he people, I love the culture, the Spanish spoken here, I love (love!) Madrid, the way they kiss each other on both cheeks when greeting, the way they interact with each other, their take on life, I love the.... well, you get the idea. I have traveled a lot of places and I have thoroughly enjoyed most of them, but there is something special about Spain that keeps it ranked at the top of the heap for me. Part of it is simply because I've been here so much and feel so genuinely comfortable and at home here due to the familiarity, but another part of it is that I have known and still know so many people in Spain that it feels now like a place I come not just to tour, but to visit friends. Yes, I
know I'm a tourist, but somehow I don't feel like one here. I feel like I just BELONG here. And I love that, too.However, this time in Spain I am having a brand new experience... couchsurfing! Since we are going to be traveling so long and couldn't imagine the expense of paying for hostels or hotels every night for 3 months, Sarah and I decided that we would give couchsurfing a try in places where we didn't have friends to stay with. Basically, it's an international organization where people exchange hospitality. Which, even more basically, means that people let you 
stay in their houses for free. Score! The idea is of course that it's reciprocal and one day you will return the favor when and if you're able to when someone is traveling through the area where you live. It's a very cool idea as it seems to join like-minded people, both those who love to travel and also those who love to meet people from other countries. Either way, our first experience has been with Angel, an older man who opens his home to travelers passing through Madrid on a fairly regular basis. He's very hospitable and for our first night here last night, he provided us with a typical Spanish light meal: fresh bread, chorizo, jamon serrano, cheese, olives and a bottle of wine (yes, the whole thing. One more reason to lov
e Espana!). Since the hosts aren't asked or obligated to provide anything more than a place to sleep, it was very unexpected and very generous for him to offer us dinner. It was a nice time to get to know each other a little and for him to tell us a bit about life in Spain.
stay in their houses for free. Score! The idea is of course that it's reciprocal and one day you will return the favor when and if you're able to when someone is traveling through the area where you live. It's a very cool idea as it seems to join like-minded people, both those who love to travel and also those who love to meet people from other countries. Either way, our first experience has been with Angel, an older man who opens his home to travelers passing through Madrid on a fairly regular basis. He's very hospitable and for our first night here last night, he provided us with a typical Spanish light meal: fresh bread, chorizo, jamon serrano, cheese, olives and a bottle of wine (yes, the whole thing. One more reason to lov
e Espana!). Since the hosts aren't asked or obligated to provide anything more than a place to sleep, it was very unexpected and very generous for him to offer us dinner. It was a nice time to get to know each other a little and for him to tell us a bit about life in Spain. .
Today Sarah and I got up relatively early so we could be out of the house by the time Angel left for work. We left at 8:45 am and didn't get back until 10:00 pm. A long, but very cool day. It started off a bit rough when I left my BRAND NEW sweater on the subway. Grrrrr! I tried to console myself with the thought that it's just one less thing I have to carry around for the rest of the trip. A little gift from me to some unknown Spaniard. You're welcome, unknown Spaniard.
The day improved dramatically when I got out of the subway and into the heart of the city and started soaking in that Madrid vibe. Aaaaaah. We spent most of th
e day walking, and walking some more. It's Sarah's first time in Spain so we saw some of the prerequisites like Puerta del Sol (the main center of the city), La Plaza Mayor (every proper European city has a grand plaza), the royal palace (even though the royals don't actually live there anymore) and a whole bunch of other random places we meandered to. At a couple of spots we just sat and watched the people go by for long stretches of time. I'm pretty sure I could spend a whole day just watching people. We even got to see Spiderman, albeit a pot-bellied, smoking Spiderman, walking around the Plaza Mayor. You just never know when you're going to run into a superhero, I guess.
e day walking, and walking some more. It's Sarah's first time in Spain so we saw some of the prerequisites like Puerta del Sol (the main center of the city), La Plaza Mayor (every proper European city has a grand plaza), the royal palace (even though the royals don't actually live there anymore) and a whole bunch of other random places we meandered to. At a couple of spots we just sat and watched the people go by for long stretches of time. I'm pretty sure I could spend a whole day just watching people. We even got to see Spiderman, albeit a pot-bellied, smoking Spiderman, walking around the Plaza Mayor. You just never know when you're going to run into a superhero, I guess.
In the evening we met up with a former student of mine who lives here, Maria. More walking, but she showed us to the Temple of Debod, a 2,000-year-old Egyptian temple that was gifted to Spain by Egypt in the 1900s. Kind of cool to be walking through the big, bustling city and then just run into an Egyptian temple. It was very nice to be able to meet up with her here, on her turf. Plus, it's always great to see a familiar face in a foreign land!
2 comments:
So glad you made it to Madrid safely. I can't stop laughing at your pot-bellied, smoking Spiderman! It was a blast having you here in London town, and we'll be glad to have you back any time :)
Green with envy!
Have a bottle of that spanish red for me...
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