NYR #40: See the four skyscrapers at Chamartín

On the way back from the UAM, our train passed by Chamartín, so we hopped off to catch a picture of the four very different towers that grace the skyline there.

Madrid doesn't really have a recognizable skyline, so to speak, and I think that the construction of these towers was intended to give it such. They are all four so very different in terms of shapes and colors, but they just fit together so beautifully.

And of course, it was a gorgeously sunny day. Like most days here in Madrid. 

A Visit to the UAM

UAM (The Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, pronounced: WOM) is one of the best universities in Madrid (or so I'm told by my intercambio, and by the fact that it is the only Spanish university where NYU lets its students take classes).

The day of my visit also happened to coincide with the UAM students' celebrations of San Canuto. Apparently this dude was a real saint, but "canuto" also means "joint" in Spanish slang, so take of that what you will.

hint: it means hippies. lots and lots of hippies.

At the same time, it really reminded me of one ginormous lawnparty/tailgate. There were several people with generators running some pretty high-powered speakers, other people with generators making delicious pork and cheese sandwiches (serious yumminess was going on), other people selling kalimotxos (a typically Spanish party beverage of red wine and coca-cola--sounds weird, but don't knock it 'till you try it), and still other people selling random handicrafts.

Serious yumminess.

I was very surprised by the entrepreneurial spirit going on by all the seemingly anti-establishment people. It was kind of odd, but a very interesting and fun way to pass a Thursday afternoon.

NYR #20: Eat a serving of patatas bravas in the mythic Las Bravas

So...when we ducked out of the concert at Café Central, we were on the lookout for some food. Not that they didn't have food at Central, but somehow we could see it being way more expensive than it should have been.

So we left. And on our way back to Sol, we walked by Las Bravas. Laura had told me that this was one of the items on the list that I should maybe consider ignoring, because the last time she ate at Las Bravas, their potatoes weren't very good. But I said that it was here, I was hungry, so I might as well try it.

The restaurant was ORANGE! Clearly, it's a sign. 

Spanish food and I currently have a love-hate relationship. It's is generally quite delicious, but often very repetitive, and NEVER EVER spicy. Like never.

(Since moving into my own apartment 21 days ago, I've used about a half a bottle of black pepper just cooking for myself. That should give you an idea of just how much spice I was lacking in my life over the past 5 months). 

So, when Las Bravas opened a while ago, they were the first to put a somewhat (read: only slightly) spicy sauce on their potatoes, and they were super-popular. Now, you can get patatas bravas in just about any restaurant, and the amount of spiciness will always vary wildly. The ones in Las Bravas aren't the spiciest I've had, but they definitely had a bit of zing, which is always good.

Me and my Fanta Naranja with the patatas bravas

 I scarfed them down quite quickly. Not gonna lie. 

Sometimes

an entire country can make you feel guilty for wanting to be efficient and not waste anyone's time. But this generally means that you're in a hurry when EVERYONE ELSE is not. It also means that you (meaning, I) might forget things. It's happened a lot over the past week, and I'm sick of it. Hopefully, being back on a schedule will help.

Sometimes, you go to the cute little market near your house, and you decide that you are never buying groceries anywhere else, because the people are so nice and they ask you where you're from (Then tell you that you have a Sevillan accent when you have lived in Madrid for 5 months). Also, this means that I'll be eating pretty healthy from now on. They've really only got fresh veggies and meat. And wine. Don't forget the wine. (I am in Spain, after all. It's dirt-cheap here).

Also, sometimes I wonder where seedless grapes come from. Didn't they need seeds in order to breed the grapes in the first place?

DNortonLand is a confusing place.

NYR #35: Enjoy the awesome jazz concerts at Café Central

Madrid is a city of cafes. Madrileñans love their coffee and their beer, and they partake of these two beverages at a bar/cafe. Cafe Central is one of those awesome stereotypical Madrileñan cafes, but from 10-midnight every night, it transforms into a wonderful music venue, and 10-15€ gets you a seat to some top quality jazz performances.

Yesterday, because I'd been having kind of a rough week, a friend suggested that we go listen to the jazz at Cafe Central and cross another item off my list. And this band (a trio of a double-bass, piano and drums) was fantastic. They started off with an instrumental piece, and then introduced the female singer who would accompany them for the rest of the set.

And although I generally think of jazz as a purely American phenomenon, this group played several Spanish songs--from Mexico and the Caribbean--and they were delightful.

