Madrid Sola

Alone.

You may have already figured this out, but I am kind of a "people" person. I like to talk to people, meet new people, I even smile at people jogging. I can't help it. And I am lucky to have the most fabulous family ever, with fascinating inter-personal dynamics at play at all times. Never a dull moment in our house!

But I do relish my alone time. So I am here in Madrid, staying ALONE in a cute small hotel across from the Puerta Alcala at the edge of Parque Buen Retiro (Hospes Madrid - I highly recommend this hotel).

There are a few things about Madrid I have particularly enjoyed.

1. I like the aesthetic here of preserving the past. So you wander past a hip little renovated coffee house and the backsplash of the bar is some funky hundred-year-old tile. Many artsy-modern gallery or boutique will sport a sign on the door saying "cuidado con la marcha" (watch your step) because when they white-washed the walls and added in the modern fixtures, they left the ancient sagging wooden floor in all its uneven, imperfect wonderfulness.

2. They have mastered the art of mood-lighting. Ok, not everywhere (because there are still lots of places where you feel like you are in your 3rd grade science classroom under flourescent strip lighting). But I can't tell you how many times since I arrived I have walked past a bar, restaurant or cafe and had the urge to just go in and sit in the plush chair, sip Mahou and watch the world go by for hours. They just have the atmosphere thing down pat.

3. How great is that the Spainish have maintained their crazy meal times?! You cannot eat lunch before 2, and you cannot sit down to eat dinner until 9. And if you do eat at 9 you will either be alone or with the other Americans living in Madrid. Really dinner picks up at 10. And street life is bustling until the wee hours of morning and the revelers are people of all ages. Even the school-teachers stay out late (time stamp on photo below: 2am-ish...) - very impressive. (Thanks, Allie!)

4. Food. I actually really like the food here. Maybe it is just a refreshing change from the butter- and cream-based cooking in France. But one thing I don't understand is their treatment of vegetables. I think there must be some royal edict dating from the last century that requires vegetables to be served either deep-fried, or wrapped in ham. My friend here tells me that there are vegetarians in Spain, but they must not eat in restaurants very much. I guess they could eat tortilla espanola. So delicious. And yet, also an ode to oil. Speaking of oil: churros con chocolate, 'nuff said.

5. I love the way the Madrileños say "hasta luego" when you part. It comes out like "'ta lwego" with a lingering final "o" sound... It's hard to describe, but adorable. And of course, that endearing "ceceo" or the pronunciation of "c" or "z" as a voiceless dental fricative (thanks, google) when followed by "i" or "e" as in "grathias". Me encanta.

Thanks for reading about my time in Madrid. I think it is time for me to go home to my bustling family now. Enough alone time - I just struck up a conversation with a security guard at the Museo Reina Sofia!