Madrid the Spanish capital boats a huge tourist trade. Cheap
flights land daily bringing hoards of people wielding cameras and hastily exchanged
Euros from the bureau de change.
Sights such as Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace and Puerta Del
Sol the geographical centre of Spain are brilliant to see; although they are
crowded, full of tourists and silly people dressed in costumes who will harrang
you for money.
Therefore I wanted to see the real Madrid the Madrid that
the locals knew and loved and the Madrid that kept my best friend living over
there and too far away for drinks in our local pub.
To see a country through the eyes of a local is a brilliant
thing. Sometimes you will fly to a place and stay with a local who is a friend.
They will take you out and show you the sights. I have done this many times in
London with Australians, Kiwis, Danes, Germans and even Swedes.
I took them to the regular tourist haunts where they snapped
photos galore and on one occasion kept us in the pub for an extra hour just so
they could hear Big Ben chime. On that occasion I wasn’t complaining!
However I always try and show my friends something new,
interesting and something that no one else has seen. Somewhere they would write
home about, a gem hidden to their knowledge before.
Unusually this would be Camden market but everyone knows
about that now. Greenwich is another top place to take a foreigner visitor to
London and lastly a lesser visited city or town.
Smaller, odder and quirkier places are the best. A quality
country pub is always a winner or a British festival such as May day where they
will see beards and Morris dancers and think we live in the middle ages.
This is why when I landed in Spain bleary eyed from the
night before having been out for a birthday; I was glad I had been here before
and seen the tourist areas. I would not have to dodge costumed annoying odd
balls in squares and would not go into bars overpriced to catch out the foreign
clientele.
This trip I wanted to see more of the Madrid that my friend
loves. The Madrid of tapas and bars and tabernas. Also thrown in for good
measure would be a trip to Toledo.
My fiend lives with his Spanish girlfriend and they have
somehow managed to rent a prime piece of real estate in the shape of a small
flat with a bath room that has a Perspex toilet and shower in the middle of the
room. Consequently you create a silhouette when showering!
They lived just off Gran Via. The Oxford Street of Madrid.
Therefore everything was accessible by either the incredibly clean metro system
or walking.
Exploring back alleys and streets was the way forward and
after I had met up with them and downed a refreshing pint we set off.
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| Entrance to the UNESCO city of Toledo |
Of course Madrid like every city has areas that tourists descend
on, some you have to pass through and others you can miss completely.
We first headed to the bus station and caught a local bus to
the medieval walled city of Toledo.
Neither of them had been and wanted to go as it was a
Saturday and they said Madrid would be too crowded.
The bus arrived in the outskirts and we could see the high
walls of the city above us on the top of a hill. Walking up the winding roads
we reached the city gates and were astounded by how quiet it was.
We explored ancient alleyways and popped into antique shops
that doubled up as sword shops. The city is famous for its swords. Toledo was
declared a world heritage site in 1986 and it is clear to see why. It is fantastically
beautiful; surrounded by the La Mancha countryside and full of stone buildings.
Eventually we arrived at the city centre and could see the
throng of tourists. Some following umbrellas and others posing in front of the cathedral.
We ducked down a side alley and explored. Suddenly we were
off the tourist trail and into a world of lanes, small bars and a view of the
river.
70 kilometres later we were back in Madrid and the next day
after several sangrias, beers and other assorted drinks we were up and ready to
explore La Latina. This is the Bohemian area that the night before we had drunk
our way through.
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| Statue of Cervantes of Don Quixote fame in Toledo |
When you explore Madrid you notice just how dapper some of
the locals can be; therefore it was a delight to sup a beer with the ripped
jeans crowd of La Latina.
I headed for my first tourist site of the day in the Park
Del Ouests.
In 2011 I travelled to Abu Simbel in Aswan, Egypt. This
breathtakingly beautiful temple was painstakingly moved from Egypt stone by
stone and saved before they flooded the Nile to create lake Nasser and the
Aswan dam.
Spain helped considerably financially and was rewarded by
being given the Temple of Debod. A small beautiful temple consisting of a main
chamber and two outside arches.
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| Demple of Debod |
I really wanted to see it because I had been to where it
once was, albeit it was underwater now, but I had been to the area.
Somehow the temple suited this quiet park. I seemed to be
the only one staring at it. Everyone else was jogging past on this cold
morning.
We lunched at the wonderfully splendid 1913 wrought iron
indoor market De San Miguel. There you could buy tapas, paella, have wines
galore and the sea food was divine. A gem that I did not know about until
stumbling across it, although on Sunday it was heaving and Monday we seemed to
be the only people there.
Madrid is a city that you can go back to time and time
again. There are many things to do and see. Las Ventas bull ring is beautiful
to the eye even if you disagree with what practices go on inside.
Seeing Plaza Mayor at night when it is less crowded and lit
up is a treat as is just walking the streets and seeing where you will find
yourself.
I know I will be back again as my friend shows no signs of
coming home and to be honest I rather like it there.
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