Madrid Spring
At the word “Spain”, an image of a passionate beauty with a rose in her hair, a mortal duel between a slender bullfighter and an angry bull, the towers of the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, as well as rivers of sangria in addition to paella and jamon, immediately appear before your eyes. And of course, Don Quixote rides on his skinny horse - where would it be without him!
At the word "Madrid" no images appear in my head. Well, there is nothing so super-duper famous for the narrow-minded consciousness. Therefore, all the acquaintances asked the same question: “Why to Madrid? ”. Well, I don't know. Our desires are something not very logical. I wanted to go to Madrid and that's it! My patient husband, desperate to understand me (especially since Real Madrid is the main enemy of his beloved Barcelona), organized the "sale" of his dream without any questions.
The ideal time was chosen - the end of April-beginning of May: everything is blooming, fragrant, there is no heat, but it is already warm enough. So I thought, putting sundresses, thin T-shirts and other quite summer things in my bag. I imagined how the hot sun of Spain would turn me from pale-faced to chocolate-faced (well, I got a little excited, I just wanted to warm up a little after our non-spring spring). Ha! Dreaming is not bad! It was not even warm in Madrid. But more on that later.
About first impressions
How we got to Madrid is another story. Three flights, almost a day on the road, but even at one in the morning I was struck by the Madrid Barajas airport - just not from fatigue. He is huge. There seems to be no end to it. But despite its gigantic size, it is very clean and comfortable. From the airport it is easy to get to the center by metro. 2 euros, 20 minutes on the way - and you are in the heart of the Spanish capital. I liked her right away. What is there to say! She exceeded all my expectations (in a pleasant way).
The city is not small. Over 3 million inhabitants. But for all the days I never had the feeling that I was a little ant and no one cared about me. Madrilenos (as the natives call themselves) are very friendly. If you find yourself a little away from the center and suddenly stand up with a thoughtful look, they will definitely come to you and offer help, even if you don’t need it at all.
Moreover, it should be noted that the Spaniards for the most part do not bother to learn the language of international communication. Therefore, they will speak with you almost everywhere exclusively in Spanish. A little later, realizing with surprise that you do not speak the language of Cervantes, they will frantically recall, probably, another school English course. But, alas, this does not make things much easier. Their knowledge will not exceed the knowledge of our three-year-old student, who pronounces “mather” and “father” from 5 to 11 classes.
Surprisingly, various officials such as cashiers at air and railway ticket offices, etc. are not burdened with knowledge of any foreign languages. Even in the tourist center itself in cafes, bars and restaurants, most of the staff do not speak English. However, this does not prevent you from understanding the locals, although, of course, it makes it difficult to communicate “for life”.
And the Spaniards really love to talk about "nothing". And in general, they are very sociable and emotional, they touch each other all the time during a conversation, which for me personally is horror-horror. From here the conclusion suggests itself: if you want to know Spain and the Spaniards better, learn the language. The locals are very happy if you say at least a few words in Spanish. The language is not difficult to learn, although to my ears it is funny. Even the pronunciation of the numbers causes a smile. Perhaps that is why all the Spaniards are so happy and satisfied.
After a hard flight, I thought that I would sleep for a couple of days. But nothing like that. Having jumped up before dawn, we went to try the famous churros with hot chocolate - a typical breakfast and at the same time a favorite delicacy of Madrid (this is the second reason for eternal contentment with life: who will be sad if they eat chocolate in the morning).
This dish is served everywhere - except that McDonald's does not have it. But it is worth trying and finding a time-tested chocolate shop. There are several in Madrid. I personally liked Valor. Cozy place, very fast and friendly service, located in the very center (waiters don't speak English).
Finding such a place, get ready for a slight taste shock. Spaniards know a lot about chocolate! In less than a couple of minutes after ordering, a large cup of chocolate of perfect sweetness, density and temperature is already smoking in front of you. And the freshest donuts lie on the plate, only not like ours, but similar to a long corn stick.