ADVENTURES IN MADRID
Day 3 - December 14
I woke up too early. Everyone was asleep and I wandered around the apartment taking in our place. We had chosen the hotel SmartRental Collection Gran Via Centric which offered two bedrooms and a small balcony, but unfortunately, we didn’t use the balcony because it was completely soaked with water. Madrid had suffered severe rain for several weeks, but that particular morning the sun was gracious enough to peek out the clouds and shine on the world below. I put some shoes on and stepped onto the balcony and looked over the edge. We were nine floors up and I could see over the top of the city of Madrid. The air was beautiful and fresh and a lovely change after the smell of hotels and airports.
A couple of hours later nearing close to ten in the morning I woke everyone up. That is the hard thing with trips abroad, those first days are a bit wonky and no one is particularly happy, but thankfully the kids seemed to be in good spirits. I had researched gluten-free bakeries across Spain and fortuitously one particular place called Celicioso was just around the block.
It was exciting to be the first person in my family to venture out into a new city, especially on my own. It was exhilarating as I walked along the Gran Vía and took in all the old buildings and shops. I quickly turned a corner and found the bakery I was looking for and then I saw across the street a bookshop. I was so excited and popped over to that side of the street first and perused the selection of books that sat outside on a table. The books were all hardbound classics with ornate designs on the covers. They were so beautiful and only €12.95! It was our first day and I didn’t want to carry a large copy of Dickens or Dumas in my bag the whole trip, but now I look back and I regret that I didn’t purchase at least one.
I returned to the bakery and stepped in to find a tasty display of tarts and sandwiches. It was my first attempt at speaking Spanish and although we found a way to understand each other, I felt a little discouraged at my lack of understanding of the language and how rusty I was. (That would change as the trip went on) I ordered croissants, a sandwich, and bread. The lady was a little confused that I only wanted a slice of bread and not a sandwich. I would later learn the importance of the bocadillo. I paid and returned home glad that the kids were happy with my choices. It was not nearly enough food though. I was not used to portions in Spain yet and our stomaches had not adjusted to the differences in meal times.
After breakfast or almeurzo we gathered some umbrellas and began our first journey in Madrid. The first task was to figure out the trains. We went down to the subway and Dustin sorted out our tickets. We hopped on the train and explained to our son what to do if we ever got separated. (The reason for this precautious is one common sense, but two when my son was eighteen months old and my husband and I, who were wearing Gibson in an ergo, had arrived in France from London and got separated on a train) Now we like to be prepared. We rode the train to Retiro Park exiting the subway station with dark clouds above us. We walked along the park enjoying the smell of trees and damp leaves. It began to drizzle and we tried to ignore the impending rain that night I was sure was going to meet us.
We walked along, allowing the kids to run, jump, and skip, and was a pleasant change from all the compacted rooms during travel. I was extremely grateful for the fresh air and felt a little refreshed although I was beginning to be a little tired. We walked past the Plaza de Nicaragua, the Plaza de Honduras, and the large pond in El Parque de Retiro. The kids enjoyed the performers and musicians that were scattered throughout the park and so began the desire for my son to have coins on hand to share with each performer he saw.
We arrived at the Palacio de Cristal as the drizzle had turned into a steady rain. Several dozen people had sought shelter under the awning at the entrance of the palace. I assumed that they were waiting to enter, and although that was true the reality was that the palace was closing due to poor weather conditions. The few people who remained inside were slowly being ushered out. Even in different languages, I could sense the letdown the people around me felt, myself included. We all stayed for a few minutes believing that the guards and supervisors would change their minds or that a break in the rain would allow for a reopening.
As I looked across the pond, I saw a steady stream of rain with little expectation that it would let up. I called it and told my husband that we could move on. I took a few photos around the Crystal Palace a little disappointed to not be able to go inside, but at that point, I was trying to just be thankful we were even in Madrid. The time was early afternoon and although the kids had not whined about being hungry yet, I knew they would be soon. We made our way back toward the western side of the park, dodging exceptionally muddy or water-logged pathways. Even so, everyone’s shoes were wet although mine feet in my trusty boots were warm and dry.
I knew that there were several restaurants along the Calle de Alfonso XII and as we walked along we looked at signs to see if there was a gluten-free option for me. We did stop at a place that looked promising for me, but as we entered and no one was in the restaurant at around 2 pm and the menu did not look compatible for our kids I did something I never do—apologized and left. It turned out I had mistaken that place for the place I had intended for us to go. We walked down the block and turned to find Murillo Cafe. The place was packed with people, but fortunately, they found space for us in the front where only a large table was occupied and they adapted for us and the two little kids to sit at the remaining small table.
My husband and I ordered the Patatas Bravas, some Croquetas, and Iberian ham. We also had an order of gluten-free bread and regular bread. My daughter who is not used to eating out was not happy to find so many new foods served at our table. She did end up trying one of the sliders and the bread but was not too impressed with either whereas my son devoured most of the bread and his sliders. As we had been seated, my stomach began to ache. I tried to eat the food we ordered but I could barely get any bites down. It was frustrating to still be having trouble after so many days, but I endured. We ate as much of our warm food as we could and looked out on the rainy day still feeling the vibrations and the effects of our rocky journey.
