According to Wikipedia, “Spanish rain does not actually stay mainly in the plain. It falls mainly in the northern mountains. In Spanish, the phrase was translated as La lluvia en Sevilla es una maravilla (The rain in Seville is marvellous). The lyric about Hertford, Hereford, and Hampshire implies (but does not entail) that hurricanes ever occur at all in these areas. This implication is false, as the only hurricane force (≥64 knot) winds that do occur in these areas (in the UK) result from extratropical cyclones, which differ from hurricanes in their causes and dynamics.”
Our experience is that the rain often falls in Madrid. We enjoyed Madrid immensely. With Nancy we stayed in an Airbnb in Salamanca. We didn’t know it when we booked, but this is where “the old money of Madrid” lives. The Metro system is great, and we were able to get everywhere with it. Our place was about three blocks from the Goya metro stop.
After Nancy left, we moved to a hotel near the Sol metro stop. This is just a few blocks away from Plaza Mayor, the Prado, restaurants (several recommended by our Airbnb hostess), and a bunch of other stuff.
Let’s break it down –
Museums
From 6-8 at night the Prado is free. From 7-9 the Reina Sophia is free. There are lines, but we have found that 1-2 hours is sufficient at most museums of art. So this is what we did. By the way, it is $15-20 to get into these places at other times.
Parks
The parks in Madrid are impressive, even in the rain. We particularly enjoyed the Parque del Buen Retiro, (loosely translated as “the park of the good relaxation/withdrawal/retirement.” It is next to the museum row, and there are many people enjoying it.
Madrid City
Madrid itself is a modern and self-important city with strong roots in the past. I kept saying to myself several things”
- So this is what is was like to be the winner (conqueror). Having been in South America, where the Spanish had essentially raped the people and its wealth, this is what that wealth can build
- It’s nice to be king
Food
We’ve heard many cities in Spain touting their gastronomic skills. We found it in spades in Madrid. This might be partially because we met Claire (whom we’d met in Chiclana, and Jenna, who is Blakey’s friend, here). We also had some recommendations from our Airbnb hostess.
We visited Claire at her office, then went to dinner. We visited Jenna in a hipster area of Madrid (two blocks from her apartment).
Transportation
I’m not sure that I have waxed eloquently enough about mass transit in Spain. It was the most advanced high-speed train system in Europe and continues to grow it. The Metro in Madrid is fantastic. In the U.S. I think of high-speed rail as some futuristic thing. Here it is a common normality. The highways are terrific. Nancy says the Metro, which runs often, on time, and conveniently, is way better than that in our nation’s capital. Maybe that trillion dollars in infrastructure isn’t that bad of an idea. They have it way over us.
