relaxed.
The heart of the city (at least for tourists) is Plaza Mayor, a large pedestrian square surrounded by old buildings and arcaded shops.
In the warm weather, the restaurants on all sides of the square spill out onto the cobblestones and set up tables where people can sit for hours on end, just eating and drinking and watching the world go by. I spent many an hour at the various places, enjoying some sangria and soaking up both the sun and the local flavor.
The rest of my days were filled with parks, Spanish opera, flamenco shows and the requisite visit to the Prado to see Goya's "Black Paintings." The other big highlight of Madrid, in my opinion, was the Palacio Real, the stunning royal palace (where indoor photography was, unfortunately, forbidden).
As lovely as all of the sites were, the real attraction of Madrid is simply walking around. The city is compact enough that almost everything can be reached on foot, and everywhere you go, no matter what time of day or night it is, the streets are full of people strolling aimlessly. Without any real fear of getting lost or ending up in a bad area, it was easy to spend hours turning down random side streets and popping into little shops along the way. The slow pace of life was a welcome change from New York, although I did have several moments when I wondered how anyone ever actually got anywhere by walking that slowly.
And we must not forget the tapas. There are so many delicious food options everywhere you turn that it would be impossible to come close to trying them all during your stay.
The seafood was amazing, as were each of the 100 different ways that they have come up with to prepare ham. And I didn't even mind the olives, which is saying a lot. Thankfully all of the food was offset by all of the walking....
And on that note, I need to find myself some lunch.
