March 9, 2012
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Madrid, Spain
I've talked about it a couple of times on this blog, so there's no point repeating it once again here... but the fact that Günter and I met fifteen years ago, in a small gay bar called Gaiety on Amstel, was the reason that I met up with him this morning just outside his and Rob's house, close to Central Station. It was only 8:00 in the morning but the sun was already shining nicely. It was cold in Amsterdam but the forecast for the weekend in Madrid was for nice and warm, sunny weather. No objections to that!
We walked to Central Station, took a train to the airport, went through security and then through to the boarding area, and before we knew it we were airborne, on our way to the Spanish capital. During the two hour flight, we chatted, we read, and we ate chocolate. The trip into Madrid from Barajas Airport is by metro and you have to change trains twice to do so, but everything went very efficient and without hiccups so it was at around two o'clock that we got to our hotel, checked in, and then walked out again, ready to discover Madrid!
Günter seemed quite impressed. It was his first visit to Madrid, and already as we had emerged from the Chueca metro station, he had looked around him at the little, cute square and exclaimed a genuine 'wow!' to show he liked what he saw. It stayed that way, as we walked towards the Puerta del Sol, Madrid's central square and heaving with tourists, and then on to the majestic Plaza Mayor, with its wonderful arcades, where the above picture was taken. We had deepfried chorizo sausages on roll for lunch and they were absolutely delicious.
We continued our walk towards the Plaza de Oriente, and then on to the Royal Palace and the Almudena Cathedral, then turning back towards the Plaza d'España and the Gran Via. It was all met with enthusiastic happiness, and it must be said... even though if I would have to chose between the two, Barcelona would be my favourite, but Madrid is a truly impressive and grand city. It's much bigger than Barcelona, with a population about twice the size of the Catalan capital, and it's also a true capital city, with its government buildings, wonderful museums and major shopping streets.
After some drinks outside in the sun on the Plaza de Vázquez de Mella, we returned to the hotel in the late afternoon for a quick rest, only to head out into the city again in the early evening, when we strolled towards the La Latina district and then returned to a very nice restaurant just south of the Plaza Mayor where we had a delicious meal and some nice beers and wine. A visit to some of the bars I usually go to when I'm here on my own followed and at around midnight, at a very decent time, we were back in the hotel for a well deserved sleep. A very successful first day in Madrid behind us.
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