Hola!
Dudes! I am going to SPAIN NEXT WEEK :) I just confirmed it for real--after tons of frantic phonecalls to Barcelona and Madrid this morning, trying to figure out if I'm getting flown out to Madrid for an art show, it turns out that my ticket was bought for me a few weeks ago and already confirmed, but somehow the email didn't get through to me. The days have been counting down and I've been like, "hey, what gives? is this thing going through?" YES it is!...It's in conjunction with a big group show in Madrid and I'm delivering some of the works myself since they're small and can fit in luggage (uh, i *think* they can, i have to officially figure that out!). can you believe it was cheaper for them to buy me a plane ticket and put me up in a hotel for a few days as opposed to crate and pack the work alone? geez!
It all seems so fly-by-night, sort of surreal. Leaving on May 8th and returning on the 12th...technically i'm only in Madrid for three days (yeesh!) since the flights are long. Never been to Spain--it's the seat of the Old World empire, I can't wait!
Not sure how much time I'll have for sight-seeing, but does anyone have any recommendations in Madrid?
:D
11 Comments:
If I have recommendations? oh gosh, in 3 days you can't see shit (excuse my English.) Go to El Prado please, go to the Plaza Mayor, el palacio Real, El Escorial, go see a real soccder stadium, go shopping anywhere, go eating anywhere and please blow a big kiss for me, I haven't been there since my 30th B-day and I am turning 33 this August. I can't wait to go, hopefully this summer. Spain is the place! you are lucky Stephanie.
Go to Fuencarral, one of the coolest, indiest, place in Madrid. I doubt any terrazas in El Bernaveu will be open at his time of year but if they are, have a drink at any of them.
One more thing, a very important one, indeed, if you are a vegetarian please do not go to Spain, you would be wasting your time. The food there is THE BEST, bocadillo de chorizo frito, jamon serrano, huevos estrellados, cordero, geee my mouth is watering... and the wines... and the beer, oh man, you are LUCKY, enjoy it to the fullest and please go back for at least 2 weeks.
eat PAELLA.!
yippeee! thanks for all the suggestions. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on who's asking) i am *not* a vegetarian, so i will be eating eating eating like there's no tomorrow ;D
my spanish is rudimentarily nonexistent. i hope this doesn't pose too much of a problem, but we'll see!
wooo! what a nice quasi surprise! have fun and take lots and lots of pictures...i'm so jealous!
thanks vals! you don't know how lucky i feel about it. stuff like this generally doesn't happen to me, so i'm thrilled :)
i'm going to spain (among other countries) next week too! barcelona though. have fun!
Barcelona is a great city too, lots to see, hopefully you will be in Spain longer than Stephanie because time flies when you are in Spain, if you know what i mean...
how great is THAT? wow! congrats on the trip! Have a wonderful time!
Hey Stephanie! Congratulations on your trip to Spain!!!!!!
I just went to Barcelona about a month ago. I don't think you'll be heading there, but TRY if you can! The beach is GORGEOUS, and there's an amazing contemporary art museum with a lot of work by Bruce Nauman and Joseph Kosuth (two of my favorite artists!)...it is the Museo di Arte Contemporani in Barcelona.
As for spanish, since you'll be in Madrid and it's a pretty big city, it should be okay that you don't know any. Phrases that might help:
"Perdon" (excuse me-both in the "excuse me can i get by" and "excuse me i need your attention" forms).
"Habla/Hablais Ingles?" (Do you speak English?, since I'm Mexican I'm not to sure about the "vos" form, which they use instead of our "usted" form...but i'm 99 % sure that's how it's said)
"Gracias" (thank you)
"de nada" (you're welcome)
...it's just really basic stuff that I'm sure you knew, but will go a long way, especially when shopping :)
Oh, and most clubs in Spain START at 2am, so the partying is insane (that is if you're into that kind of thing????)
OH and although it's not Spanish, you MUST eat some AMAZING gelato ice cream!!! There are some stands that have like up to 30 flavors to choose from! My personal favorites are the fruit-based ones. Like lemon, melon, and mango! :)
But they also have some AMAZING chocolate ones, including ferrero rocher and nutella flavored ice creams!
enjoy yourself Stepanie!
I am almost done with school here in England! I will be having a small exhibition on May 14-19th with my year here. as well as a final senior thesis show with my class back home at UC Riverside in June.
have fun on your trip, and i as well can't wait to see pictures! :)
I am from Madrid, Spain and in Spain we don't use Vos, that is Argentinian... . We do use usted but only if you don't know the person OR if the person you are talking to is over 40 (because it sounds OLD) not that being over 40 is old but you know what I mean.
Anyway, you are about to leave, enjoy it and don't worry about not knowing a lot of Spanish, people there know Englih ;)
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