After about 5 songs, the leader of the group (seen below resting on his bass), told the audience: we're going to take a 10 or 15 minute break, so we'll be back in about half an hour. It's the Spanish thing to do.

I was starving, so we ducked out at this moment, but I will so very willingly go back, because the atmosphere is tons of fun and the music was so very amazing.

NYR #43: Go to the Natural Science Museum

This one was supposed to be "Start a snowball fight with a stranger", but seeing as how it's about 60º and sunny here, that one probs won't happen. Also, I really don't want to throw a snowball at a stranger here. They'll probably start yelling at me, and then I'll forget my Spanish and just splutter around in tears and it would just be ugly.

So I'll stick with the rocks and the taxidermied animals (of which there are quite a few) in the lovely building that is the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales.

It shares its building with a school of something (exactly what, I am not sure, and although the facade says "Escuela de Ingenieros Industriales", that may have changed). This means that in order to see all of the museum, you have to enter through one wing of the building, exit out the same door and walk around to the other wing of the building to see all the cool dinosaur skeletons, fossils, and the exhibit on evolution.

In the wing we entered first, there are a lot of animals. All dead and stuffed, with their glassy eyes just staring at you. Lots of dead bugs and birds...in a variety of vibrant colors...like these awesome butterflies on the homepage of the museum. It was kind of creepy, especially the "almacén de aves y mamíferos" basically a large round room with a whole bunch of glass shelves absolutely stuffed with the corpses of every flying or furry animal you can think of (except for maybe a platypus...don't recall seeing that, but that doesn't mean it isn't there).

However, not all of the museum was creepy, the part with the dinosaurs was really cool. Especially because they have taken some kind of video technology and with a television and some crazy pieces of board, they have created an exhibit where you can hold a virtual dinosaur in your hand. There's something about these boards that, when held at the right angle (while watching the television screen of course), allows for the image of a dinosaur to appear on the TV. And the dinosaur images even move!!! Mine kept eating the grass and wagging his tail in happiness!

So yeah...Natural Science Museums. Sometimes creepy, generally interesting (even for a non-science geek like myself), and always worth a visit.

NYR #59: Leer en un banco en Plaza de Colón

This is another of the surprisingly easy items on the list (especially since it doesn't specify just how long you have to read...nor does it specify that what you read has to be in Spanish). I kind of took a little detour on the way home from NYU today in order to complete this one.

Mama Norton has been pressuring me to read her book (yes...she is working on ANOTHER book. If you want to check out her last book, which relates the history of the Pecos and Holy Ghost Canyons in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, click here). I had printed off her history of the Independent School in Wichita and gotten it bound this morning, and I figured there was no better way to pass an afternoon than to check it out.

So, I wandered on over to Plaza de Colón, sat myself down on a bench, shot a picture of me "reading" the manuscript (I can't really multi-task, so it only looks like I'm reading while I'm taking the picture), and then settled into actually read a few pages while I was there.

I like Plaza de Colón, although it isn't my favorite plaza in Madrid. It's close to the Biblioteca Nacional (my least favorite library in the world, but at least it's pretty!), and Calle Serrano (the super-fancy street) runs along one side. However, this plaza looks like something out of Soviet Russia (or out of the 70s--sometimes I can't tell) in that it is mostly concrete/paved with brick/decidedly not pretty/green/nature-y/all of the above. But that makes it perfect for all the skateboarders and trick bikers who hang out there.

Now that I think about it...It's actually kind of weird to read on a bench in this plaza. Doesn't seem like the kind of thing it was built for. Also, it doesn't really provide the idyllic setting I expect when I go outside to read. but oh well. Here is me with the Biblioteca Nacional in the background, a manuscript in my hand, and my reading face all set.

And Mama Norton's book, A School like no Other, is quite fun. It's about the school that she helped create and that I had the privilege to attend from elementary to high school. Once she gets it printed (which could be awhile, not gonna lie), you should check it out.

NYR #30: Pisar Km. 0

So, when I was first examining this list, I figured that there was one thing I definitely didn't want to do. I even told my intercambio (very adamantly, I might add), that there was no way I would "pisar km. 0". She was very confused.

"Really?" she said, "It's right in Sol (the center), and a lot of people take pictures near it. It's actually kind of a big deal because that's where all the radial highways in Spain begin...Why don't you want to step on it?

Wait, what? Step on it??? I was thinking pisar was a cognate! Stepping on a stone plaque landmark is so much better than the alternative.

At this point, my intercambio was thinking I was crazy. I was thinking it was just par for the course.

