Madrid
Saturday May 27, 2017
Gosh it's early. I've been getting up past 8am most days and today I'm up at the break of dawn and leaving Madrid for a tour of southern Spain.
Madrid is not as big as I thought it was. There's not too much to see, but the weather here has been unpleasantly hot to walk around and explore in my usual manner. I spent a lot of time in the shade of El Retiro park, with the many others who had come to find refuge from the heat. There was a book fair there yesterday, and an arts and craft fair nearby too.
I covered most of the famous sights; there's the Temple of Debod, which was an Egyptian temple that was dismantled and brought to Madrid, then reassembled; there's the Royal Palace of Madrid, full of art and royal things (you can tell I'm a little over that kind of stuff); there were various markets selling produce and tapas.
One evening I queued for 40 minutes to get into a coveted rooftop bar called Azotea in the Circulo de Bellas Artes building. I was somewhat surprised by the heavy security presence but I figured with a queue that long, they're just looking out for the patrons. Not at all. An envoy of important-looking cars pulls up and a tall gentleman gets out and everyone starts taking pictures of him. I follow suit, not really knowing who he is, but hoping I can identify him later. It turns out it's none other than Felipe VI, the King of Spain, so this rooftop bar must be amazing if the king is here too.
The view was stunning from the top, but the drinks are more expensive than what you'd find elsewhere. I watched the sunset, jostling with the dozens of others who wanted to capture the perfect Instagram moment. As the sangria began to wear off, I got progressively more self-conscious that I was in a bar by myself with no one to talk to. I couldn't even get a seat at the restaurant and I was getting more and more miserable so I left and got a quick bite and went home.
The feeling comes and goes. Though I'm definitely quite introverted, it doesn't mean I shun all social interaction. It's just that I need some space to be alone sometimes, and not all the time. It's also especially hard when you're in a country where you barely know the language and can't easily converse with the locals.
Posted by Jeremy at 6:33am on Saturday May 27, 2017 :: 0 comments :: 