Madrid, Spain

First off, what the hell is this? There it is, nice and large for your viewing pleasure.

This is one of the first things you see stepping out of the Madrid train station. It’s really creepy. Seriously, though, what the hell??? I can’t get over it. It scared me again when I was going through the images in my folder. Man. And it’s huge! I don’t think you realize how huge it is. It’s like 8 feet high or so, like waaay taller than me.

Running into this is terribly ironic, because the Atocha train station in Madrid is famous for having an indoor tropical garden:
So the Madrid municipal government made a huge point of making your first footsteps into Madrid tropic and magically green and all those good things. And of course, I went right onto the subway, so I completely missed it. I didn’t miss this though:

Anyhow, Madrid. Very nice city. It immediately feels sunnier than Paris or London. The first thing I did was make friends with strangers and go visit the park nearby. (Park del Buen Retiro):

We were lost in it for over three hours. Besides the weather, it was really something special. I must’ve lay (lied?) on the grass for an hour.
Yes… I’ve apparently documented every single moment of this trip. I am pathetic. 

I even stumbled upon more swans, actually:They make them in this colour?

For once, I’m going to take a moment to discuss the hostel I stayed in! It’s called “Cat’s hostel” and apparently it’s from the 18th century and is considered to be a national landmark. All this to say - look at the gorgeous living room:

Just like I heard everyone in Ireland drinks (and I didn’t believe it, and it turns out they do), I’ve heard that Spain runs on a different schedule than everyone else. Things like “they eat dinner at 9 o’clock, they go out at 2 and stay out until 7, etc…” Well, I didn’t do either of those things, but apparently they’re fairly true, as well.

I went out on Thursday night – I was thankfully home by only 4. It sounds like I’m being sarcastic or trying to be hyperbolic, but everyone else came home so much later, actually… I thought I’d be home for 2 or 3, but I didn’t factor in going out for the best Churros in the city:
They really are divine. Rival poutine for a midnight snack, even. (Although poutine is a better all around meal, though.)

While we’re discussing food, here’s Orad enjoying local empanadas: I make it look really appetising, eh?

I also accidentally ordered the most wicked egg sandwich:

I lived a couple of minutes from Plaza del Sol:

It’s littered with hilarious costumed people trying to tempt tourists:

It’s also considered to be the ‘ground zero’ for the postal coding system in Spain:
Yea, I know it’s not that huge of a deal, but I stood in the center of Spain for a moment.

A lot of the buildings in Madrid are extremely gorgeous, as well:

I went to Plaza Mayor. Not sure what this square is famous for, but in the daylight it’s a tourist trap (and probably a pick-pocketer’s dream, too):

Madrid, as the capital of Spain, is also the home to the Royal Palace:

Next door is the Almudena Cathedral:

Inside is another spectacular organ, though less impressive than the one in Coventry, and nobody was playing it when I came to visit:  
My second night in Madrid, I went to a Jazz bar. Madrid is apparently one of the Jazz capitals of the world. The ticket was a bit pricey, but definitely worth every penny by the end of it. Playing was the Pepe Rivero trio, a Cuban trio consisting of a pianist, an upright bassist and a drummer. They played a set that riffed on Chopin; it was phenomenal.

Finally, before hopping on the train today, I went to go visit Miro, Dali, Tapies and Picasso at the Sofia:

I learned about these guys at Julien’s grand-father’s. I can sort of recognize them, now, though I won’t pretend to understand (or appreciate) most of them.

There, I saw the Guernica. (No pictures allowed, for once!) I also saw this interesting thing:
Not sure who made it, but I appreciated it. I figure someone else out there might, too.

Madrisms
(Snoop Dogg speaking Spanish?)

-I’m so excited about this one:

-Another outdoor bathroom (sorry, water closet). This one cost 30 cents, though. These are starting to become fairly common, so I’m probably going to stop taking pictures of them everywhere.
Speaking of bathrooms, in an effort to save 30 cents I stepped into Starbucks. Check out this security system they had installed:
I got around it, of course. People leave receipts lying around everywhere.

-Hotdogs. In. A. Can. You have no idea how hard I had to resist buying this.

-Madrid is very into ham, actually. Beginning with the (apparently extremely successful deli franchise) Ham Museum (Museo del Jamon):

-On to their flavours of chips:

Other things unrelated to Madrid, but that I’ve sort of picked up there:

Apparently there’s a “Rutherford” building in Manchester, UK. Apparently, his bust sits at its entrance, too.

Useful list of famous Canadians (a response to ‘nothing good has ever come from Canada’ – mainly directed at Americans):

• Sidney Crosby (especially since the Olympics – Americans really hate that)
• Jim Carey
• Mike Myers
• Wayne Gretzky
• The Barenaked Ladies
• The Arcade Fire (for some)
• Alanis Morissette  (for others)
• The guy who invented Basketball (they always challenge this one, and wikipedia always owns them)

What not to mention:

• Avril Lavigne
• Nickelback
• Celine Dion