NYR #46: Visit the Thyssen

The Spanish version of this one actually says, "Discover the hidden jewels of the Thyssen". I'm not sure how many hidden jewels I discovered there, but I did visit the museum yesterday with a friend from Middlebury.

The Thyssen is a museum created primarily from the private collection of a really rich family: The Thyssen-Bornemisza family. Back in the early 20th Century, the patriarch, August Thyssen, founder of a financial empire spanning the iron and steel industries, decided that he needed to collect some sculptures. He started off with some sculptures by Rodin: you know, the dude who created "The Thinker". His son and grandson continued developing the collection, in spite of some ridiculous family feuds (and world wars and economic difficulties) that threatened to break it up.

In the mid 20th Century, it became a traveling collection (because it had outgrown the Swiss villa in which it had been housed since the 1930s--clearly), and in 1988, faced with the desire to keep the collection together, Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza considered several bids to house the entire collection outside Swiss borders. The Spanish bid won out...mostly because of the awesome location of the building they intended to house it in (The Villahermosa Palace--right across from the Prado and very near the Reina Sofia), and because Hans Heinrich's wife just happened to be Spanish.

It's got artwork spanning the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Impressionism, German Expressionism. Basically, this one family paid for the entire history of Western Civilization to be housed in their own private compound. And then, decided that they needed to share said history with the rest of the world.

The only thing I could think about as I was wandering about the Titians, Van Goghs, Monets and Picassos is the incredibly large amount of money that these people sunk into the artwork. I mean, it was beautiful, but dang....that's a lot of dinero.

100 things

to do in Madrid before you die (or before you move back to the States in July).


It's a pretty comprehensive list, but at the same time, it's got some weird, random things that I may decide to sub out. 


So, here are the 100 things I will do in Madrid before July.

1. See the gardens at Atocha.
2. See the memorial to March 11.
3. See the sculpture of the fallen angel.
4. See the Crystal Palace.
5. Ride a bike around the Retiro (not sure how I'm going to do this with no bike).
6. Go boating in the estanque.
7. Take a photo at the statue of el Oso y el Madroño.
8. Wander the Cecilio Rodriguez gardens.
9. See the Cibeles fountain.
10. Climb to the roof of the Círculo de Bellas Artes.
11. Wander up Gran Vía
12. Go to a show on Gran Vía
13. Go shopping on Preciados
14. See the Puerta de Alcalá
15. Eat a sweet treat at the Mallorquina
16. Eat 12 grapes in Sol on New Year's Eve. (this might be difficult. Anybody got a Time-Turner?)
17. Eat a calamari sandwich in the Plaza Mayor.
18. See the statue of Eloy Gonzalez.
19. Walk through the Rastro on a Sunday
20. Eat patatas bravas in Las Bravas
21. See the Don Quijote & Sancho Panza statue in the Plaza de España
22. See the sunset at Templo de Debod
23. See the Guernica at the Reina Sofia
24. Enjoy the art at the Prado
25. See the Bonsais in the Royal Garden
26. Tapear in the San Miguel Market
27. Visit the Royal Palace and the East Plaza
28. Wander through the Sabatini Gardens
29. Eat in the 'mythic' Underground Chino
30. Step on Km. 0
31. Visit the Museum of Sorolla
32. Go to the Plaza de la Villa
33. Visit Valle de los Caídos (Thank the lord I did this in 2008, because it's closed now and they may never reopen it)
34. Touch the grass at Santiago Bernabeu
35. Listen to jazz at Café Central
36. Visit the wax museum 
37. See the Madrid skyline from Tetas de Vallecas
38. Visit the Palace at Aranjuez
39. Visit the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales (Monastery of Barefooted Royals)
40. See the 4 towers at Chamartín
41. Eat Indian food in Lavapies
42. Start a day (End a night?) with churros from San Gines
43. Go to the Natural Science Museum (This one was one of the snow items. I thought that science should win out.)
44. See the cupula of the Metropolis building.
45. Enjoy Madrid's skyline from the Teleférico
46. Visit the Thyssen
47. Visit the Museo de América
48. Ride in the Strawberry Train at the Train Museum
49. Find a unique gift in the Fuencarral market
50. Wander through the Parque Tierno Galván
51. Spend a day in El Escorial
52. See the Royal Palace from the Campo del Moro
53. Admire the walls of the Casa de la Panadería
54. Visit the Cathedral of the Almudena
55. Visit Las Ventas
56. Party in Chueca and Malasaña
57. See the Puerta de Toledo
58. See Gran Vía at night
59. Read on a bench in the Plaza de Colon.
60. Take a photo of the Torres Kio
61. Admire the vertical garden of Caixa Forum
62. Visit the Bishop's Chapel in the Plaza de la Paja
63. Drink some beers on a terrace in La Latina
64. Try the grilled chicken at Casa Mingo
65. Climb the Abyss at Warner Amusement Park
66. Roar with the lions in front of the Congreso de los Diputados
67. See the Goya frescoes in the Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida
68. See the Plaza of Neptune
69. Go window shopping on Serrano--Buy something if I can afford it (HA!)
70. Take a picture with Gran Vía in the background
71. Visit the Sierra de Madrid while it's snowy
72. See Madrid from the Cerro de los Angeles
73. Enjoy a movie in one of the few movie theaters that remain on Gran Vía
74. Discover the history of the metro
75. See the Plaza del Oriente from the Opera balcony
76. Spend the day with your childhood heroes at Warner Amusement Park (seriously, this has 2???)
77. Visit the house where Cervantes was born
78. Circle Madrid on the bicycle path. (ummm, on what bike?)
79. See the starry sky in the Planetarium
80. Visit the Basilica of San Francisco el Grande
81. Climb up the Faro de Moncloa on a clear day
82. See the new panda babies in the zoo (PANDA BABIES!!!)
83. Hunt zombies on line 6 at 8AM
84. Wander through Casa de campo
85. Look for an apartment of more than 30 meters squared (Done and Done!)
86. Get lost in Madrid. (For how long? I feel like this one needs a minimum time limit because I am frequently lost, but very quickly find my way)
87. Run a marathon (gonna do the 10k. but it's coming up in April, I believe).
88. Eat a good cocido madrileño (I've had cocido. not sure I would call it good)
89. See the puppets in the Retiro
90. Work with an NGO in front of FNAC
91. Meet with old friends to drink a coffee (can mine be a hot chocolate, or a cola cao?)
92. Have an urban picnic (ahem, botellón) in Plaza de España. 
93. Wander through Plaza 2 de Mayo
94. Build a snowman in the Retiro (am searching for something to replace this with...maybe go out one night to the Tabacalera)
95. Enjoy a concert in the Sports Arena
96. Visit the mint
97. Ski in Xanadu--the indoor ski park
98. Search for the best mojito in Madrid.
99. Enjoy the graffiti.
100. Live a Noche in Blanco
101. Do it all over again. With friends.

