Backpack Mack

After about 13 hours in the air I have arrived in Spain! You may be wondering why on earth are you in Spain if you’ve spent the last two months in Latin America? That is a very valid question. The truth of the matter is that when I originally researched Spanish programs I found an incredible school in Malaga, Spain that looked like a dream, BUT it was about ten times more expensive than the alternatives in Central/South America. So I decided it would be much more economical to do the programs in Guatemala and Peru and stay there for longer and treat myself to a jaunt in Spain at the end of my journey. 

I landed at about 5:00am and made my way to the metro around 6:00am. When I arrived in downtown Madrid I thought I must have some sort of jet lag delusion because the main square that I came out on at 6:30 in the morning was bright and sunny and warm and filled with runners and delivery drivers. I double checked my watch and even looked up global time zones to confirm that the time was showing correctly, and it was. Well a few short hours later I understood why there was so much activity in the early hours. It gets HOT here! At 95 degrees by 11:00am the idea of outdoor exercise is out of the question. Quite the change from my time in the high desert of Chile! 

I booked myself into a hostel called The Hat which I would highly recommend. Excellent location, cute, clean, and great energy. I was able to hop on the free walking tour that same morning which was a good way to keep my energy up and make the most of my first day in the country. The tour also included a really helpful guide with recommendations for food and additional sightseeing. A few highlights included: 

• Catedral de Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena – There is always a cathedral but this was particularly beautiful on the inside with colorful vaulted ceilings, white walls and much more light than you typically see. 
• Plaza Mayor – Also a standard for a Spanish town is the central square. This was was filled with restaurants and shops around the perimeter and was clearly a meeting place for groups and friends. 
• Mercado de San Miguel – One of my favorite tourist activities is to go to a central market like this and see what the local food scene is. This market was incredible for drinks, ham and cheese. The ham in Spain is a national treasure and usually shaved off of a cured pork leg right in front of you! 
• Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia – This museum was a great way to escape the heat at the height of the day and included some cool modern art pieces. 
• Real Jardin Botanico – One of my favorite things is when a city has a big botanical garden and this one did not disappoint! 

An honorable mention was the Convento de las Carboneras. This is a convent full of nuns who bake and sell cookies. I unfortunately did not buy any after my friend visited and advised that you had to buy a box of cookies by the kilo rather than just one or two. But worth the step inside. 

One major cultural shift in Spain is the practice around meal times. While breakfast is typically something small like a pastry and coffee, the main attraction is lunch usually enjoyed between 1:00pm and 3:00pm. One particularly delightful feature is the prominence of the “menu del dia”. This is a preset option usually costing twelve to fifteen euros and includes wine (obviously) a starter (like paella or soup) a main (a meat) and sometimes even a small dessert. This combined with the heat of the day is the reason for siesta! 

Dinner is where we really stray from typical American practice with a light and often shared meal around 10:00pm but as late as midnight with kitchens staying open late. The best way to go out to dinner here is with a big group so that you can order several tapas and get a bite of everything. I did just this with a group from my hostel which was followed by a drink or two at another bar and finally a leisurely walk home at around 2:00am on a Monday! The food and drinks that were most common here were: 

• Sangria (red and white)
• Tinto de Verano (red wine and soda/lemonade) 
• Vermouth cocktails
• Iberian ham (cured ham shaved right off the leg)
• Chorizo (this is dried and cured and more like a red spicy salami)
• Bread and olives 
• Tapas (especially a bread with a pate, or carpaccio, or meat)
• Paella

When I arrived in Madrid the footprint of my stay was a little open ended. I had two nights in Madrid, two open days and then both my boyfriend James, and my dad were flying into Barcelona. I brainstormed quite a bit on how to best utilize those days potentially in another city or slowly working my way towards Barcelona. Unfortunately due to the time of year, southern Spain was just going to be too hot and also got me farther away from my ultimate destination. I was also very interested in northern Spain (cities like Bilbao and that general area) because the topography is so different but although directionally advantageous for my journey, they were not well connected by train. So I decided to tack on one more day in Madrid and also arrive the night before my boyfriend/dad’s arrival. With my extra day in Madrid I took a day trip out to Toledo. 

The weather in Toledo was, if possible, even hotter than Madrid but it’s a very cool city architecturally. It is a walled, fortress city with an extensive history. It is known as the city of three cultures because of the influences from the Christians, Muslims and Jews throughout history. The town includes a cathedral, a synagogue and lots of Moorish architecture with the typical arched entryways. I walked through the city, got a nice “menu del dia” lunch, popped into two museums and a library and called it a day. 

An interesting side note – I deep dived the history of the phrase “Holy Toledo” and it almost certainly does not have anything to do with Toledo, Spain. The exact origins are unclear but the most popularized uses of the phrase were in the Batman/Robin cartoon and by a baseball coach and were almost certainly referring to Toledo, Ohio. 

The following day I got up in the morning and caught a train to Barcelona!