Madrid

Due to what I came down with in Brussels it was tough to truly enjoy Madrid. I left Brussels as the rain was coming down in sheets, what a great way to exit after a terrible night of being sick! I walked over to the train station and rode to the airport. The plane took off and I was still feeling terrible. The stewardess was nice enough to bring me a cup of soda and some kind of pill for upset stomachs. Nothing seemed to really help though, I ordered a cup o’ noodles but after 2 bites couldn’t eat anymore. I arrived in Madrid and found Sandra. Sandra has been a good friend of mine for many years. Another friend from the punk rock days who I’ve kept in good company, Sandra was in Madrid teaching abroad as part of her master’s degree and loving it. She was nice enough to meet me at the airport. We hoped on the metro and made our way to her neck of the woods close to the Atoche metro station. Her apartment was smaller than some studio’s I’ve seen in Boston (Steve, I’m lookin at you). She had a roommate who wasn’t the most pleasant guy but I figured whatever it was Sandra’s place too. Apparently not, we went out for some food which I could barely eat I felt so bad. She showed me around more and then we went over to her friend Vincent’s house to pick up a pillow mattress for me to sleep on. Vincent and his roommate Thomas were good guys; unfortunately I was practically passing out on their couch. We went back to Sandra’s place and her roommate started into her about me staying there even though he knew about it for a while.

Regardless, I spent the night at Sandra’s. Her room was about the size of a closet but we somehow managed to fit me in there. Unfortunately this would be my first and last night here due to her roommate bearing a striking resemblance to a rectal aperture rather than a human being. We searched online and found Cats Hostel not far away. My friend Billy Bentley, as it turned out was in Madrid and staying at this Hostel. Billy has good taste in most things so I decided this would be the spot. 20 Euro a night, not bad, this would do. I was still feeling terrible so I decided to get myself to the hospital to get checked out.

After going through a trying signing-in and checking of the vital I was finally called in. Thankfully the doctor spoke English very well. A string of questions, a session of listening with the stethoscope followed by pushing around my abdominal area and the conclusion was drawn that it was indeed gastroenteritis. I was told to eat nothing but starchy carbs and lean meats. No fruits or veggies. I had to drink plenty of water due to being severely dehydrated due to diarrhea. This was gonna be exciting. Then he delivered the death blow…no alcohol! So not only can I not enjoy Spain’s gift to the carnivorous world (cured ham) nor could I enjoy any of their fine alcohol. I mean Spanish beer isn’t anything special but, no wine, no sangria. If this isn’t a test of will and strength from the almighty himself I don’t know what is.

So I left the hospital, and hopped in a cab, I had the driver drop me at the Metro station so I could walk back and stop at a Kebab shop for some chips. I went to sleep and woke up feeling a bit better but the next few days were tough to get through. I found a bakery around the corner to eat at and that thankfully had pretty good food, some torillas espanol to start (basically an omelet with potatoes). I ate whatever I could that followed what the doctor said along with at least 2 1.5 litre bottles of water a day.

Since some days were somewhat uneventful or not filled with exciting outings and adventures due to my condition I’ll speak of the good things I was able to do. I was fortunate enough to make it to the Reina Sofia museum of modern art. This was a large four story building with art from all over the world. I even found a new artist whose stuff I dig. His name was Eduardo Chillida, a sculpturist from San Sebastian. What I liked about his work mostly is that they were large metal pieces, very industrial looking, as if he found these large hunks of metal that were old and covered with surface rust. But as you got close to them they were actually thin pieces welded together. Cool stuff none the less. I made my way down from the top floor and then on the second floor, there it was, Guernica, in all its glory. Pablo Picasso’s flipping of the bird to Nazi Germany and WWII. It was huge in real life! My jaw was open wide indeed. I had to get a look at it from another angle on the other side of the crowd. It was like Pablo Picasso created heavy metal and he didn’t even know it. I wanted to fight Nazi’s, while listening to Slayer now, if only Raining Blood was playing in the background it would have been perfect. Thanks for showing me this Lenny.

One afternoon Sandra brought me to Parque Del Buen Retiro, a beautiful and rather expansive park right in the middle of Madrid. We walked around and found a small shallow pond to relax by for a bit. 4 little had over kicked their soccer ball into the pond and were trying to get it back, this was indeed entertaining to watch. After about an hour or so someone was nice enough to walk in and grab the ball for them. Relaxing by the pond was perfect, it gave me some time to reflect on a few things and to try and figure out a few things in my mind which was another reason for me to take this trip. It’s tough to consider personal issues and possible decisions when you’re in a different world with beauty all around you but here and there I just have to stop and reflect on things so that when I get back to America I have a course of action to follow.

One night Sandra made reservations at this pizzeria in the Gran Via section of town. The food was excellent and afterwards we wondered around the area a bit and Sandra took me down the street where all the prostitutes conducted their nightly business, thankfully she wasn’t pushing anything on me as my good friends in Brussels had. For some reason as we walked by all these ladies of the night, the first thing that came to mind was my friend Eric Darling. I don’t know why but something about him, here on this street would be beyond hilarious. We ended up at some bar for a quick drink and who else but the Buzzcocks come on over the speakers…”What do I get woah oh oh, what do I get” Perfect.

One afternoon while hanging out in the common area of the Hostel I met Tay, a Korean guy from Las Vegas travelling around Europe like I was. We chatted quite a while about where we had been, where we were going, and tips for each other for the cities ahead. We ended up grabbing some Paella down the street for dinner which I have to say was amazing. Real Paella in its country of origin was something truly special to eat. Not to say that the American establishments where I’ve had it or the people who have made it for me haven’t been good, but this was the real thing. Tay informed he would be coming to Boston at the end of his trip for a night and catching a connecting flight in the morning. I told him to hit me up for sure when he got into town.

For my final day in Madrid Sandra brought me to a park up on a hill known as Templo De Debod. Templo De Debod was a gift to the Spanish from the Egyptians for helping them build a damn. Apparently the damn saved this temple so to show gratitude the Egyptians dismantled this temple put it on a boat, brought it to Madrid and rebuilt it on this hill/park as a gift. Nice guys huh? The park was great, very relaxing but it had a view that was breathtaking of the eastern side of the city, including the Palace du Madrid.

To conclude I enjoyed Madrid but due to my illness I don’t feel as if I truly got to enjoy it as much as I could have. I came to the conclusion early on in my stay that Madrid would be a relaxing time since I would have so much to see and do in Barcelona and beyond. Taking it easy was a good call and was very easy to do while in Madrid. It also helped that my tour guide (Sandra) is an incredibly laid back person to begin with.