Monday, July 6, 2009

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Link to the Photobucket page:

http://s577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/memoagomez/CMU%20in%20Spain/?albumview=grid



Super busy weekend... I took so many photos that I think I´ll have to wait a couple of hours for them to fully upload online...

The Good:

Friday I got to celebrate my friends´leaving to Alicante and Salamanca by heading over to a club called Sol y Sombra. Multitudes of lights filled the club: painting it a beautiful picture. The smell of smoke, sweat, and drinks filled the room as it mixed well with the booming of the bass and the feel of music flowing through everyone. Songs from all over the world came up. most of them were club hits or techno that we were able to rock out to. What gave us away as tourists was the fact that we knew the lyrics to the club hits and were able to sing them word for word; the locals thought it was hilarious. I knew the people in Madrid partied hard, and when in Rome, do as the Romans do.


El Corte Ingles, Madrid´s superstore

The club closed, so we all went out to walk the city streets and eventually we ended up Plaza Oriental and hung out until the Metro started running. I got home at around 7:00 or so and slept like a baby.

The Bad:

That morning I had an excursion to go to Alcala... the bus arrived at the stop at 9:00 in the barrio of Salamanca ... I woke up at 8:50 in my barrio Chamartin. Long story short... didn´t make the bus to Alcala. Pilar told me there was nothing too great in Alcala anyways, just a house where Cervantes (writer of Don Quixote) lived. So I slept until 1:00 when I woke up and decided to forget Alcala and make my own trip. I picked up a Lonely Planet guidebook and then with Cristian picked a walking tour to follow.

Statue in a Park, Salamanca District Madrid

The Bad that changd to a Good:

We took the "Pick of the Plazas" walking tour where we took a 6km walking tour. We started in Plaza de Santa Ana, in the barrio of Huertas where the heart of the city is. We knew this area pretty well, there were clubs, tourists, and people trying to sell you things while you eat. We then moved towards Lavapiés where we noticed that the boom and movement of the city had calmed down, there was a relaxed, almost pueblo-like feel in Lavapiés. We walked through the barrio and here we could really see the diversity of Madrid, concentrated into this cozy little district. We walked passed Indian restaurants, Chinese import shops, and people speaking languages that sounded like they were speaking in tongues. The district is a bit shady sometimes but it has a calming aura about it that sort of draws you in. After Lavapiés we walked a bit through the barrio La Latina and we could feel the hustle and bustle of Madrid coming back.

Indian Restaurant in Lavapiés Madrid


Eventually we landed in Plaza Mayor the epicenter of old Madrid. Although it was hard to see it with all the street performers, the abundance of cafés, and people in costumes trying to make a buck from all of the tourist traffic: there is a lot of history here. The plaza was used for bullfights, executions, and Royal events for the entire city to see and enjoy. I could just imagine what it would be like if I had the place to myself for a little while, without the other tourists, without the Ben and Jerry´s, and without a man in a Spider Man outfit trying to entertain kids for a few Euros.

Me at Plaza Mayor


After resting in Plaza Mayor we headed towards La Latina where the streets are sloped, the coffee´s good, and the breeze was comfortable. We didn´t stay too long in La Latina, for some reason a man started swearing at us in Spanish... I think it was because we dressed a bit too American (Cargo shorts, shirt, and New Balances...) and he didn´t think we knew Spanish so he started mumbling away. After going through the twists and turns of La Latina and looking at all the amazing architecture we headed over to Plaza Oriental.

Cristian on a sloping La Latina street


Directly in front of the Royal Palace is Plaza Oriental, where statues of past Kings stood, the gardens shone, and street performers knew that the tourists would all be there. I explored the plaza, shooting what I missed from last time I came to visit, and took a quick break as we read on where to go to next.

The greatest street performer in Plaza Oriental... just look at that enthusiasm!



We then arrived at Gran Via, one of Madrid´s hugest roads and headed towards Chueca. Gran Via was packed with coffee shops, designer outlets, billboards, and all that big city rush like New York or Los Angeles. We also saw people getting ready for the annual Gay Pride parade with banners, balloons and other decor covering restaurants and homes.

Could McDonalds even do this in the USA?


Eventually we arrived in the barrio of Chueca where we saw the preparations go at full steam: people setting up stages, cleaning up the streets, and impromptu rallies being made here and there. That was the end of the walking tour given to us by Lonely Planet, and there we decided to meet up with a few friends later on, watch the parade a little, and then go to Sol to get something to eat.

I guess overpriced clothing is a universal thing...

It was only two hours or so when I got back to Gran Via and saw the streets packed from both sides with people. The parade had just started and it was times like these that I wished I had a telephoto lens. So many people, all I could do was take crowd shots, and whatever view I got of the people in the streets, on the pride buses, and in the buildings. Eventually I arrived in Sol where we went to a buffet (We lost the other restaurant...) and afterwards watched what was left of the parade.

The sign says Elena, marry me!


Sunday was a pretty lazy day... I went to El Rastro again and took my camera this time to take photos. I helped out some new friends find what they wanted to get and then from there I enjoyed the rest of my weekend.

The Ugly:

I found the Solution to the Flickr problem! A website called photobucket can host as many photos as I wish but I have to upload EVERY SINGLE PHOTO ALL OVER AGAIN... ouch. So I posted the link above, chances are the uploading process is still going on... and when it´s finished I will add photos to this post.

Wednesday I will go to El Prado Museum and this Saturday I will go to Toledo (and this time I´ll be awake :D)

Pilar, my host


Until later everyone!

Guillermo


It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.

-Tyler Durden

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