Madrid has some of the coolest and most unsafe playgrounds imaginable. Alex and I made it a point to run around and try out anything that looked particularly hazardous for the sheer joy of it. This resulted in minor injuries and nausea on a few occasions. I'm sure we were also the source of confusion and concern for many children and their parents. We also climbed a few trees and engaged in unintentional trespassing and leaping over a locked gate or two. We're rebels that way.People panhandle aggressively in Madrid. My favorite incident involved a lady who asked us for some wine. We were just leaving a food festival and were drinking some wine which we agreed was not of the highest calibre. Rather than toss it, we gave it to her. Alex expressed some remorse, but I think we did a good thing.
Spaniards have a thing for ham. There is a chain of restaurants known as the Museum of Ham. Good sandwiches, from what I understand.
While in Madrid, I had lots of good food, and quite varied, everything from paella to falafel, suckling pig to vegetarian risotto (so good!).
There are a lot of national holidays in Spain. Nothing is open on holidays except restaurants. This made things like shopping for souvenirs annoying. As such, the only person who got any goodies is my mom. Hey, but I'll share stories!
Dog crap is everywhere. Watch your step.
I got to engage in some cultural enrichment during my trip, which included seeing an absolutely stunning flamenco show, wandering around museums (I got to see the Guernica in real life!), and admiring beautiful buildings (although I admit that I have little sophistication in my appreciation of architecture). I waved at several cathedrals, so I feel that I stretched out my Catholicism a bit. I also saw a freaky scary movie called El Orfanato, which I plan to watch again when it hits the states. Creepy little kids in masks are perfect for Halloween!
I did one day trip to Segovia (the place of the suckling pig, or cochinillo), and admired ancient Roman aqueducts and an awesome castle. Very nice people, too. I spent a good amount of time chatting with a storeowner and her father about the USA and looking over National Geographic maps.
People were chatty. Or maybe it's just that I forced conversations upon people. Hmmm... I think that it's probably somewhere in between.
We danced through the streets, sang on the subways, and overall had a really good time. Alex had joked that there was no couch at his apartment, and that we would split his folding chair. What a kidder! Well, kind of. There really wasn't a sleeping worthy couch, so we split his twin bed. Hey, the nights were cold, so it worked out great. We also had to keep an eye out for "psycho guy", one of the other people living there. I don't think anyone knows what his name is, but he appeared to be nocturnal and communicated (at least with me) by making hand motions and shushing. I think he also had poor aim when using the toilet. Everyone else was pretty cool.
I thought it was kind of funny, but when I went to the flea market, there were a bunch of bootleg Threadless shirts all over the place. I actually didn't buy a single bootleg item. I was tempted by some of the movies, but somehow didn't get anything. Oh, well.
In answer to a question, the Castillian accent wasn't as prominent as I'd expected. Sure, it was there, but I think there are so many non-Madridians in the city that it's kind of buried amid all the different types of Spanish. I still feel that Argentineans have the weirdest speech patterns for being a pure Spanish language.
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