Madrid Spain 2013
AlteCocker has never been to Spain before. Well, she once ate lunch in Figueres on the French frontier in the Pyrenees, but that doesn't really count, does it?
AlteCocker flew from Bordeaux to Madrid today. The Madrid airport is enormous and it took quite some time from the time the plane landed until it finally parked. Then it was a long walk to the baggage claim and a good deal of confusion. AlteCocker could not find the Bordeaux flight listed but finally figured out what was going on by checking the flight number. Duh. Bordeaux is called Burdeos in Spanish. Who knew?
Obtaining advice from fellow passengers and a helpful Spanish guy in the airport, AlteCocker successfull negotiated the airport bus to downtown. Half the time on the bus seemed to be just picking up people at the different airport terminals in Madrid. It's a huge airport but emptyish. Once the bus arrived in the center city AlteCocker immediately hailed a cab. No problema!
AlteCocker is staying at the Hostal (Spanish for Hotel) Benamar, a hotel she found on the internet (booking.com). Driving up in the taxi she thought "Uh oh!" Looks awful from the outside taking up the third floor (in Spanish the 2nd floor) of an old apartment type building. Never fear it's just fine--and only 30 euros a night. In fact it is a steal. Only deficit is that it is 2 floors to walk up and no elevator. Since the owner helped me with the bags, who cares? It is quiet, has air conditioning and is centrally located. AlteCocker is very satisfied and will be staying at the Benamar again at the end of the trip when she spends 4 nights in Madrid to clean up the A List tourist sites. Tomorrow's plan is to hit one of the art galleries before taking the bus to Salamanca.
After arrival, the hotel owner recommended the "Madrid Madrid" restaurant around the corner from the hotel. A 3 course meal was only 10 euros--another bargain. AlteCocker is beginning to like Spain. Only downside to the restaurant was that the waitress spoke only Spanish. Considering my level of Spanish, conversation concerning the menu was limited to making animal noises to describe the food. AlteCocker ended up with gazpacho and fish. Lord knows what the rest of the stuff on the menu was. One thing for certain, animal noises and all, AlteCocker will eat there again at the end of the trip because it was good and inexpensive.
On the second day in Madrid, AlteCocker opted for the Reina Sofia Museum rather than The Prado (she'll get to The Prado when she returns at the end of the holiday). There is currently a very impressive Dali exhibit there that would take a series of visits to see properly. AlteCocker did the best she could in the time allotted. The star of the show at that museum, however, is Picasso's Guernica. That is one impressive picture!
For anyone traveling to Madrid through mid September there is major work going on on one of the Metro lines making it a bit more challenging to get around. AlteCocker does not recommend taking suitcases on the Metro as it is not very accessible for either the handicapped or the suitcase schlepping.
After the museum, AlteCocker picked up her bags at the Hotel Benamar and the woman there (a couple owns the place) helped her walk down to where she could hail a cab to the bus station and take the bus to Salamanca. She took an earlier bus than she had originally planned. There was a 1.50 euro fee to change the bus. No sense hanging around the bus terminal!
This blog will be revisited when AlteCocker goes to Madrid at the end of her trip. For now, move on to the Salamanca blog.
AlteCocker flew from Bordeaux to Madrid today. The Madrid airport is enormous and it took quite some time from the time the plane landed until it finally parked. Then it was a long walk to the baggage claim and a good deal of confusion. AlteCocker could not find the Bordeaux flight listed but finally figured out what was going on by checking the flight number. Duh. Bordeaux is called Burdeos in Spanish. Who knew?
Obtaining advice from fellow passengers and a helpful Spanish guy in the airport, AlteCocker successfull negotiated the airport bus to downtown. Half the time on the bus seemed to be just picking up people at the different airport terminals in Madrid. It's a huge airport but emptyish. Once the bus arrived in the center city AlteCocker immediately hailed a cab. No problema!
AlteCocker is staying at the Hostal (Spanish for Hotel) Benamar, a hotel she found on the internet (booking.com). Driving up in the taxi she thought "Uh oh!" Looks awful from the outside taking up the third floor (in Spanish the 2nd floor) of an old apartment type building. Never fear it's just fine--and only 30 euros a night. In fact it is a steal. Only deficit is that it is 2 floors to walk up and no elevator. Since the owner helped me with the bags, who cares? It is quiet, has air conditioning and is centrally located. AlteCocker is very satisfied and will be staying at the Benamar again at the end of the trip when she spends 4 nights in Madrid to clean up the A List tourist sites. Tomorrow's plan is to hit one of the art galleries before taking the bus to Salamanca.
