Wednesday,
September 5, 1979
Awoke
in Paris. Went to the information booth to see if it was possible to get to
Mont St Michel. We were given explicit directions, to take a train to another Paris
railroad station to Pontorson from where it took a bus only five minutes to get
to Mont St Michel. So we Metro’ed (on a rubber-tired train) to the Montparnasse
station, boarded the train with the proper train number leaving at the expected
time. It passed through some beautiful softly rolling farmland and was really a
pretty ride as long as we were awake. The only problem was that we ended up at
a strange destination, in Granville. There was no indication that we would have
to change trains or anything. We were rather lost! We figured we had already
wasted a day, and that too much time would be needed to get to Mont St Michel
than we planned. So we made our top priority getting into Spain as soon as possible,
because we knew the Spanish trains were slow and unreliable. We took the next
train back to Paris. While waiting in Granville, Kathy went out to buy bread
and water (our sole/soul sustenance!) and a surprise of a macaroon-type affair
and a cupcake, and even a book of mazes and puzzles to keep one busy when
unnecessarily having to wait in train stations or riding unnecessary trains! We
did keep ourselves amused with this book during our travels, as well as with typical travel games, and
our own games reminiscent of our college physics class (“what is it?). Finally
arrived in Paris, Metro’ed to the Austerlitz station and hopped on the first
train towards Spain. It was a train with brand new coach cars, rather than
compartments. Later in the night we each had our own pair of seats to “stretch
out” on to sleep.
Thursday,
September 6, 1979
Our
days are getting to be so exciting…
Woke up in Irun, Spain where the French
train ended its trip. Walked through customs simply waving our passports. We
went to see about getting a train to Madrid and the ticket man told us the time
the continuation of the Iberian Express left, almost an hour later than the
Talgo train which was leaving immediately. We waited around and joined the long
line for reservations only to find we didn't need them. We got on the train and
ate our tuna fish on wheat bread breakfast. Later when the conductor came by he
told us to move up a few cars if we were going to “Madrith.” (One had to be careful because sometimes certain cars of a train were shunted off to be attached to other trains going in other directions!) We slept a good
bit, but managed to see some rolling country with little green shrubs and some
rocky areas with mostly two tire-track roads, and like the “$10” book said, no
billboards to mar the scene where you can imagine Don Quixote roaming around. We
took a walk to the restaurant car to find a bar and an area with
waiter-service. We figured we could wait until Madrid to eat, but at the next
station a cart went by selling drinks and sandwiches. As we neared Madrid, our
fellow passengers, some guys in the service, tried to talk to us. We told them
where we were born, where we had just come from, and where we were going in
hopes of answering all their questions. They continued to try to talk with us,
but since we didn't understand, they gave up. Finally at about 18:30 we arrived
in Madrid in the new modern station of Chamartin which reminded us more of an
airport. We wandered around quite a bit before we found the baggage check
place. We bought a map from a hotel information booth. We bought some ice cream
which can’t compare to Italy’s. As we studied the map and the “$10” book for
hotels, I saw the Moroccan brothers I had first encountered during my first
Spanish train trip. Small world!
We
took the Metro into the central city. On our way to the Metro stop we stopped
at a bakery-deli for some delicious fancy cupcakes. Once in the city we
immediately took a room in the first hotel we tried which had its own bathroom
with a cute half-sized tub. We went downstairs to the restaurant recommended by
the “$10” book, for our big “splurge” meal in Madrid. For about $5 each we got
soup or salad, a main dish with French fries and peas, and a dessert with a
beverage and the offer of coffee. We then took a walk around town, finding the
TWA offices and a Burger King. We saw the fountains of the Plaza de España
lighted up at night, and we did a lot of window shopping although we are seeing
less and less to excite us as we reach the end of our souvenir list. We found
an “all-around” type shop which was still open, so we bought After Eight mints
for dessert. Back at the hotel, our room was hot, and we had problems falling
asleep, probably because we had slept so much on the trains that day.
