Birthdays for the Kiwi Boys are enjoyed by us both. Its been three years of togetherness next month, meaning six birthdays have been celebrated, in six different destinations. Not necessarily on the exact date, as Emirates can, at times, decide that they feel we are better off satisfying the needs of the worlds unwashed on our actual day of birthing, however the festivities are certainly enjoyed as close to the birthday as possible. For two boys with nearly everything they need in their transient Middle Eastern home, a holiday away somewhere provided by the other person is a brilliant way of enjoying something different, with a new culture, and quite importantly, being able to do that something together.Introduzca 2009 and the holiday gifting tradition continues with Adrian’s birthday vacation of a journey back to España; Spain’s Capital City, Madrid.
The Global Economic Crisis has affected many industries around the world, not least including the aviation industry. People are not flying as much as they used to, but those who must travel are now flying in economy class instead of business or first class. Not good for the bank accounts of the airlines, but brilliant for those of us with access to staff travel. Indulgently, we decided to make good use of this opening in the premium cabin, and booked our journey to Madrid with Lufthansa in Business Class. Leaving Dubai at midnight, on the Boeing 747-400, we nestled into our cocoons for the darkened journey to Germany and onwards to Spain.
Arriving fresh and well-adjusted after an evening of sleep in the skies, navigating Madrid's Metro system was our first challenge of the day. Unusually, in both Barcelona nor in Madrid, the aeropuerto doesn't have a direct train line into the central city, and instead a series of changes between lines is required. Not such a big deal for an every day commuter, but lugging around our equally-as-globetrotting Samsonites through old subway stations is a cumbersome task after flying a considerable amount of time to get there. Alas, like the professional travellers that we are, we sucked it up, and finally trundled our way into the Vincci Vía 66 located in the heart of Madrid on Gran Vía.
Once we had established how to work the advanced in-room mood lighting and by using our novice phrasebook Spanish successfully dimmed the light glowing from our silver sequin mesh covered table-lamp (it was a very modern hotel room...), it was time to whip ourselves together in the personal hygiene department and begin our afternoon getting to grips with being a Madrileño.
With a Lonely Planet at the ready, a flimsy and easily torn paper map in hand, we set off to find Plaza Mayor, the central meeting spot in the busy summer days of Spain. Meeting place it was, summer it was not... A grand city square lined with magnificent buildings with balconys of symmetrical design provided a beautiful backdrop to the cafes and open spaces that this area offered to Madrid. Continuing on our walking tour of the city, we then visited Palacío Real de Madrid (The Royal Palace of Madrid) which no longer houses the Royal Family, but allows visitors the chance to get inside to ogle at the extravagant furnishings of the former palace.
That night we decided to be a little cultural and bought two tickets to a flamenco show at Corral de la Moreria, renowned as the home of flamenco in Madrid. The traditional dramatic dancing of the Andalusian Gypsies of Southern Spain, the foot stomping, hand clapping, sweat dripping performance was a fascinating display of talent, rhythm, guitar and warbling which got me thinking that there is no way I could ever be a Flamencan Superstar. The show didn't start until 10pm, and as the Spanairds are known for their late dining habits, we decided to snooze for a couple of hours before heading out for some tapas prior to the show. Beginning to get quite brave with our linguistic skills, we found a cute tapas bar near by to the flamenco show, and managed to order six different tapas for dinner which turned out to be six different types of cheese on toast. Spanish Mousetraps? Where did we go wrong? It wasn't so bad in the end... Dos cervezas por favor (two beers, please), and the toasty dinner was washed down and chalked up to history.
Madrid was a wonderful city. Perhaps more vibrant in the summer heat with the Madrileños enjoying the outdoors a lot more, but full of character and charm that makes me love Spain so much. Muchos Gracias, Madrid!
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