After arrival, the hotel owner recommended the "Madrid Madrid" restaurant around the corner from the hotel. A 3 course meal was only 10 euros--another bargain. AlteCocker is beginning to like Spain. Only downside to the restaurant was that the waitress spoke only Spanish. Considering my level of Spanish, conversation concerning the menu was limited to making animal noises to describe the food. AlteCocker ended up with gazpacho and fish. Lord knows what the rest of the stuff on the menu was. One thing for certain, animal noises and all, AlteCocker will eat there again at the end of the trip because it was good and inexpensive.
On the second day in Madrid, AlteCocker opted for the Reina Sofia Museum rather than The Prado (she'll get to The Prado when she returns at the end of the holiday). There is currently a very impressive Dali exhibit there that would take a series of visits to see properly. AlteCocker did the best she could in the time allotted. The star of the show at that museum, however, is Picasso's Guernica. That is one impressive picture!
For anyone traveling to Madrid through mid September there is major work going on on one of the Metro lines making it a bit more challenging to get around. AlteCocker does not recommend taking suitcases on the Metro as it is not very accessible for either the handicapped or the suitcase schlepping.
After the museum, AlteCocker picked up her bags at the Hotel Benamar and the woman there (a couple owns the place) helped her walk down to where she could hail a cab to the bus station and take the bus to Salamanca. She took an earlier bus than she had originally planned. There was a 1.50 euro fee to change the bus. No sense hanging around the bus terminal!
This blog will be revisited when AlteCocker goes to Madrid at the end of her trip. For now, move on to the Salamanca blog.
End of the Trip-4 Nights in Madrid
1. It's the end of a long holiday and AlteCocker is happy to report she is back at the Hostal Benamar. She has a first floor room this time (She was given a choice, but it is a lot easier not to have to climb the stairs at the end of the day. She faces the courtyard with a view of laundry hanging on the line, but this hotel was not chosen for the great view. At 30 euros a night, it's a bargain. The room--as was true of the first one she had 3 1/2 ago is clean. This one has 2 double beds, a shower and tub--and air conditioning. Who cares about the view. AlteCocker will be out attacking Madrid in the short time she has.
AlteCocker sallied forth to conquer Madrid by picking up a ticket to "El Rey Leon" (if you translate it, yes, it's the same show) for August 24th. It was very good. She walked all the way to where the show was and then managed to get back along the Grand Via only having to ask for directions once. She tried one restaurant for dinner after the show and was told, as a single, she'd have to eat at the bar. She walked out. AlteCocker does not mind eating at bars, but she's short and it is not comfortable to be relegated to one of those higher uncomfortable chairs. The restaurant had empty tables--which AlteCocker hopes they did not fill. She went back to Madrid Madrid, a restaurant near her hotel that she enjoyed on the one night in Madrid earlier in the trip. She did not enjoy it tonight and won't go back. She has been spoiled by much better Spanish food elsewhere. One thing she can say about Madrid Madrid that is positive: It had good bread. While the food is good in Spain, the bread generally is not. The bread is generally so hard on the outside that it has to be soaked in olive oil to be palatable. The bread at Madrid Madrid was as close to good French bread as she has had in Spain.
AlteCocker also picked up a ticket for the last night of the Flamenco Festival on August 26th
Tomorrow to conquer The Prado. It promises to be an exhausting day.
2. Didn't get to The Prado but went to Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection instead. That collection has very short hours on Monday when many Spanish museums and sites have reduced hours and/or are closed (As AlteCocker discovered when, like an idiot she went to El Escorial on a Monday and had to come up with a Plan "B" because it was closed). So, to give herself more options, AlteCocker did the Thysen-Bornemisza today. The museum is the result of a spectacular personal collection of a very wealthy family. There is also a stupendous Pisarro exhibit that you should all see before it closes. Some of the paintings come from the US, but from smaller museums.
