Highlights-Madrid
I focused on walking around to absorb the cultural vibe from La Latina and Tirso de Molina neighborhoods. The lowlight today was eating an awful Korean street food corn dog that was missing the dog. Who does that?
Sandwich?
Not a sandwich, a tostada
No parking
When signs aren’t working, use a boulder
Desperate?
Desperate to be read by somebody, anybody
Notable Items
I enjoy walking through La Latina and Tirso de Molina neighborhoods. They have cafés adjacent to plazas, terraza seating under sun-protection umbrellas, and tapas just like the area between Puerta del Sol and Las Letras, but much less overrun by tourists like myself and noisy Dutchmen. Even though I consider myself a visitor and not a tourist with a list to punch, I’m still one of “those people.”
The other thing lacking in La Latina is souvenir shops featuring “I Love Madrid” female underwear (who buys that stuff?). Aside: La Latina doesn’t mean “little latin girl” (Spanish is tricky that way because it could mean that). It is the nickname of a young woman (thus the “-ina” suffix) whose command of Latin was so good that Queen Isabella hired her as a tutor.
People who know about my travels sometimes ask, “What do you do in those places?” When they don’t read my blog, my standard answer is, “Go to museums, wander around, eat, and talk to people when the opportunity presents itself.” Every so often I get the opportunity to discuss evolutionary biology, philosophy, or sociology with people selling tickets or pastry (that has to be in England, my Spanish vocabulary is deficient for those topics). At least, until another customer arrives.
As these posts attest, I seldom visit more than one museum or attraction a day. Some days, particularly when I have exercised, I don’t visit a museum at all. I stay in the apartment or spend an extra long time in a café working on writing projects or reading about the history of the country or location I’m visiting.
I’m not trying to accumulate numerous cultural experiences over short periods. If I run out of time (my typical city stay is 4 days plus or minus 1), I try to return. Occasionally, I return to museums that I’ve visited to see their temporary exhibitions or the timeless objects on permanent display.
I had a cultural experience today, but I would call it an unfortunate culinary surprise inflicted on tourists rather than art or history appreciation. Somehow, I ordered a corn dog without a dog, just bad, runny cheese. It seemed that my command of Spanish is not up to the task of ordering edible Korean street food. This was my bust, but I also blame the menu for not having warning signs. Why is ordering a fried corn wrapper filled with runny cheese even possible? I frequently wade through menu warnings about things that cause allergic reactions, why not provide a warning about liquid cheese as well?