Sketches of Spain

Those of you who have never been to Spain should consider it. I admit that going into this trip, while I wanted to see Spain, I had my doubts about it. In fact, it turned out to be one of the most fascinating, friendly, and above all, beautiful places I've ever visited. I don't think I'm at all qualified to make any huge, sweeping statements about the country and its people, but I'll try and sum up my thoughts here. First, a quick overview of where I went: I flew into Madrid on Wednesday night, stayed there until the afternoon on Friday when I took the bus across the mountains to Segovia. I returned to Madrid midday on Sunday, and flew back to Bristol that evening (the flights were late both ways, but that was compensated for by the fact that you enter and exit the plane via the tarmac at the Bristol airport, a novelty in this day and age). So, in no particular order, here are my thoughts on the whole experience:

Madrid
I admit I had little hope for Madrid. I think in the back of my mind I had always thought of it as dirty and crime-ridden. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Not only is it safe and clean, it is absolutely gorgeous. By European standards, it's a fairly new city. A lot of people seem to hold this against it, but I think it's one of its best selling points. The city was built up by the Hapsburg and Borbon kings specifically to be a showcase of their power, and as a result, it would be hard to find a grander city. The centerpiece of it all is the Palacio Real, and it's hard to imagine that you could come across a bigger or more ornate palace in Europe (though sadly my experience was ruined somewhat by a particularly large and annoying tour group ahead of me). They also poured money into museums. The most famous is the Prado art museum (forget the El Greco, Velázquez, and Goya - while they're all very good if you like that sort of thing, the real reason to go is Hieronymous Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, just about the most bizarre and consequently fascinating piece of art I've ever seen - if you don't agree at first, remember it was painted in 1504). I saw my share of other museums, too: the Reina Sofí­a art museum, the Archaeology Museum, and (I especially recommend this one, as out of place as it may sound) the Museum of America.
They do their parks right in Madrid as well. The Parque del Buen Retiro is an urban park the way urban parks ought to be. The Parque del Oeste has a whole Egyptian temple and a gondola to the more forested Casa de Campo, and the Campo del Moro has eye-popping views of the Palacio Real (as well as parrots, for some reason). Even more fun than the parks are the plazas all across the city. Some, like the Plaza Mayor and Plaza de la Villa, are major landmarks. Others, like ththehe Plaza de la Cruz Verde, are just little things you stumble into while poking your way around the city. All of them are great places to sit back and take a little breather after a long day of walking around Madrid.
Not that you have to walk everywhere. Madrid has just about the best subway system I've ever come across (miles ahead of New York and London, certainly). The recorded announcements sound just like the voices from the tapes we all had to listen to in high school Spanish ("Este es un tren de la Linea Dos, con dirreción Plaza de España"). Madrileños are very proud of their Metro, to the point where there is even a game show based on it: "Metro a Metro," where whenever a contestant answers correctly, they move ahead one station (this was where I learned that praying mantids are known as "Santateresas" in Spanish). Of course, it's a lot more fun to just wander around the city. It's something of a jumble of architectural styles, with old Castilian buildings towards the west, French-inspired buildings to the east, and 1920s and '30s skyscrapers to the north. Fortunately, the city is physically small enough to take it all in.