OK, please do not attack AlteCocker for this but she went to a bullfight this evening. The Plaza des Torros has bullfights on Sunday nights in Madrid during the tourist season. You can spend a lot of money doing this activity if you are not careful because many tourists book through brokers or their hotels. The bullfight was not even 1/3 sold out. AlteCocker went to the bull ring (located on Metro Lines 2 & 5 at Ventas) and bought her ticket at the gate. She bought the 2nd cheapest ticket available in the shade for 17.90 euros. It was fine but high up. There is an elevator to reach the "gods".
The bullfight is not an activity AlteCocker is likely to do again. Torturing animals before killing them is just not her thing and it is not a fair fight. The bull always dies in the end. After watching 4 bulls die, AlteCocker left. She believes there were eventually 6 dead bulls, but she had enough of the experience when 4 were gone to bull heaven. No doubt they have a future on someone's table as stake but there are more humane ways to kill animals than in the bull ring. AlteCocker did get a lot of photos to prove she had done this, but once was enough.
AlteCocker found her way home through a new route--only having to ask for directions twice--and had tapas in a bar near the hotel. It was a nice bar, but certainly not cheap.
Tomorrow it's either the Royal Palace or The Prado as AlteCocker ticks things off the list before going home.
3. AlteCocker finally knocked off The Prado today--seeing most of the "must see" pictures there including some she did not know about such as Goya's black pictures that he painted at the end of his life which some consider prefigure modern art. AlteCocker has no plans to set foot in an art gallery for awhile after overdosing in Madrid. There are 3 really fine large art galleries here and it is hard to take them in one after the other in a short time. By the time AlteCocker got around to El Greco, it was a quick look and out. There were other pictures she did not see, including one of Queen Mary I of England, but she was done in after about 4 hours. There is a point where you throw in the towel. The Prado is the only place in Europe on this trip, by the way, where the air conditioning made me way too cold (in part of a special exhibit on smaller pictures possessed by The Prado--as opposed to the huge works commissioned by kings, churches, etc.). In case anyone is wondering, yes, AlteCocker did see Las Meninas (the famous Velasquez picture of the Infanta)
This evening AlteCocker took in the last performance in the flamenco festival that has been going on here. It was flamenco jazz and certainly better than going to some flamenco dinner show concocted for tourists. The performance AlteCocker saw was by Compania Rafaela Carrasco. You can find some videos on youtube if you are interested. Really turned out to be a good choice.
AlteCocker has to say that the Puerrta del Sol was a big bunch of nothing. Big build up and just people running around all over. It is sort of the entry way into the pedestrianized streets of the old city area of Madrid.
Tomorrow is tentatively set aside for the Royal Palace and the Plaza Mayor. At present no evening entertainment is planned. What will not be entertaining is packing her bags. She will be leaving Madrid on Wednesday in the afternoon. There will be an overnight at a Dublin Airport hotel before flying home on August 29th. She does not plan an immediate visit to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, upon her return--for sure.
4. Today it was the Royal Palace. AlteCocker walked there from the hotel passing thru the Puerta del Sol and the Plaza Mayor. No place is really inconvenient from the Hostal Benamar where AlteCocker has parked her carcass. She has progressively learned the short cuts. Of course, once you learn them, it is time to go home and it is time to go home.
The Royal Palace was less impressive than Aranuez. They both have porcelain rooms. Based on advice from Rick Steves' guidbook AlteCocker got the acoustiguide rather than taking the tour. AlteCocker, who needs a vacation from acoustiguides at this poing, did not press all the numbers. After visiting the palace, she skipped the armory and the royal pharmacy so she can't tell you what was in those places--armor and plants she suspects. She bought nothing in the museum shop but she got a pendant which is a modern interpretation of Las Meninas at Diseno Proprio, 39 Calle Mayor, along the way. It really was the first nice thing that she has bought for herself as opposed to t-shirts and small gifts for friends. She never even approaches her duty free allowance on these trips. AlteCocker was unable to locate a website for Diseno Proprio but there are some reviews online including this on Trip Advisor. Very nice store with a lot of unusual items instead of the same tourist drecht you see all over (very similar to the tourist drecht you see in Washington, DC, by the way).
After visiting the palace, AlteCocker spent a lot of time listening to a guy entertain visitors on the steps of the cathedral opposite the place. The drill is that you either buy the person's CD or give him a contribution when you do that. Having purchased a CD in similar circumstances yesterday outside The Prado, she passed on the CD and put money in his violin case.
Walking back the way she came, AlteCocker noticed this market type place near the Plaza Mayor. It was chock full of Spanish people drinking and eating tapas. There were no seats and AlteCocker really needed one so she snapped some photos and had her regulation over priced sangria on the Plaza Mayor. After imbibing, AlteCocker meandered "home" to Hostal Benamar eating her daily ice cream along the way. There is a Museum of Romanticism directly across the street from the hotel and there were people standing outside with instrument cases. AlteCocker asked if there was a concert tonight. Predictably it's tomorrow night. AlteCocker will be at the Dublin Airport Hotel for that one, but she will visit that museum tomorrow morning.
No late night entertainment is planned for tonight. Tonight is "Struggle with Luggage Night" and time for a good sleep before the stress of getting to the airport, etc., tomorrow to begin the journey back to Los Estados Unidos. The trip--and this blog--are almost finished.
5. AlteCocker did finally have churros and chocolate on her last morning in Madrid. She had had churros with coffee con leche (coffee with milk) earlier in her stay. The official Spanish way to have them, however, is with think hot chocolate that has the taste--and almost the texture of chocolate pudding. The churros are different than the American versions found almost ubiquitously at every amusement park. Instead of sticks dusted with sugar, they are long and thin and twisted without sugar. Who needs the sugar when you dip them in the chocolate pudding? My doctor would have heart failure if he knew AlteCocker had these things.
After eating too much cholesterol, AlteCocker went across the street to the Museum of Romanticism. It was a hit--and also free to AlteCockers. In fact, many Spanish museums are free or have a reduced price for AlteCockers. Thank you, Spain. European museums vary on this so always bring a document to prove your age and don't lie about it if you don't want to be embarrassed. AlteCocker spent a little over an hour in the museum and then had a diet coke and a muffin in the museum cafe because she was killing time. The museum shop is also very nice, but AlteCocker did not add to her luggage there. The museum is a house museum showing upper class Madrid life during the 19th century and has just been remodeled. It is very nice and worth a look if you have an extended stay in Madrid or are staying at the Hotel Benamar across the street. The big surprise? There's a huge Goya in there of Christ? Wherever you look, Goyas, Velasquezes and El Grecos--that's Madrid.
Eventually, to kill more time, AlteCocker had lunch in a nondescript Mexican place around the corner. The food was nondescript also.
Finally, AlteCocker retrieved her luggage and walked around the corner to hail a taxi to Cibeles to pick up the airport bus. She was assisted in this maneuver by Jose Benamar, the owner of the hotel. The transfer to the airport was made without incident and AlteCocker did get a seat on the airport bus (not everyone does). Warning: If you are flying out of Madrid, do not arrive early. There are no seats until you pass thru security, get bags inspected, etc. AlteCocker ended up sitting on the floor reading for a long time before she was able to check in. Madrid Airport: Get some seats.
Another not so nice thing about the Madrid Airport (at least in Terminal 1 where AlteCocker parked her carcass on the floor), there are no flight announcements. You are expected to periodically check the boards to see if your flight has changed gates. AlteCocker does not get this system at all and, if you don't notice, you could end up missing your flight and losing dinero. AlteCocker's flight did change locations. One person noticed and everyone made a beeline for the new gate. Lousy system.
The flight to Dublin went without incident but AlteCocker did find out that she did not get United air miles on the Madrid-Dublin flight leg because United does not code share that flight with Aer Lingus. AlteCocker, due to a major scheduling faux pas (she misread the 24 hundred hour clock when she booked), had a 14 hour layover in Dublin. That resulted in a night at the Dublin Hotel Metro Airport and an unexciting United Airlines flight back to the US the following day. She did get miles on that flight! Happy to note that United still provides meals on international flights without extra charges! The choice in cattle class was chicken or vegetarian (There may have originally been another option but AlteCocker was at the end of the food chain--and you know how that one goes). A snack was served before landing (hot ham & cheese and small bag of chips). AlteCocker watched a touching French film "Amour" and 5 episodes of the American show "House of Cards" (It is actually based on a British show of the same name), a series she managed to miss in the US because she is too busy for much TV at home.
