Returning to Madrid

Somehow better than I remember

Not long ago, I was planning a trip to Spain and Italy.

You may recall my attempt to prepare.

I lived in Madrid in 2009. And now, returning in 2023, Madrid was better than I remembered.

I attribute this to the neighborhood where we stayed, traveling with a partner, and having a few more dollars in my bank account than I had last time.

Transportation & Accommodations

My partner and I caught a red-eye with intentions of sleeping from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport to Amsterdam via Delta. I’m no longer adapted to sleeping on planes — I slept a whopping total of nada. Then, we caught our connecting flight via KLM to Madrid. Allegedly, it was King’s Day. KLM was celebrating.

After landing in Madrid, we purchased 10 subway rides for a reasonable 12€. I found the subway much easier to navigate than I did as a twenty-something in 2009.

We stayed at Alfredo’s apartment, he was the most cheerful host with an apartment that was exactly what we were looking for.

We stayed in the Chueca neighborhood, one of the most gay-friendly neighborhoods in Madrid. We were within a 10-minute walking distance of most places we wanted to go.

The apartment had a working washing machine in the kitchen, an attic with space only to hang clothes to dry, and a small but functional bathroom with good water pressure. The bedroom was nothing special but had soundproof windows, spare adapters, and places to hang our clothes.

Chueca is lively at night (hence the soundproof windows) with tapas bars, boutiques, and nightclubs everywhere, so it was great to be out on the terrace and hear music and banter when it kept us company yet be able to escape noise when it was time to turn in.

Locals

We arrived at the apartment close to 2 p.m. Madrid time. We could not allow our weary bodies to succumb to sleep so we set out down the four steep flights of stairs to the street and met up with my friend Mammen at a familiar place— Plaza Del Sol, at The Bear.

You may remember Mammen from my story linked above — we met in La Crosse, Wisconsin where I attended university and she was teaching Spanish. When roles were reversed and I was teaching in Madrid she returned to Madrid, her hometown.

Mammen rescued me in some ways when I was new to Madrid and a tad hopeless and over-zealous. And now, 14 years later, we were reunited. It was a sweet reunion.

After sharing that she is pregnant with her first child we walked to the Museo Del Jamon. We purchased bocadillos for one euro — chips included, then cerveza and non-alcoholic cerveza for Mammen. Standing at the bustling counter, we attempted to catch up. This was also when I remembered my friends don’t pronounce ‘s’ sounds in the Spanish language, “grah-thee-ahs.”

We moved on and walked the city. We made attempts to catch up on everything and everyone we’ve missed while away from one another.

It was unusually hot for Madrid, 30 degrees Celsius toward the end of April. After a few hours of walking, we made our way to the apartment to shower. And since most of my friends were leaving for the holiday weekend ahead — we had a second date with my friend Laura.

Ahh, tapas, the good kind too — from a mom-and-pop shop.

It was surreal to be back, with my friends, picturing my life with them years ago. I understand my memories have a bit of a rose tint, but I prefer it that way, infused with optimism.

Although the photographs are few, I feel so thankful for my memories.

I walked home to the apartment feeling so much gratitude and love for my friends in Madrid. Not everyone is willing to make time and show effort, especially after 14 years of mostly absence.

Cooking Class: Gazpacho, Paella, and Sangria

No time to lose. We fell asleep around 1 a.m. and were off to Paella class at 10 a.m. the next morning. Jet lag took hold and we overslept, causing us to call a ride in the morning. With Madrid traffic and narrow streets, we were better off walking.

When we finally arrived, 15 minutes late, we met Angel — our host and the chef, at the Antón Martín Market. We were joined by a woman from Tucson and a couple from L.A. We gathered items at the market to make Gazpacho, Seafood Paella, and Sangria.

I gained more knowledge of my whereabouts from this single experience than anything else we did in Madrid.

Shopping at the market, eating the food we cooked, and drinking the drinks we stirred — we learned that locals usually have Gazpacho on rotation in their fridge during the summer months and Sangria is made in a large vat for special occasions. This is not the same as the Sangria, lacking freshness, purchased by majority-tourists in the bars and restaurants. We sampled olives and Vermouth with the friends we made and talked with Angel about the history of Madrid, his time as a chef, and his family life.

I was sad to part ways with our new-found friends.

Then we napped, checked out Mango and Muji, and headed to another rooftop for dinner. I now had my Paella fix, as well as Madrid rooftops.

La Latina & El Retiro

My preferred time in any city is at the crack of dawn. Each morning I woke around 5 or 6 a.m., made Café con Leche at the apartment, and sat on the terrace to read. Two cafés within a mile of us opened at 8 a.m. So I set out, observing the few quiet hours in the city.

I wrote, I read. I managed to only speak Spanish with the barista. She even seemed to understand me — I’m quite rusty. My partner speaks Spanish fluently. Although he speaks and understands Mexican Spanish, he got us by and I tended to lean on him for language support. But he was sound asleep at the apartment so! Self-sufficient here I come.

I purchased a baguette on the way back. Alfredo messaged us with his usual morning greeting — giving us ideas and wishing us a happy day. We took his advice and headed to La Latina. I wanted to revisit El Rastro — the largest flea market in Madrid. The crowds were massive. I’m not one for crowds, especially while trying to browse, so we wandered down side streets. We found a bookstore and purchased souvenirs for the little people we know back home who are working on their Spanish.

I do not remember being in La Latina much while living in Madrid, I would have liked to spend more time here.

But alas, we had items packed and ready for a picnic at El Retiro Park.

El Retiro — you have not changed a bit. We spread blankets and snacked on oranges and bocadillos. We lounged in the grass as someone in the distance played bagpipes, earning whiffs of Gardenia in blossom.

Real Madrid

My partner had a bucket list item to check off — a Real Madrid game. They played an underwhelming match against Almería.

I somewhat enjoyed this yet we are used to American Football games, or even fútbol in Germany — Madrid had a dry stadium. Although Real Madrid is better known than the Kaiserslautern and Wolfsburg teams I had watched previously, I remembered the game in Germany being much more fun and lively. But, this is where expectations will get you! I still had fun.

We found an Irish Bar near the stadium afterward. Although you can find these everywhere, they were a staple during my former time in Madrid so it was an experience.

We ended the night in our preferred location, our apartment terrace.

Mercado San Miguel

I spent one more morning watching the sunrise on the terrace, eating our leftover Paella for breakfast. Waste not, want not?

We had one more stop to make, Mercado San Miguel. More food! We had oysters and our favorite tapas — Pimientos de Padrón — before we departed for the train station.

For some reason, I could handle the crowds at this market. We talked with people nearby us from New Zealand, England, Sweden, and China. Sometimes meaning was lost with our Spanish or their English, but sharing our tapas and smiling got us by.

I was excited for our next stop — Barcelona, but sad to leave Madrid, the city with so many memories, old and now new. I did not know this at the time but Madrid would be the best part of our stay in Europe.

Here’s a story from Krasi Shapkarova, who gave me a bit of inspiration while I was plotting on the plane ride across the pond: