On Timeline: 17 Nov 2007
Madrid's one of the coolest cities I've been to...and it has an air of oldness it in...the culture, the architecture (well the architecture here is nothing compared to Barcelona's!!!)...just feels different from the cities of Berlin or Paris or Copenhagen or Zurich!
And the first thing which greeted me, in the Spanish capital, were the narrow car lanes, the short apartment buildings (5 stories high) and the lovely facades for the front of the buildings!
It would definitely be good if I had more time spent in the city, explore the different places of interests as stated in Frommers, and see life pass by you whilst sipping coffee/tea at one of the outdoor terrazas there!
And travelling within Madrid is very very easy. The Metro system is fast and efficient, and brings you within walking distances to most of the attractions all around Madrid city, and even the suburbs. On top of that, it's value for money! U can get a 10-trip card for €6.90! Even a single trip card is €1, which is quite cheap for a huge city, as the trip card is valid for all travel within the entire zone (which means u can go from north to south for €1!)
Anyway, after an early morning flight out of Eindhoven to Barajas Airport, Madrid, I took the metro to the city (30mins!) and managed to make my way to Ole International Hostel after making a wrong turn (was directionless for a moment). After settling down in the hostel and getting my tickets for the match, I made my way around the neighbourhood and into Puerta del Sol!
Morning in Eindhoven!
My plane to Madrid!
Line of wind turbines below!
My couriered package!
The tickets to the game later!!!
A Swedish lady loaned these to me
Madrid Architecture
A lavish wedding!
Seems like they are ready for a riot downtown
Camera crew moving in to film!
Guy searched by police. Many people came out of the stations at the same time too! I wonder what happened...
As I walked around, I saw riot police, wedding cars (both above), crowded streets, an Oscar building, a supermarket (in one of the narrow alleyways) and a commotion (apparently) in Puerta del Sol!
Plaza Mayor was full of Swedes!!! Gosh. It's like the entire plaza was painted in yellow and blue, and I heard that about 5-6K Swedish fans have arrived in the city this weekend!
Fountain in Puerta del Sol!
Lottery which the whole of Spain actually buys...anyone can buy! In fact u can become a millionaire overnight come Christmas...
The Swedes have invaded!!!
Oh yes, before I forget...I must intro the food which I ate in Madrid!!! One is the Chicago Hotdog, the other is the Chocolate Churros, which I must admit, is SUPER DUPER NICE!, and the last is the tortilla! The pictures will just speak for itself
Chicago Hot Dogs!
Chocolate Churros for €3.20!
The Spanish drink this chocolate as though it is coffee?!
Chocolate Churros! Cannot help it....
The churros! Melts in your mouth, not in your hand!
Taking photo with a Spanish guy in the Chocolate Churros place
Loads of people along the sidewalk of this nice cozy chocolate place
Tortilla!
After passing by Plaza Mayor, I walked around rather randomly and went to Convento de las Descalzas Reales, which is founded by Carlos V's daugther Juana of Austria in 1557. This haven of tranquillity, with its chapels, baroque art masterpieces, grandiose stairway, and (hidden) inner gardens, is still home to an enclosed order of nuns. Visitors are let in 20 at a time, so that means long waits and queues, and the price is €2.50 for those with ISIC/student identification. I said ISIC because my TU/e ID card was not valid, so I was lucky that the ISIC card worked.
Long queue outside the said monastery
Convento de las Descalzas Reales
Well the tour is basically in Spanish, and since I did not comprehend any Spanish, I felt it was kinda wasted when I went in...luckily for me, there was a very nice Spanish couple (think they are working adults because the guy was wearing a coat and the lady was dressed rather formally...after all it's a Saturday so...*thinks*) and there were 2 French girls who were actually artists (if I aint wrong) and they knew some Spanish, so all 4 of them actually helped me in the understanding of what the curator had to say! I think I was damn lucky to have such kind people helping out!
And Rubens had a lot of his works in this place...and not just this place, in fact his works are also displayed in the Prado Museum! I loved the tapestries (larger than life carpets which are actually drawings but made into huge carpet-like art!)
After the visit (we were the 2nd last group in fact!), I bade goodbye to the friends I met there, and made my way to the nearest Metro station to go to Santiago Bernabeu for the match! I knew I would be early, so I just loitered around the nearby area and explored...there were lots of Spanish and Swedish fans in the nearby pubs and restaurants and tapas bars! Gosh. I was in need of a drink, but decided not to jostle in the crowd.
Anyway, the match was amazing! A match in the Bernabeu! And a Euro 2008 Qualifier match between Spain and Sweden! I had wanted to watch a Real Madrid match, but I guess this would suffice...maybe I should catch another match in London?? The Spanish team, playing in front of their home crowd, thoroughly outplayed their opponents and won 3 goals to nil. And imagine sitting with Spanish fans on the left, and Swedish fans on the right.
I even had an irate Swedish fan who kept shouting in Swedish from his seat, just 4 seats from me! Apparently he was disgusted with how the Swedes were playing, and I must agree totally. The fact that Spain dominated the match so much was partly due to the failure of the Swedish team to use the flanks, attack properly, and even the starting line up (to me) was kind of a shock.
But nonetheless, a great game for the neutral fan - ME! HAHA!
Roasted Chestnuts!
Swedish fans
Me outside the Santiago Bernabeu! Home of Real Madrid!
Pre-match analysis/talk-show
Me and a random Spanish fan!
Spanish team in their team bus
Swedish supporter...
or Spanish supporter? :P
Pre-match
Streaming out of the dressing rooms
The packed Santiago Bernabeu
Me and a Spanish fan who sat next to me! Though he did not know English, and I didn't know Spanish, but somehow we managed to understand each other...haha. I guess you just need a common topic to "talk" ;)
Inside the packed Santiago Bernabeu. Memories indeed.
The packed Metro station
Well, after the match I was pretty hungry, but there were many clubs, bars, restaurants and cafeterias still open at 1.30 am at my hostel area, so I just went into one of the cheaper cafeterias and managed to order a beer and a tortilla (above!). Damn filling, and it was pretty cheap to. Gosh. I'm loving Madrid!
For more pictures on Madrid and Spain, click my Picasa Album!
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Happy!Current Music: 周杰伦 - 阳光宅男