A word on flights out of Dublin: You do US Customs and Immigration in Dublin. You pass through duty free before doing that. If you want to linger and shop in Duty Free, you do it then--not after passing through US Customs and Immigration when there is only a small coffee shop and nowhere to spend your last euros. Getting rid of that last euro then becomes tough. AlteCocker doesn't care about spending her last euro because she just puts it in the envelope for next year, but, if there is no next year, you might. A lot of muffins people did not need to eat were purchased at the coffee shop.
If you are in transit in Dublin and going to the United States, your bag will be checked through, but you will be sent to Customs to identify your bag. AlteCocker stupidly thought they would bring it out to her but, no, it doesn't work that way. They bring it up on a computer screen and ask "Is that your bag?" After identifying your bag, you then are allowed to exit the area after observing a lot of people sweating heavily before being questioned about entering the United States. You can then proceed to spend your last euros on a muffin in the coffee place.
This post will be the end of the blogs for this trip. Please keep following as the photos from the trip will get posted in the next few weeks as AlteCocker downloads, enhances and posts assortments. Look for the next trip blog to begin in November when AlteCocker home exchanges in Costa Rica.
And thanks for following this blog.
AlteCocker sallied forth to conquer Madrid by picking up a ticket to "El Rey Leon" (if you translate it, yes, it's the same show) for August 24th. It was very good. She walked all the way to where the show was and then managed to get back along the Grand Via only having to ask for directions once. She tried one restaurant for dinner after the show and was told, as a single, she'd have to eat at the bar. She walked out. AlteCocker does not mind eating at bars, but she's short and it is not comfortable to be relegated to one of those higher uncomfortable chairs. The restaurant had empty tables--which AlteCocker hopes they did not fill. She went back to Madrid Madrid, a restaurant near her hotel that she enjoyed on the one night in Madrid earlier in the trip. She did not enjoy it tonight and won't go back. She has been spoiled by much better Spanish food elsewhere. One thing she can say about Madrid Madrid that is positive: It had good bread. While the food is good in Spain, the bread generally is not. The bread is generally so hard on the outside that it has to be soaked in olive oil to be palatable. The bread at Madrid Madrid was as close to good French bread as she has had in Spain.
AlteCocker also picked up a ticket for the last night of the Flamenco Festival on August 26th
Tomorrow to conquer The Prado. It promises to be an exhausting day.
2. Didn't get to The Prado but went to Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection instead. That collection has very short hours on Monday when many Spanish museums and sites have reduced hours and/or are closed (As AlteCocker discovered when, like an idiot she went to El Escorial on a Monday and had to come up with a Plan "B" because it was closed). So, to give herself more options, AlteCocker did the Thysen-Bornemisza today. The museum is the result of a spectacular personal collection of a very wealthy family. There is also a stupendous Pisarro exhibit that you should all see before it closes. Some of the paintings come from the US, but from smaller museums.
OK, please do not attack AlteCocker for this but she went to a bullfight this evening. The Plaza des Torros has bullfights on Sunday nights in Madrid during the tourist season. You can spend a lot of money doing this activity if you are not careful because many tourists book through brokers or their hotels. The bullfight was not even 1/3 sold out. AlteCocker went to the bull ring (located on Metro Lines 2 & 5 at Ventas) and bought her ticket at the gate. She bought the 2nd cheapest ticket available in the shade for 17.90 euros. It was fine but high up. There is an elevator to reach the "gods".
The bullfight is not an activity AlteCocker is likely to do again. Torturing animals before killing them is just not her thing and it is not a fair fight. The bull always dies in the end. After watching 4 bulls die, AlteCocker left. She believes there were eventually 6 dead bulls, but she had enough of the experience when 4 were gone to bull heaven. No doubt they have a future on someone's table as stake but there are more humane ways to kill animals than in the bull ring. AlteCocker did get a lot of photos to prove she had done this, but once was enough.
AlteCocker found her way home through a new route--only having to ask for directions twice--and had tapas in a bar near the hotel. It was a nice bar, but certainly not cheap.
Tomorrow it's either the Royal Palace or The Prado as AlteCocker ticks things off the list before going home.