Friday,
September 7, 1979
We
awoke early and had our included breakfast of tea, sweet rolls and melba toast,
with fancy curlicues of butter. We went first to the TWA offices where I wanted
to change my open ticket for one from Madrid or Morocco. It turned out I could
fly from Tangier to Madrid to New York City for only $2.00 more than just from
Madrid to NYC! While I waited to go through all the red tape of getting a new
ticket, Kathy went looking for some small item with the Lacoste emblem (an
alligator), the preppie symbol, which she wanted to get for the new Peace Corps
volunteer Trip. She didn't find anything, but got the idea of getting socks or
underwear on which she herself would embroider the alligator. Afterwards we
went to the store recommended by the “$10” book as a place to get special soap
which is apparently real expensive in the U.S. We bought half a dozen bars, and
the proprietor was very friendly and showed us two counterfeit bills he acquired
during the course of his business, one being a U.S. $50 bill. We made our way
to Puerta del Sol which is supposed to be the center of Madrid. From the
bustling square we caught a bus recommended by the “$10” book to get to a small
museum. We had no idea where to get off, so Kathy used her little Spanish to
ask the conductor where to get off. He obliged and motioned us in the correct
direction to take. Kathy tipped him with a couple After Eight mints! We walked
the several blocks and finally found the museum. Just as the “$10” book
suggested, we began on the third floor and worked our way down. (Actually it
was the fourth floor American-style.) We had heard about some Leonardo da Vinci
painting hidden in a corner, so we carefully looked for the painter’s name on
every painting! We finally found it on the ground floor, and it was spotlighted
with green velvet drapes framing it! Hidden, indeed! |
| Museum ticket |
We left the museum and
began walking towards the center of Madrid, window shopping along the way. We
found an honest-to-goodness Sears department store that really looked like the
average Sears inside! This is where we got the underwear and socks for Trip. We
walked past a couple squares, with a triumphal arch in one, and a neat fountain
in the other.
 |
| Puerta de Alcalá in Plaza de la Independencia |
 |
| Plaza Cibeles |
We passed what seemed to be a military installation, being
guarded by and full of men in uniform. There were even guards with rifles on
the roof of the bank next door overlooking the area. But this place had lovely
gardens and “rose trees” inside the fancy wrought-iron fences. Finally we took
to the side streets to find the “cheapest restaurant in the world” as recommended
by the “$10” book. We found it and it was a cheap-looking place all right,
small and crowded with linoleum tables. We decided to eat there nevertheless and
got a salad, beefsteak and French fries, and melon slices, all for about $1.50.
The proprietor came around trying to make us take a squirt of wine from an
animal-skin bag. We refused because we don’t like wine, but he thought we were
afraid of the method of drinking, by squeezing the bag to let a stream of wine
shoot directly into your mouth. When we had finished, we still had plenty of
time before the stores and the Prado opened up again. So we window-shopped our
way back to the Burger King where we got milkshakes. We sat for a while by the
fountain at Plaza de España. We then went to the stores as they opened up in
search of souvenirs. We arrived at the Prado and walked completely around it
before finding the entrance. As we walked behind the museum we saw a lot of
construction equipment for the “climatization” of the Prado, and we kidded it might be
closed because of construction. However, we refused to believe that we came all
the way to Madrid only to miss its most important landmark, the Prado, the best
art museum in the world! When we found the entrance, it was truly locked! We
were shocked! But it turned out the hours were from 10:00-18:00 and we had
arrived at 18:00 because the “$10” book said the hours were 10:00-14:00 and
17:00-20:00. We were sorely disappointed but decided to continue with our plans
to go to Lisbon, Portugal, but to return again to Madrid long enough to see the
Prado. We did some souvenir-hunting and food shopping on our way to the hotel
to pick up our suitcase. We took the Metro to the Atocha train station where we
checked our bag, and got boarding passes. We had a hard time closing this suitcase,
and wouldn't you know it, a police officer was inspecting every bag being
checked. He said he was looking for bombs. We had a real struggle to close the
bag when he was done. During our wait we went to a nearby café ordering Cokes
and sandwiches, hoping the waiter understood. He came back with grilled cheese
sandwiches which was close enough! We boarded the train, finding the seats we
were assigned. In our compartment we were joined by three middle-aged Spaniards
traveling together, a Portuguese woman, and an American who spoke fluent
Spanish and was apparently teaching English in Spain, but needed to leave the
country after six months to get his passport stamped as a way of getting around
a visa. Two girls came in to try to claim our seats, but fortunately they did
not have boarding passes. So there were “only” seven of us in the compartment.
The Spaniards had communication problems with the Portuguese woman, and the
American translated every once in a while for us. The night wore on and everyone
dozed on and off, except the American guy who sat up reading all night, of
course leaving the light on, which made sleeping difficult for everyone else.
Plus he smoked, drank beer, and his face constantly twitched; a seemingly very nervous
fellow with insomnia who had no consideration for the rest of us. Rude
American! We dozed nevertheless.
Next: Lisbon.
 |
| Map of Madrid |
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