Madrid Day 3 (now near airport)
April 8 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Absolutely no rain on this trip.... until last night ! On the way to Flamenco last night, the skies opened up and everyone ran for cover! I had to buy a way over-priced (but needed!) umbrella.... my rain gear wasn't with me:(
Today, I visited the Reina Sofia museum- contemporary art- including paintings by Picasso, Dali, Salinas and others. A big change of styles but added some extra info to my Spanish history knowledge. I also went to the Real Jardín Botánico- beautiful, but will probably be stunning in another 3-4 weeks! Smelled wonderful and fresh, and nice sculptures throughout. I also went briefly through the Naval Museum here (free!) -- again, it added some to my Spanish history.
I had to pick up my backpack and then headed out to stay near the airport tonight... easier since I have early morning flight tomorrow.
A few Madrid thoughts: such a great city and the Spanish live more casually than we do. Work- life balance seems relaxed-- no one is rushing to work at 7, 8 or 9 am. The Spanish have patience- they don't seem to be in a hurry ever. They enjoy their cafe in the morning- it wasn't until Madrid that I saw coffee or food "to go". They smoke too much- both younger and older folks. Vegetables are hard to work into your diet (do potatoes and olives count?). I enjoy the Padron peppers whenever I can, and occasionally can get a salad- but the Spanish diet is heavy on meat, bread, and cheese... Everyone stops for a drink (cafe, beer, wine, whatever) between 6-8, then you eat at 8. Less stress but perhaps less fruit and vegetables and all the smoking- I wonder how the Spanish life span compares to US? Though it's rare to see obese Spaniards. It was easier to adjust to eating late in Madrid- it was harder on the Camino. The Spanish show physical affection more than American- couples, siblings, parent/offspring, friends (males and females). There is so much rich history (centuries and centuries older than American history, and so intermingled with religion), amazing art-- certainly there is more I could do here on another visit! Btw- I felt 100% safe wherever I was- both on Camino and Madrid. I'm sure there is crime in Spain-small towns, big city- I had a great experience.Read more
Traveler"People" in the US don't eat vegetables. "World Bank series for 2023, life expectancy at birth was 83.88 years in Spain versus 78.39 years in the U.S., a gap of about 5.5 years." But, for me, I was always hunting down salads in Spain and shocked that fresh tomatoes were rare.