Real Madrid

Madrid is a magical city, and we have very much enjoyed playing
tourist here for the past few days. One of the best features of Spain
is the incredible food, and we made a point of visiting several
different restaurants for tapas. Most places have a set menu for
lunch (the biggest meal of the day) and then people eat tapas for
dinner. Typically, this includes small baguette sandwiches. Hams,
sausages and cheeses are important food products here and we really
enjoyed trying the different meats. We had our last dinner in Madrid
at the Museo de Jambon (yes, the Museum of Ham!).

Being in Europe, we knew it was going to be expensive, and we were right.
It is pricey here and I don't know how people manage to
eat out all the time (they do) and dress so nice. The one deal we did
manage was for accommodation. We originally looked into staying in a
hostel, but most were more expensive than the budget hotels, so we
ended up staying at the Best Western, in the centro for less than 50
Euros a night. It was within walking distance of everything.
Perfectly situated.

Yesterday we jumped on the double-decker tourist bus (ubiquitous in
every big European city) to see the sights. Madrid did not disappoint.
Our first stop was the National Museum. Interestingly, the Prince and
Princess of Spain were visiting the same time we were, so there was a
ton of extra security and sections were being closed off as the royal
party toured the exhibits. It took us about 2 hours to go into sensory
overload from all the paintings. We saw at least 20 masterpieces
during our wanderings, including works by Raphael, Titan, Caravaggio,
Goya, El Greco and Reubens. Aidan's favorite was The Triumph of Death
by Brueghel, which featured skeletons doing battle with people. All
that and we caught a glimpse of the future King and Queen of Spain.
Cool!

Our other big stop on the tour was the Royal Palace. After spending an
hour outside at a playground we journeyed back in time to the 17th and
18th century when Spain was still a colonial super-power. We enjoyed
seeing some incredible rooms (the throne room and the porcelain room
have not changed since 1755), a collection of 255 clocks, and 5
Stradivarius violins. Aidan particularly liked the Armeria Real
(armoury).

Once again we are reminded how functional European cities and towns
are compared to their North American counterparts. During the day,
there are hundreds of stores and cafes open and most people are
walking down the sidewalks enjoying the fabulous weather and
window-shopping. If you need to get across the city, you hop on the
Metro for the quick and whisper-silent trip. Airport, bus and train
stations are all reachable by Metro. At night, the streets fill with
even more people as everyone stops for a glass of wine and a tapa. By
9 pm the pubs have opened and the nightlife is just getting started.
The is an incredible variety of people on the streets at all times of
the day. Families, friends, and senior citizens are all out in force.
Groups of older women and men, dressed to the nines, are out having
glasses of beer and tapas or chocolate and churrios. It really was a
pleasure to wander around this beautiful city. What a difference from
the hollowed-out cities we live in!

One other interesting point about Madrid. There is a tremendous police
presence in the downtown, which makes you feel very safe, but also
makes you think about why all the security is necessary. You can't
even get into the national museum without going through a metal
detector. Ditto for the train station and any other important
building. An unfortunate reality for Spain.

Susan had her first severe diabetic low blood sugar of this trip on
our last night in Madrid. Luckily we are carrying several glucagon
injection kits, and after 13 years of marriage, I am an expert on
using them. Once administered, she was as right as rain. Aidan was a
bit freaked out, but once things were explained to him, he was fine.
The low blood sugar was a result of a lot of walking, a light dinner,
and a few glasses of wine. Things do go wrong and you just have to be
prepared to deal with them.

This morning we got up early to catch our train to Granada. Its a
pleasure to travel on European trains. As I write this we're being
whisked through the countryside at about 200 kmh in quiet comfort.
What a change from East Africa.