NYR: 2011

Happy New Year!!!

We take New Year's Resolutions pretty seriously here in DNortonLand.

Well, we didn't until 2010, but then, things got real: I actually completed a resolution and I'm not about to back down now. As you may have read here, 2010's Great Letter Project was a rousing success (by New Year's Resolution standards, which means that it lasted through December). So I decided to try to make the 2011 NYR even more awesome. And by awesome, I mean legendary.

December was kind of a rough month in Madrid. Not going home for the holidays made me realize that I haven't really built a strong community in Spain. Whatever love I once had for Madrid is evaporating in the stress of PhD applications and a Master's thesis. I want to fall in love with this city again, and I'm using New Year's Resolutions as a way to achieve that. This particular NYR has 3 parts.

Part 1:

Row at the Retiro 3 times a week.  I'm living much closer to the Retiro than I was, so I don't have laziness as an excuse, and I joined the club way back in September. Also, I love rowing: it's a great way to meet people, like the cute guy who is always biking. We're just a few months away from a real, audible connection.

(This is where the Pioneer Woman would say, "Name that movie!" but in this case, it would be "Name that internet sensation!")

Part 2 is a little more complicated. A friend found a list on the internet: 100 things to do in Madrid before you die.

For those who can't (or refuse to) read Spanish, I'll be posting an English translation of the list in a separate post. Some of the items are a little ridiculous, like build a snowman in the Retiro, or throw a snowball at a stranger. It can get cold in Madrid, but it rarely snows, so chances are, I will substitute these two items with others that I find more doable.

The 2011 NYR is to complete this list by the time I leave in July. I've already completed about 30 of them. That leaves 70 to complete in approximately 24 weeks. I think I can handle that.

And Part 3:

I'm now living 15 minutes walking distance from this church. I plan to go there every Sunday that I spend in Madrid. (Note: This does not mean every single Sunday. It could be that I travel somewhere one weekend and can't make it to church. that's cool. but if I am in Madrid, I'll be there at 11:30AM for services.)

We'll see how these go!