I have spent the past 24 hours in the beautiful city of Madrid, arriving yesterday around 2:15. Thanks to many gestures from strangers at the airport I finally crossed the street to wait at the correct bus stop to catch the city centre bus from the airport –so far so good. I had google directions to the Casa de la Plaza hostel from the city centre stop so it should have been a piece of cake,right?
I arrived at my hostel at about 5 pm after almost 3 hours of hopeless wandering. Google uses street names, so does Madrid but it took me 2 hours to realize they are painted onto the buildings. There is no grid here but there are beautiful plazas –Plaza Mayor and Plaza del Sol and Plaza Miguel –all beautiful and all very close to my hostel –I have walked through them many, many times while looking for this place. You may be able to imagine my joy when I finally did find my home for the night.
After checking in and having a quick shower I headed back out to hunt down my first glass of Spanish wine and a bear statue where I was to meet Pen, a friend of a friend. I took great stock into where home was so I wouldn’t get lost again, but I did anyway. I did find my wine, the statue and Pen and her girlfriend Judith. They took me to a couple of places for tapas and it was a fantastic first night in Madrid. We made plans for the evening.
I spent today figuring out this beautiful city. I have a good map now and have even toured the cathedral. I am heading out to the Prado Museum soon as its free from 6 to 8 pm. It really isn’t so much that I’m cheap –really –it’s just that I am going to be in Spain for almost 2 months. Okay, maybe a little bit cheap too but frugal is fun, no?
The evening encounter with Pen was much different than the afternoon. She must have been sizing me up, and I must have passed (or failed) the morality test. Whichever it was, poor Judith was left behind and Pen and I explored the underground gay bars of Madrid until the wee hours of the morning. Lost again on the way home, and catching a train in just a couple of hours I somehow already cared less. Already I am just embracing the adventure.
On my very early morning walk through the famous Plaza Mayor I discovered something that brought tears to my eyes. During the day, and well into the evening this famous spot is full of tourists and restaurants too expensive for me. At 5 AM though, the tables have all been removed and replaced with mattresses for the homeless. There is no trace of this by decent morning hours.
The easy life does end soon. I am off to St. Jean Pied de Port today, catching the first train at 8 am. The real adventure is about to begin.