Thankfully as we left the rain had stopped and we were able to walk without the use of our paraguas. As we walked down the Calle de Ruiz de Alarcón to Calle de Felipe IV my husband pulled me aside and mentioned that we could just walk home since it was less than a mile to return by foot to our hotel. I agreed, that although traveling by train was not bad, I preferred to be outdoors and not have to return to the stuffy subway. We didn’t tell the kids how far our journey and they seemed happily preoccupied with all the sights around them.
I didn’t realize at the time that we walked behind the world-famous Museo Nacional del Prado and passed the highly visited Museu Thyssen Bornemisza. We continued to the Carrera de San Jerónimo that connected us to the Puerta del Sol and then we turned up to our street on the Calle Gran Vía. Part way on our journey my daughter began to complain that she was tired and at this point, we tried to distract her knowing that we were not about to backtrack to find a subway station to go just a few blocks more. This was when I shared with her Nana’s request to have a picture of a door from our trip. With this new project she spotted door after door and I took photos of each one, even if I did not find I would use the image later. This became a theme throughout the trip, but it worked to motivate my daughter
We finally arrived back at our hotel and changed out of our wet clothes and shoes. We did our best to dry out the kid’s shoes, but they were pretty soaked so we used the dryer to help with a little. We rested a bit and nibbled on a small merienda—an afternoon snack. But in Spain, one does not call it a night at seven at night. There is a famous Christmas Christmas Market in the Plaza Mayor. We hoped to find a few Christmas gifts to take home and on the way, we hoped to see some more Christmas lights. Each street was festive with its light display.
We walked through the winding streets seeing a more romantic side away from the bustle of Gran Vía. Suddenly the narrow passages opened into a huge square. It was dark save for strips of buildings each surrounded by strips of light. The kids raced into the square as I circled trying to see all the enormous buildings in the darkness. A giant Christmas tree at least two stories high sat dark and empty, but on the far end were the numerous booths with all manner of Christmas toys and nativity scenes. The kids were given an allowance of €5 per city and they were eager to find something within their budget. My daughter found sparkly antler ears that she still loves and sometimes sleeps with and my son, who is very much into Mario, found a couple of Mario keychains. I was able to find a small ornament for my mother and soon we bundled our little packages in our pockets and started heading back to our hotel.
We were planning to watch the FIFA semi-final game between France and Morocco at seven at eight in the evening. As we were walking back we saw a crowd of people gathering in front of the huge El Corte Inglés building. El Corte Inglés is like an upscale Walmart or Target and they are all over Europe. We looked up to see a huge display slightly akin to Chuck E. Cheese by a little less creepy. The Cortylandia does an annual animatronics display in front of El Corte Inglés at Christmas and every half hour the show comes alive. The kids were mesmerized and we enjoyed seeing how the crowd loved the show.
After the first few songs we had to convince our daughter it was time to go. As we were leaving I saw one of the places that had been on my gluten-free list for Madrid. Naked and Sated is a cafe with only a gluten-free menu. Trust me, I double-checked that everything was gluten-free. I told my husband to go back with the kids and I would pick something up for us. This was my first real surge of the trip. I picked up a slice of chocolate tart and a slice of carrot cake. It was an easy jaunt back to the hotel and the streets were still bustling with people.
When I returned and the day’s adventures were nearly over, my husband and I opened our complimentary bottle of wine which warmed us after a cloudy damp day. My husband went to find food at a local store and I tried to figure out if we could get the FIFA game on the television. After several runs through we never found a station that showed a game. After my husband returned with grapes, cheese crackers, and jámon he was able to find the game on his computer and we all sat in the living room watching the game and cheering on Morocco. France would go on to win, but it was exciting to watch the game nonetheless.
As the evening progressed we began to pack our bags and to get ready to check out the next day. I’m sure it would have been fun to have another day or even two in Madrid, but in all honesty, I was ready to get on the train and go to the coast. If we do find we as a family want to spend some time in Spain I already knew that Madrid was not on the list. Besides the rumors of how hot it gets in the summer, I had now witnessed the chilly, damp cold of winter. Besides, Madrid is a huge city and it had a sort of smothering effect on me much like when I was in Chicago. When I do go back and visit I still want to go to Chocolateria San Gines with the beautiful street bookshop across the street, LAIB Gluten-Free Bakery, and the Parque Europa with all of its replica statues and sculptures from around Europe. There were so many other places I did want to see, but alas, we had a train set for the next day and fairly early by the standards of our new schedule. We went to bed I especially looked forward to a change of scenery.
THOUGHTS:
In reality, one day was nowhere near enough time in Madrid, even if it isn’t a prime destination for a particular trip. At a minimum, I recommend at least two days, but three days is closer to the mark, and really four or five days if you have the time.
Double, Double, Double check if you have an allergy, especially in the first days of travel. My ear was not in tune with hearing what had gluten and what was sin gluten. I had a horrible reaction from our lunch and both of my hands blistered with eczema the morning of our departure. I think I mixed up the pieces of bread at lunch and didn’t want to show my elementary Spanish so I didn’t ask again, what with jetlag and feeling ill, I was not clear-headed either.