3. AlteCocker finally knocked off The Prado today--seeing most of the "must see" pictures there including some she did not know about such as Goya's black pictures that he painted at the end of his life which some consider prefigure modern art. AlteCocker has no plans to set foot in an art gallery for awhile after overdosing in Madrid. There are 3 really fine large art galleries here and it is hard to take them in one after the other in a short time. By the time AlteCocker got around to El Greco, it was a quick look and out. There were other pictures she did not see, including one of Queen Mary I of England, but she was done in after about 4 hours. There is a point where you throw in the towel. The Prado is the only place in Europe on this trip, by the way, where the air conditioning made me way too cold (in part of a special exhibit on smaller pictures possessed by The Prado--as opposed to the huge works commissioned by kings, churches, etc.). In case anyone is wondering, yes, AlteCocker did see Las Meninas (the famous Velasquez picture of the Infanta)
This evening AlteCocker took in the last performance in the flamenco festival that has been going on here. It was flamenco jazz and certainly better than going to some flamenco dinner show concocted for tourists. The performance AlteCocker saw was by Compania Rafaela Carrasco. You can find some videos on youtube if you are interested. Really turned out to be a good choice.
AlteCocker has to say that the Puerrta del Sol was a big bunch of nothing. Big build up and just people running around all over. It is sort of the entry way into the pedestrianized streets of the old city area of Madrid.
Tomorrow is tentatively set aside for the Royal Palace and the Plaza Mayor. At present no evening entertainment is planned. What will not be entertaining is packing her bags. She will be leaving Madrid on Wednesday in the afternoon. There will be an overnight at a Dublin Airport hotel before flying home on August 29th. She does not plan an immediate visit to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, upon her return--for sure.
4. Today it was the Royal Palace. AlteCocker walked there from the hotel passing thru the Puerta del Sol and the Plaza Mayor. No place is really inconvenient from the Hostal Benamar where AlteCocker has parked her carcass. She has progressively learned the short cuts. Of course, once you learn them, it is time to go home and it is time to go home.
The Royal Palace was less impressive than Aranuez. They both have porcelain rooms. Based on advice from Rick Steves' guidbook AlteCocker got the acoustiguide rather than taking the tour. AlteCocker, who needs a vacation from acoustiguides at this poing, did not press all the numbers. After visiting the palace, she skipped the armory and the royal pharmacy so she can't tell you what was in those places--armor and plants she suspects. She bought nothing in the museum shop but she got a pendant which is a modern interpretation of Las Meninas at Diseno Proprio, 39 Calle Mayor, along the way. It really was the first nice thing that she has bought for herself as opposed to t-shirts and small gifts for friends. She never even approaches her duty free allowance on these trips. AlteCocker was unable to locate a website for Diseno Proprio but there are some reviews online including this on Trip Advisor. Very nice store with a lot of unusual items instead of the same tourist drecht you see all over (very similar to the tourist drecht you see in Washington, DC, by the way).
After visiting the palace, AlteCocker spent a lot of time listening to a guy entertain visitors on the steps of the cathedral opposite the place. The drill is that you either buy the person's CD or give him a contribution when you do that. Having purchased a CD in similar circumstances yesterday outside The Prado, she passed on the CD and put money in his violin case.
Walking back the way she came, AlteCocker noticed this market type place near the Plaza Mayor. It was chock full of Spanish people drinking and eating tapas. There were no seats and AlteCocker really needed one so she snapped some photos and had her regulation over priced sangria on the Plaza Mayor. After imbibing, AlteCocker meandered "home" to Hostal Benamar eating her daily ice cream along the way. There is a Museum of Romanticism directly across the street from the hotel and there were people standing outside with instrument cases. AlteCocker asked if there was a concert tonight. Predictably it's tomorrow night. AlteCocker will be at the Dublin Airport Hotel for that one, but she will visit that museum tomorrow morning.
No late night entertainment is planned for tonight. Tonight is "Struggle with Luggage Night" and time for a good sleep before the stress of getting to the airport, etc., tomorrow to begin the journey back to Los Estados Unidos. The trip--and this blog--are almost finished.
