¡Pa’ arriba, pa’ bajo, pa’l centro, pa’ dentro! 60 hours in Madrid

It all began with a wild notion that I was going to walk the Camino this year. I was also going to travel from London to Cyprus by train and then on to Beirut by plane – that plan was a fleeting moment sometime late January. The main intention of it all was to be able to pack a bag, have it be under 20kg (mine is 17kg), put it on my bag and set off on the road not shackled by the chains of health or fear. Life happens and I adjusted my journey slightly, as you have all been reading on my blog for the past few weeks. I did however intend to see as many of my friends or community as I could, and Grainne Hayes is always game to jump of the adventure train. Grainne was up for the Camino, but completely understood my sensible readjustment of travel plans and we settled on Madrid, a city neither of us had been to. Grainne and I have been friends since living together in Auxilia Hostel during our first year of undergraduate in Maynooth. There is a streak of spontaneity and fun in Grainne that is truly endearing – the ultimate example being me calling her from Abu Dhabi first week of September 2002 to see if she wanted a teaching job in the international school I was at, she was on a plane four days later and stayed four years! We drifted in and out of touch after I left Abu Dhabi, but a crossroads in both our lives in early 2013 brought us back in more consistent contact. Grainne and Sheila (another friend from the hostel days) came to Vancouver in late September 2018 during a period when I was emotionally disintegrating – only to rebuild; and so to have this time with them in Madrid meant a lot to me. We certainly laughed, ate, drank, walked and shopped enough for a week in the two full days we were in the wonderful city.  

The ladies and I in Place Mayor in central Madrid

Madrid, I am in love with thee! I have been to Barcelona, Malaga, Seville and Granada, but there is something truly infectious about the vibe of Madrid. It has all the charms of a capital city with incredible museums, music and superb architecture, but there is gentle arrogance to the aura of the streets that encapsulates its place as a city that has held much prominence in many ages. On every corner there is a reminder of the incredibly diverse history this relatively new city – founded in the mid-9th century by Muhammad I of Córdoba. The name Madrid comes originally from the Arabic al-Majrīṭ (Arabic: المجريط "source of water"). From this came the name Majerit or Magerit in Spanish, later spelled Madrid. I learned much about the Moorish history of the city from Alex my wonderful half-Spanish half-Swedish bicycle guide who is learning Arabic because of his interest in the religious history of the city and region. This is just a taste of the people I/we met in the brief stay. There was Jose our ‘landlord’ who insisted he wanted to carry our bags up three flights of stairs even though he was on crutches from a skiing accident, there was the young Moroccan shop keeper who sold me my postcards and stamps and with whom I discussed Berber versus Arabic linguistics, there was the polite yet shocked paella waiter intrigued our inability to choose one paella dish and so ordered three! It is the people of a city that really bring it to life and Madrid certainly was being done proud by its citizens. 

 

Vertical garden

You should have no doubt by now if you have been a regular reader of my blog that food is happily always a part of any experience I have, and Madrid did not disappoint. There was the discovery of the Spanish Taverna which is somewhere between a bar and a restaurant so more choice of delicious food but the great casual vibe of a bar. There was of course Rioja wine, and Grainne and I introduced Sheila to its eloquent ‘legs’ and subtle after-tones. I don’t think I had truly tasted a Spanish omelet until our last night where we were presented with ham and caramelized onions encased in a delicate crust of egg and potato. 

Jamon anyone?

We celebrated this delicious meal with drinks on a rooftop bar overlooking the incredible Basilica of San Francisco El Grande whose Dome is two metres larger than the Aga Sofia in Istanbul. The night would not have been complete without a nightcap near the apartment, some dancing and an insane moment in the bar when everyone else aside of the three of us (including the barman) cleared out, and so what did Siobhán do – I became the barperson!

I cannot begin to convey my feelings for my brief visit to the Prado Museum. I am always very selective of which museums I visit and can count on one hand the ones that have truly inspired me, but the Prado deserves an entire hand. Everyone I asked who had been to the city encouraged me to go, and my only ‘regret’ is that I could not have spent more time there. I very sensibly (thank you to my aunt Marie who inspired to regularly do this where art is involved) picked up an audio guide and followed the two-hour tour through the almost 100 rooms of Renaissance art works. Although the guide took me to 30 paintings of 100-s, it did mean that walked through every room. The highlight was seeing Bosch’s ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’, a painting a refer to in my third-year lectures on human greed. I have spoken of the painting and seen countless images, but to stand in front of it was mesmeric.

The three nights and two days were too brief a time in Madrid but I have a taste for a city I am sure I will return to in the future. I was pleased with my ability to understand most of the Spanish but humbled by lack of ability to respond in full sentences, so I would return in anticipation of rectifying this. As well as the urban delights of the city to spend the time chitchatting about everything and nothing with two wonderful ladies who knew me when I was wild, naïve and 18 was certainly special. Madrid, hasta luego…  

Taking over the bar

The title of the blog is an informal toast: ¡Pa’ arriba, pa’ bajo, pa’l centro, pa’ dentro! Literally this means “Up, down, to the center, inside” and is accompanied by the gesture of moving your glass in that fashion.

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