Why is it that traveling requires waking up so early?
I was up at 3:00. Yikes! Early? More like waking up in the middle of the night. My shuttle to the airport left Termini Station at 4:30 which meant I had to check-in at 4:10 which meant I had to leave my apartment at 3:30. The walk there was interesting enough. Mostly quite save for a few drunken dopes walking around. Walking by Trevi Fountain this early when it is completely deserted and illuminated by bright green and yellow lights was really invigorating.
The shuttle got to the airport around 5:10 and I was a little concerned that I wouldn't get to my flight in time. After 35 minutes, I was through security and in line to board with a bottle of duty-free Chianti Classico for Carly and Pablo's hospitality. I made it.
Now, Ciampino is a cute little airport. The terminal is essentially a glorified doorway that leads outside to a bus stop. We slowly herded onto the buses like cattle. 6:55 rolled around and we were still standing in the bus, shoulder-to-shoulder. It was another half hour before the buses departed. Then, it was another 15 minutes waiting right in front of the airplane.
All I have to say is that Italians are extremely patient. The middle aged couple I was next to kept talking and cracking jokes (a few of which I could actually understand). They didn't seem to be bothered by it.
Finally we got on board the plane. As I discovered later, they had to switch planes. I think it was because the other plane didn't have enough advertisements. I understand now how budget airlines work. I slept most of the trip, but, every time I woke up, the cute Ryanair flight attendants were trying to sell me on something new: "magazine?" "coffee?" "chocolate?" "lottery ticket?" "shampoo?" "travel card?" I felt like I was home on the couch watching the Price is Right; dozing in and out and always waking up to some bimbo sexing up hand lotions.
Before you could say "no grazie," the on-time airline was an hour late. Hola, Madrid!
I took the bus to Carly's with no problems. Except, I was having difficulty remembering any Spanish. It had all been replaced with Italian.
It was good to see a familiar face. I haven't seen anyone I know from the States for a month and a half. It made me a little home sick for the first time.
We had a wonderful day walking around the city of Madrid and experiencing the amazing Madrid metro.
We got some little sandwiches called...
Here's the problem with being shown around by an avid Spanish speaker. They say everything with such beautifully perfect accents that when it comes time to remember what they said, you're pretty much stuck.
Basically just little sandwiches.
The lack of sleep finally hit me like a brick. We took the metro back home. Carly and I were alternating between dozing and vague awareness of our surroundings. Then, I took a 3 or 4 hour siesta that may have just put those Spanish siestas to shame.
I woke up and hung out with Pablo. We talked about his trip to Argentina and fancied some Argentine fare. Then, it was off to meet Carly and get some dinner. Unfortunately, Carly is still learning the rules of meeting people on the metro (inside joke for Carly if she reads this) so we had to wait a WHOLE 7 MINUTES for the next one. The Italian patience was not to be found in Carly Stingl.
Dinner was a delicious vegetarian buffet. Never count those vegetarian dishes out.
We got some drinks at a bar and headed back. Apparently, we caught the last metro. I had no idea it was that late. My sleep schedule was really screwed up. Madrid is known for a very active and very loud nightlife. We avoided this experience. Carly and Pablo's old married bones wouldn't be able to handle it I guess.
The next morning, I was treated to a delicious breakfast. Finally! If there is one material thing I'm missing from the States, it's good breakfast. Carly and I spent all day walking the clean, busy, miniature New York-esque, Madrid streets. We hit a couple parks and an old Egyptian temple with a view of the city.
After grabbing a flaffel, Carly headed home and I headed to the Reina Sofia Museum solo. This was my first European museum whose focus was completely on modern art. Among the bogus modern art imitators and sad excuses for artwork, there was a brilliant Picasso exhibit and a few works by Salvador Dali, one of my favorite artists of all time.
(Credit: http://www.windoweb.it/guida/arte/arte_foto/picasso_guernica.jpg)
This Picasso is massive. It covers an entire wall of the museum. There was a part of the exhibit dedicated to the preparation of this piece.
Dali has a lot of pieces that aren't completely out of this world, melted clock style that many people don't know about. Many of these were displayed here. It was interesting to see this phase in his artistic career. I particularly liked this one.
(Credit: http://omiocapitano.altervista.org/wp-content/uploads/RAGAZZA20ALLA20FINESTRA.jpg)
There was also a beautiful rooftop terrace with solid glass railings which gave a really cool spacey feel and a nice view of the city streets.
I met up with Pabz and Carly and had dinner at a Tapas Bar. Apparently, this is where they take all of their foreign visitors. It's essentially the closest I've been to Laura in 2 months. It was really delicious. We headed back and I slept wonderfully. It was a long day.
I woke up the next morning and played some cards with Carly in a beautiful nearby park. Finally we headed out to the airport and I caught my flight home. Ryanair was on-time this time. So, of course, they had to play a little jingle to remind you of that fact. I love capitalism.
