Madrid: Better Late than Never

Sorry, Madrid. I like you now

It took me a really long time to board the "Madrid is awesome" train, but I finally made it. Enjoying the city didn't come easy, but it wasn't its fault.

Gray weather = sad weather = unmotivated Noah

As I mentioned in the last Madrid post, exploring the city was harder because my apartment and the study center were far away from anything interesting, so I really had to carve out some time and plan ahead if I wanted to go exploring. Madrid is spread out and thus not very walkable so I really can't wander much. I also still had Rome hangover (which I'm now going to describe as culture shock), so I got frustrated with Madrid initially because it wasn't Rome.

Finally, I was depressed during some of my time in Madrid, mostly during the first couple weeks. The insane pace of the program and drop in quality and amount of sleep finally caught up to me. Combine that with gray, rainy weather (which already makes me depressed) and it made it hard to get out, get excited about things, and put in the effort exploring Madrid requires. Naturally, this contributed pretty heavily to how much I was enjoying myself and the city.

Once the weather warmed up and I adjusted my expectations and realized I needed to sleep more, Madrid grew on me quickly. I spent my final couple weeks in Madrid finally finding all the cool places. I'm happy I found them, but I'm sad I wasn't able to find them earlier and visit them more than once. I feel guilty leaving Madrid because I feel like I didn't really get to know the city in the same way I did Rome. Only at the end of my time there did I realize how cool the city was and I feel like there was a lot I didn't see or do because I didn't give it more of a chance early on.

Tacos from Takos Al Pastor, one of the restaurants I was
able to find in Madrid.

The biggest reason I didn't like Madrid initially is still my least favorite thing about the city: the food. It's really underwhelming. In every city I've been to, I can do some quick searches on the internet and come up with several great places to eat. Except Madrid. In Madrid, the top rated restaurants that weren't way out of my price range didn't impress me. I could tell the ingredients were quality, but my food was usually bland and unseasoned. The flavors didn't dance in my mouth and make me savor every bite and make me fall in love with life like all my favorite meals do. It wasn't necessarily bad food, it was just food--something to go in my stomach to tide over my hunger until the next meal, not a special experience. There are exceptions (I'll do a post in a few days), but they are hard to find. This was a huge letdown, especially coming off the ridiculously high standard of food in Rome. I was told Madrid was a great food town, but I can't say I agree. If you want good Spanish food, head down to Andulucía.

Thankfully, what Madrid lacks in good food it makes up for in other ways.

Parque del Oeste

The parks are my favorite thing about Madrid, hands down. For a major Metropolitan area, you wouldn't think it would have a lot of greenery, but it does. According to the internet, there are a whopping 13 parks and gardens in the city, a couple of which are Central Park-sized. Parks in Madrid were a bit like churches in Rome for me: if I saw one near me on a map, I had to go see it.

Arganzuela

You can get lost in the parks and in some places, it's so green and peaceful, you feel like you're miles from the city despite being less than a mile from a major street. Sometimes I'd go to a park, find a bench or a grassy area and just lay around for a bit as a de-stressor or a much-needed break from spending all afternoon walking around. Retiro Park is the most famous, but my favorites were Parque de Oeste, Arganzuela (along the river in South Madrid), and the lake area of Casa de Campo.

You know what rhymes with free? Dalí.
(From the Reina Sofia)

There tons of student discounts. Nearly every major museum or public service offers some kind of student discount. I've been able to get into a lot of the museums either for free or with at least a 50% discount by showing them that I'm a student under 25. The two major art museums, the Prado and Reina Sofia, are already worth a visit, but since they both offered free admission for students, there's no reason not to go. I saw the Prado in 4 separate trips because I didn't have anything to lose because of the free admission. The monthly public transportation pass is also only €20 for students versus the regular €55 price. It more pays for itself if you're there even for a week.

I will forever miss Madrid's metro. Oh god, it's so good. I know I already touched on this in the previous post, but I've only had one incident where it was even remotely slow. It's clean, safe, works like clockwork, and gets you everywhere. I'm going to be so sad going back to L.A., where the public transportation is none of those things. I took it everywhere. It's a godsend.

At a concert I went to. The
moment the frontman pulled
out a ukulele, I knew it was
going to be good.

Finally, Madrid is a city of doing, not of seeing. What I mean by that is the city is all about what you can do in it versus what you can see. You shouldn't go to Madrid to see the monuments and buildings. Places like the Royal Palace and Cibiles Plaza are really nice, the parks are pretty, and so forth, but the vibrant heart of Madrid lays in its bars, clubs, restaurants, and events.

Pinchos, which are like tapas but different.
I couldn't tell you the difference.

         Even the food is an event in Madrid. Tapas bars, the most popular form of restaurant in the city, are made specifically for going out with a few friends and drinking and eating the night away together.
I think that's part of the reason the food is not as good as other cities. The food is merely one part of the experience of dining out, and therefore if the service and atmosphere are good, the bar for food can be lowered because it is not the only thing people go out to a restaurant for. This also explains why there are hardly any takeout or fast food places that aren't international companies.

         All of this is important to know when visiting Madrid, and something I wish I'd known when I first got there. I spent too long waiting to find the cool sights--Madrid's answer to the Colosseum and the Vatican--that I feel like I was totally missing the point of the city.

Cibiles Plaza. I'm really proud of how good this picture looks.

Though I like other cities in Europe more, Madrid really grew on me. It's a beautiful city filled with life and culture. I definitely want to come back to Spain at some point, so I imagine I'll stop by Madrid when I do. I'd like to come back and give it a second chance and an apology, though I'd bring more friends and money than I had this time around.

So until next time, Madrid, Adiós.