5. AlteCocker did finally have churros and chocolate on her last morning in Madrid. She had had churros with coffee con leche (coffee with milk) earlier in her stay. The official Spanish way to have them, however, is with think hot chocolate that has the taste--and almost the texture of chocolate pudding. The churros are different than the American versions found almost ubiquitously at every amusement park. Instead of sticks dusted with sugar, they are long and thin and twisted without sugar. Who needs the sugar when you dip them in the chocolate pudding? My doctor would have heart failure if he knew AlteCocker had these things.
After eating too much cholesterol, AlteCocker went across the street to the Museum of Romanticism. It was a hit--and also free to AlteCockers. In fact, many Spanish museums are free or have a reduced price for AlteCockers. Thank you, Spain. European museums vary on this so always bring a document to prove your age and don't lie about it if you don't want to be embarrassed. AlteCocker spent a little over an hour in the museum and then had a diet coke and a muffin in the museum cafe because she was killing time. The museum shop is also very nice, but AlteCocker did not add to her luggage there. The museum is a house museum showing upper class Madrid life during the 19th century and has just been remodeled. It is very nice and worth a look if you have an extended stay in Madrid or are staying at the Hotel Benamar across the street. The big surprise? There's a huge Goya in there of Christ? Wherever you look, Goyas, Velasquezes and El Grecos--that's Madrid.
Eventually, to kill more time, AlteCocker had lunch in a nondescript Mexican place around the corner. The food was nondescript also.
Finally, AlteCocker retrieved her luggage and walked around the corner to hail a taxi to Cibeles to pick up the airport bus. She was assisted in this maneuver by Jose Benamar, the owner of the hotel. The transfer to the airport was made without incident and AlteCocker did get a seat on the airport bus (not everyone does). Warning: If you are flying out of Madrid, do not arrive early. There are no seats until you pass thru security, get bags inspected, etc. AlteCocker ended up sitting on the floor reading for a long time before she was able to check in. Madrid Airport: Get some seats.
Another not so nice thing about the Madrid Airport (at least in Terminal 1 where AlteCocker parked her carcass on the floor), there are no flight announcements. You are expected to periodically check the boards to see if your flight has changed gates. AlteCocker does not get this system at all and, if you don't notice, you could end up missing your flight and losing dinero. AlteCocker's flight did change locations. One person noticed and everyone made a beeline for the new gate. Lousy system.
The flight to Dublin went without incident but AlteCocker did find out that she did not get United air miles on the Madrid-Dublin flight leg because United does not code share that flight with Aer Lingus. AlteCocker, due to a major scheduling faux pas (she misread the 24 hundred hour clock when she booked), had a 14 hour layover in Dublin. That resulted in a night at the Dublin Hotel Metro Airport and an unexciting United Airlines flight back to the US the following day. She did get miles on that flight! Happy to note that United still provides meals on international flights without extra charges! The choice in cattle class was chicken or vegetarian (There may have originally been another option but AlteCocker was at the end of the food chain--and you know how that one goes). A snack was served before landing (hot ham & cheese and small bag of chips). AlteCocker watched a touching French film "Amour" and 5 episodes of the American show "House of Cards" (It is actually based on a British show of the same name), a series she managed to miss in the US because she is too busy for much TV at home.
A word on flights out of Dublin: You do US Customs and Immigration in Dublin. You pass through duty free before doing that. If you want to linger and shop in Duty Free, you do it then--not after passing through US Customs and Immigration when there is only a small coffee shop and nowhere to spend your last euros. Getting rid of that last euro then becomes tough. AlteCocker doesn't care about spending her last euro because she just puts it in the envelope for next year, but, if there is no next year, you might. A lot of muffins people did not need to eat were purchased at the coffee shop.
If you are in transit in Dublin and going to the United States, your bag will be checked through, but you will be sent to Customs to identify your bag. AlteCocker stupidly thought they would bring it out to her but, no, it doesn't work that way. They bring it up on a computer screen and ask "Is that your bag?" After identifying your bag, you then are allowed to exit the area after observing a lot of people sweating heavily before being questioned about entering the United States. You can then proceed to spend your last euros on a muffin in the coffee place.
This post will be the end of the blogs for this trip. Please keep following as the photos from the trip will get posted in the next few weeks as AlteCocker downloads, enhances and posts assortments. Look for the next trip blog to begin in November when AlteCocker home exchanges in Costa Rica.
And thanks for following this blog.