Planning for Madrid

Yesterday, we scouted the next day's trip to the Alicante railroad station answer questions and wandered down to the beach to say goodbye.

Who doesn't need to have their photo taken with a cow at the rail station?

There are a few wide dirt paths near the water in Alicante, but the majority seem to be made of shiny marble  mosaics.  You've already seen the the Escher-like Esplanada and the waterfront walk.  This is the walk in front of the commercial storefronts.

Postiguet Beach below downtown Alicante.  I walked in the lapping surf for quite a way and  I can attest that the sand is golden.  I swear the Mediterranean water is about 80 degrees.  It felt like a heated swmming pool once I acclimated.  That cannot be said of the Oregon and California beaches I walked on this summer.

Many Spaniards were showing their patriotism by hanging the Spanish flag from their balconies in the city.  I assume that has to do with the Catalan independence referendum voting that has been going on all day today.

We took an exciting trip on the high speed railroad, Renfe Ave, to Madrid today.  There was some confusion about which bus we needed to get to the station, but it all worked out.  We weren't even frisked, only the X-ray for our baggage - and... we even got to keep our belts and shoes on!  It was more comfortable, but I'm not sure that makes me feel more secure.

This is after we passed through Security.  The line for the platform we want started here.

On the right is our train.  We walked several city blocks, kept looking  for Coche (Car)  5, and discovered that Coche 5 was on the train parked in front of that train.

Coche 5 and Can Can dancer.

That train WAS very fast.  I'm pretty sure the train to Portland didn't get even close to 150 mph, and yet we could see the landscape very well as we whizzed by.  Most of it was rolling hills that looked very like Southern California and Arizona.  Apparently we passed La Mancha while I was napping, darn it.

Some of you may have heard that there was a stabbing incident at the Marseilles railroad station today.  It was a close thing.  We were considering going to Marseilles rather than Madrid, but it would have been by air because the flights were so very cheap now and that saves time.  Our Madrid trip was uneventful that way, on the train, at the stations, and in the city.  What a lovely city!

The Madrid Renfe Station, Atocha, was unique and interesting.

This place is HUGE; definitely a national hub.

It even has a meandering walkway through a man-made jungle.

Our taxi driver dropped us off in the middle of this block.

Here's the view from our AirBnb apartment door.  Those lines you see are our dedicated clothes lines.  [Yes, very few use a laundry dryer and the washer, if you have one, is either in the kitchen or the bathroom.]  I'm told by our host that these corrales (private courtyards) were very common in the 16th century, but very few survive today.  This neighborhood, Lavapies, was "the walled-in "Juderie" - the medieval Jewish quarter until Jews were forced into exile or conversion in 1492."  It seems to be a very interesting, lively barrio and our location is within easy walking distance of most of the sites we want to see.  [Oh, and I must say that Madrid smells better to me so far than many parts of Alicante.  Perhaps it was the proximity of the sea or difficulties with sewage, but what a difference.]

The view from our door.  There is a black and white marble tiled walkway the width of the building with other apartments opening onto it.  Ours is a very tiny one bedroom, but it will work.

Of course, the first thing we did after settling in a little was to go for a meal and do a little shopping at the local mercado.  We made a rookie error at our first stop.  Using our pidgin Spanish, we ordered what we thought was two entrees and a shared vegetable dish.  However, we should have realized when the waiter playfully rolled his eyes taking our order, that each of those 3 items were family sized communal bowls to share.  So, needless to say, we unintentionally reinforced the stereotype of the overeating American; ordering too much, paying too much, and leaving too much food on the table.  Lesson learned.

However, the Jamon Iberico was delicious, salty, chewy, and divine. We didn't leave too much of this.

Well, I'm off to buy some new sandals or espadrilles.  I'm down to my comfortable hiking books because I literally wore out my sandals walking everywhere.  It's in the high eighties (degrees) here and these hiking boots just won't cut it.

Photos of Madrid tomorrow night.  Buenos noches!