Ryan Ellis

I boarded my flight from Logan International Airport at 4:50 pm and about 9 hours later and a stop in Dublin I arrived in Madrid at 10:00 am. This was my first flight were there was a possibility of jet-lag but fortunately I was able to stay awake until bedtime in Spain and reset my clock a little. I don’t know how well that worked as the next morning I was quite tired but I stuck it out. The airport was similar to others I have been to the only difference was taking a subway like cart along tracks from one terminal to another, which I think is more convenient then having to take a shuttle or a bus from one to another. The bus ride into the city was when I realized how different the architecture of everything is so different and feels so much older then anything I have experienced in the states. It felt like we were driving through a museum with just how elegant every building and statue is. Stepping out of the bus and looking around I was hit with the same feeling the first thing I saw which is directly outside our hotel was the four seasons hotel which is in a incredibly ornate building. The first surprise that came was the temperature, for some reason in my head I had always thought of Spain as being hot but despite it being a sunny and nice day it was very pleasant outside. I am not a huge fan of the heat so it not being extremely hot was very nice.

We luckily were able to check into the hotel on arrival which made everything a lot easier. After dropping of our bags it was time to eat. Me and two of my new mates headed to the streets, we followed a recommendation from our guide to the Mercado de San Anton but many of the stalls were actually closed and we ended up eating at a restaurant that was not on the scavenger hunt or anything but it turned out to be delicious. It is called La Nieta and I had my first sip of Spanish wine at the bar while waiting for a table and it came with a little ham croquette. Receiving a little free tapa with your drink is something I was told might happen but it was still a pleasant surprise when it actually did. I am not a big wine drinker but my mother said her favorites are from Spain so I had to try. I didn’t know which to order so I asked the bar tender for his favorite and he explained the bottle to me it was a Rioja Joven bottled in 2002 and it was actually tasty. The croquette was also good but after being seated I ordered Sepia a la plancha which is grilled cuddle fish and that was very good. The restaurant itself shared the old museum vibe that the I got from the city, the furniture all looked very old, the menu was in chalk and white bored on the wall, and it was run by three old Spanish men that spoke no english but were very kind.

After lunch I returned to the hotel to relax for a bit before heading out for orientation and the welcome dinner. Fending off the urge to sleep in the very nice hotel room, the time for orientation had arrived. It was a short walk through the beautiful city and down into a cool basement. Orientation was pretty basic with the most useful information being the tipping culture which is not tipping or a small 5% if you feel it deserved. We also received metro cards which I think is very useful. We used the metro the next day and it was very easy to navigate and the set up of the tracks I think makes more sense than the subway in Boston or New York and I can actually read that language. The welcome dinner was a short walk from orientation and we saw a few land marks along the way namely the puerto del Sol which is home to kilometer 0 which In theory is the geographical center of Spain where the maps and roads are drawn from which is really cool to see because we don’t have anything like that in Massachusetts or in any other states as far as I’m aware. We also saw the plaza de Mayor which is this beautiful square plaza that is a little touristy but still cool to see. The welcome dinner was nice to get to know the group a little better. There were a few tapas or more like appetizers before the main course including a tuna and white fish salad, fried mushroom, the very traditional bravas, and what I believe was fried pork belly. They were all good but I liked the bravas the best and have since gone to some places recommended by James Blick for the best bravas in Madrid. I must say the ones I have gotten since have been better than the first batch but they were still good. After dinner that first night I was so exhausted that I passed out right after getting back to the hotel. My first impressions of the city actually surprised my self, I feel that the sense of age in this city is so prevalent especially when compared to the cities I have been to in the states. The roads seem like they were built for walking and not cars because of this I couldn’t imagine driving around this city it seems like it would be a nightmare. Beyond that the buildings while being very beautiful it is not obvious what they are. This is probably in part to me not fully understanding the Spanish language but there isn’t massive signs or lettering on the buildings like many we have in the states this has made it a little difficult to find a certain place at times but it also frees up the wall face to be ornate and detailed. I feel the idea I had in the beginning about the city feeling like one big museum is truly how I have felt so far in nearly every place besides the hotel itself.