Madrid: Walking and A Night Out in the City

Imagine trying to do an exercise circuit on a City’s busiest street…. People stopped to watch us do each station from planks to sprints. Our overview tour of Madrid, a walking tour through the historic district, was informational but an overload of Spanish to start the day, trying to understand the tour guide. Eventually, each city’s Cathedral seems the same, but this one stood out as our favorite. Madrid’s Cathedral de la Almudena has painted ceilings, vibrant stain-glass windows, and intricate stonework. Why did citizens in the sixteen or seventeenth century put so much money into this creation? At the same time, no building during my lifetime compares to the innovative architecture of the Cathedrals, palaces, and basilicas. The Plaza Mayor, Retiro Gardens, Plaza Sol, theatres, Plaza de la Villa, and Palacio Real were other highlights of the tour!

To get around, Spaniards walk everywhere and public transportation is always the second option, easily one Euro to get anywhere. For lunch, most restaurants have a standard price, 10-12 Euros, for three courses and a drink. We dined at VIPS, which is a similar chain to TGI Fridays and popular lunch spot. For the afternoon plan, we quickly walked through Reina Sophia to see Pablo Picasso’s famous painting, Guernica. Then, we walked through the rooms of the Prado with some of the most recognized artwork. Rafael, Velasquez, Goya, and many other early Spanish artists are some of the few we stopped to see.

Madrid is a lively city into the night, so our group wanted to experience it for ourselves. We had recommendations to start the night at El Sol (sun), but when Connor and I looked up directions we failed to copy down the right street. Wandering around Plaza Sol doesn’t help when people either respond aquí (here at plaza sol) or just look at us like “duhh it’s nighttime and the moon’s out why are you asking where the sun (Sol) is?!” So mapquest’s 4-minute walk became a 40-minute hunt to figure out that El Sol was having a concert.

Back to the Irish pub the guys found the night before! Why the Spaniards like an Irish pub with a disco ball spinning in the middle and old pop music (for me to know them they must have been popular) will remain a mystery to me, but it entertained us. Who says you can’t swing dance, Texas two-step, and pretzel anywhere? Later, after a recommendation from our tour guide, we wanted to check out Club Joy to experience the Spanish nightlife. It’s definitely a different experience, but Davidson students are creatures of habit, so we found the Spanish outpost equivalent, a chocolatería. Churros and chocolat (literally liquid chocolate not nestle) to end the night! 4AM bedtime is a difficult adjustment, hence the necessary ciesta!