España la primera parte

España la primera parte

With so much to talk about that happened in Spain this is going to take a lot more than one entry.  Starting in Madrid, on to San Sebastian, 3 days in Pamplona for the San Fermin Festival, and then finishing up in Barcelona made for very different unique experiences.  I don't have the time or energy to try and combine everything into one massive narration.  Here is the first part and I'll chop up the rest into sections based on the content and allowable time.

The plane ride over wasn't bad at all.  Maily and I had a very engaging, partially fueled by alcohol, conversation.  Her inner fat kid provided numerous snacks (by my last count there were 9 different ones) for our 8+ hour flight and the Flipz had molded into one giant Flip starting its own conversation.

Giant FLIP!!!!

Normally its not difficult for me to sleep on a plane.  Or really anywhere for that matter.  Waking up at 5am CST did nothing to stop my energy level from hovering north of 1,000 all day.  Maily slept for a few hours here and there during the flight between our talks on life.  Even though our differences far outnumber our similarities we make a great sounding board for each.  I took turns listening to Portishead and then watching portions of 'The Dark Knight Rises', 'Act of Valor', and 'Fast 5'.  I guess I was more restless than I usually am and apprehensive about the logistics of how many connections we had to make in Spain travelling between the different regions.
We landed in Madrid at 7am (cst +7) ready to clear customs and drop our bags off at the train station.  The train didn't leave until later that afternoon.  Our plan was to drop off the luggage and then tour around the city.

After dropping the bags we had a quick breakfast at the train station.  This first impression proved to set the mood for Madrid and it's people.
Mikee: Huevos y Bacon por favor

Special Needs Pretty Waitress: (confused look) que?

M: Huevos Y..

SNPW: Si, Huevos...

M: Bacon (pauses) , Bacon (points to it on the menu)

SNPW: oh. BaCON

This was followed by me ordering Leche (milk) and after 15 or so minutes her bringing me a near boiling glass of milk.  Maily explains to SNPW that I wanted a glass of leche frio and she looks confused and takes it away.  I make a joke about her probably putting it in a cooler and will bring the same one out later.  20 minutes later a slightly less boiling and still roof top mouth pizza burn level glass arrives. After this incident we bolted from the train station on pursuit of the city and me worried about ever ordering a glass of milk in Spain again.

The buildings and museums were amazing.  Each time you turn a corner the city reminds you of the 9th grade World History class textbook with photos of palaces, courtyards, and fountains melding together like a classical concerto.

As we passed a historic museum a 700 year old church would be next door.  Europe has a certain feel in the architecture that America can't re-create.  It's not just in the design or the age of the buildings; it's the planning of things that evoke a grand romance with the surroundings.  Lush gardens and huge trees are found downtown.  Even the modern buildings have parks and sculptures.  The city planners worked with the natural landscape greenery instead of leveling it to build thousands of generic square office buildings lacking any sort of creativity.

Mikee and Feli

In the middle of Madrid, after walking around for a couple hours we found a huge park, one that would be torn down in the US to make way for high priced office space.  350 acres of serene beauty make up the Buen Retiro Park.  We found a hill that was shaded by 30' trees on all sides to lay down for a minute and catch our thoughts.  Felicia took a quick nap, Mikee and I people watched and Maily was attempting to solve the worlds global reliance on fossil fuels and deciphering the Voynich manuscript.

Thinking Maily

After our rest, food was in order.  We left the park and found a really cool area near some hostels with multiple restaurants.  It was relatively early for lunch in Spanish terms (12:30) and that may have had something to do with our service.  To call it a train wreck would be kind.  To call the waiter indifferent to our presence would be generous.  The positive take away would be remembering that in Spain the house red wine is always great and always cheap.  Usually 1 Euro and never higher than 2 Euros a bottle of the house wine is regularly found for 3 Euros which is the same price as a small bottle of water.  The term "house" is also significantly different in Spain than in the US.  Some restaurants classify Ripple a house wine here.  In Spain the term house is referred to wine from that region, sometimes made in house and usually made down the road or in the closest village outside the city.  Since it's cheaper to get a bottle of wine than a bottle of water you should enjoy this moment and drink as much and as many different kinds as you can.

Our frustration of the service and other encounters with the local Madrid folks had us angry and a lack of sleep only compounded that frustration.  Madrid beat us down right up until we got on the train.

To all my fellow travelers.  When you can, travel first class. We booked our train tickets online beforehand (the Renfe site is a MESS) in advance and paid about 23 euros for first class.  2nd class was 19,50 euros and the upgrade in cost is well worth it.  Hot towel treatment, a 5 course meal, a half bottle of wine (or 2 if little one next to you doesn't like it), and extremely friendly staff.  Maily slept for the majority of the trip and I was 6 years old again seeing the Grand Canyon.

 I probably woke Maily up every 10 minutes for the first hour excited to see something new: "Look a castle!!!!  A Monastery!  Did you see all those vineyards, did you see the olive tress, what about the city built into the mountain??".  I doubt she'll ever take a train with me again or She will make sure to get noise cancelling headphones beforehand.  Things like that excite me.  After I could tell she was getting annoyed I slipped on my headphones and played some classical orchestra to provide a sound track to the scenery.

Three short hours later we arrived in Pamplona.  Attempted to check in to the wrong hotel, made it to the correct hotel, were again underwhelmed by our food service and then crashed.  When I started my day it was 5am on Wednesday and it was now 1am Friday morning with a 9am wake up to spend the day in San Sebastian.  We were now also well aware that out of everyone we met or had contact with in Spain one person spoke English.  It was going to be a challenge communicating but inspite of the service and the attitudes of the Madrileos we all had high hopes for what was to come.

Madrid Train Station

Madrid

Lessons I Learned today:

• Always ask for the house red
• Never order milk
• No matter how grand the train station is, it will still feel and look like a rock concert port-a-potty
• 1st Class rules
• Not everyone is as excited about the scenery as you are
• Flips melt to epic proportions
• Gummy anything is best on flights
• Huevos Y (insert everything) is on every men and everything is served with eggs
• No one speaks English
• I look Spanish and they think I can speak Spanish.  The Spanish also look white instead of the slightly less dark hispanic complexion that I thought they would.