Segovia
Segovia is a very different experience than Madrid. It's much smaller, of course, and a good deal colder, as it's almost in the mountains. It's also much more genuinely Spanish (or Castilian, to be more precise: I'm told that each region of Spain has its own distinct feel). It also has the good fortune to be graced with three genuinely amazing monuments: an enormous Roman aqueduct, a Gothic cathedral, and a fairy tale castle, the Alcázar. The aqueduct is perhaps the most amazing, as it was built centuries ago, and has withstood the ravages of time remarkably well, especially considering that it not a dab of mortar was used in its construction; those Romans knew a thing or two about engineering. The cathedral is both enormous and stunning. I don't like getting too poetic, but it kept on putting me in mind of a fountain, with cascades of stone pouring out of its dome. The main selling point of the Alcázar
are the views from its tower, which take in not just the city, but the plains surrounding it as well.
The best part of Segovia, though, was just wandering the backstreets. There's not a modern building in the town, and walking through it today is, I imagine, much like walking through it in the glory days of the Spanish Empire (in which it played a critical role: Isabella - of Ferdinand and Isabella, the monarchs that sent Columbus to the New World and expelled the Moors - was crowned in Segovia). Of course, this means that the the city is overrun by tourists during the day, but it's never too hard to slip off of the main aqueduct-cathedral-castle route and find quiet streets. Most visitors make Segovia a day trip from Spain, so after the main attractions close, you're suddenly left as the only foreigner, and I found that after dark was the best time to poke around. Perhaps the best moment I had there was while I was walking around the north side of the city and a band in a nearby building (one of the old city gates, actually) started playing a very Spanish sounding song (with plenty of minor keys and heavy on the brass). I never did figure out who was playing, or why, and in an odd sort of way that added to the experience.
Segovia is situated on a bluff above the plains of Castile, and all you have to do is to take one of the paths down from the city walls, and you're in the Spanish countryside. On the south edge of the city, the tiny Rio Clamores has managed to carve a steep canyon, covered in pines and completely off the tourist radar. Cross the Rio Eresma on the north side of the city, and you're right on the edge of the plains. It bears a remarkable similarity to Eastern Oregon or Washington: a dry landscape of rolling hills and shrubby plants with snow-capped mountains in the background. Even within the city walls I saw storks and eagles, which gives you the impression of never being far from nature, an unusual experience in Europe.

Food
On most of my trips, I eat wherever and whenever it's convenient, and never give it much thought. Spain was a major exception. Part of this was because you can get good food at any time of day or night not just in restaurants and cafes, but in bars as well. By and large, I didn't eat true meals: you just head into a bar and buy a beer and some tapas when you're hungry. The one major exception to this was my trip to a restaurant on my last night in Segovia, where I decided to go for the full-out Castilian dining experience: Spanish wine, egg soup, and cochinillo. Cochinillo is very good, but is a bit of a shock at first: it's a three-week old pig cooked with the skin and everything still on (yes, I ate Piglet). In fact, egg and meat (especially pork) are pretty much always on the menu in one fanothernothehr in Spain. I became especially fond of Spanish tortillas (an egg and potato omelet), chorizo (sausage), and jamón iberico (basically prosciutto). The wine is also very nice...

Language
Unlike Denmark and Germany, where I could rely on people knowing English, you have to know your Spanish if you want to do well in Spain. I think they all speak more English than they let on, but are less willing to speak it offhand. I'm proud to say that enough of my lessons came back to me to allow me to get by without making a fool of myself; I didn't speak English once in Segovia! Actually, I was very proud of my ability to understand what was going on (I was even able to watch movies on the TV in my hotel room and clearly follow what was going on!). It is true that Spaniards speak with something of a lisp, which takes a bit of getting used to if you learned Mexican Spanish, but even that was a minor obstacle.

Culture
To even pretend that I have a grasp on Spanish culture would be ridiculous. It seems very enigmatic (a culture who's greatest cultural icon is the comic, bumbling Don Quixote, but that also played host to the Inquisition and the Franco dictatorship). It would probablylifetime liftime to really understand what makes the Spanish tick. From what I saw, though, they all seemed genuinely friendly and very proud of being Spanish. They are also far more stylish than most of us could ever hope to be. I'm not sure they ever sleep: Madrileños don't usually get to bed until 3:00 or so, and yet they always seemed to be up and about before me. There is a siesta in the afternoon, but I just don't see how that could make up for all that lost sleep. That little quirk aside, I enjoyed pretty much all my encounters with the Spanish, and I hope I get a chance to go back before too long.