Just a few words and pictures re: Madrid - unfortunately our time there was curtailed because of travel delays. Not only was our original flight cancelled, but the 11:00 PM flight we managed to get a seat on the next evening didn't leave New York until 5:00 AM - I have never, ever, been so jetlagged before! ANYWAY - the blur of my exhausted two days in Madrid suggested a cosmopolitan, very liveable world capital with lots of jamon, olives and wine, and an art collection to rival any other European City - we only saw two of countless museums but - all the El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya you've seen in art history text books - plus amazing examples of art from throughout Europe and the United States. You could basically spend a week in the museums alone! (The Thyssen-Bornemiza collection particularly blew me away)
The other thing I noticed and really liked about madrid is that there is lots of low-key nightlife for grown-ups - wine and tapas bars are jammed with people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, etc. late into the evening, just staying out and eating and drinking with friends. We really liked the area called La Latina, near the old city (where you there are charming, curving cobbled streets and Habsburg architecture - the area around the big museums is Bourbon and looks much more Parisian), where we had a really nice simple dinner and then a drink at a bar called Delic on Plaza de la Paja; apparently hip people like me enjoying spending time there, especially in the summer!
Arrived in Barcelona today via high speed train (WHY DON'T WE HAVE THESE??) and beginning to feel slightly more human. Everything is closed today but just the glimpses on our way to the hotel the architecture is in-credible - amazing - can't wait to look around over the next few days and from the shop windows I've seen so far I'm going to have to exercise some restraint - lots of VERY EXCITING Spanish boutiques I have not seen the likes of in NYC!!
Your travel experience sounds like a nightmare! (with the exception of the high-speed train -- guess Europe had worked out *its* weather-related travel woes by the time you arrived) Guess you will have to go back to Madrid!
Posted by: Amanda | January 10, 2011 at 11:15 AM