Monday, March 29, 2010

Baked Beans and Cream Pie

You guessed it, Boston.

Don't ask me how we decide where we go, because I do not know. Terri the Travel Agent found an attractive airfare and next thing I know we're making hotel reservations and running to Borders to buy another Streetwise map. I've only been to Boston once, about 25 years ago for a conference, and Terri has never been, so we'll be exploring a new city.

We'll be busy: travel by bus, train, airplane, subway, and rental car, with stays at four different hotels in six nights. (We're renting a car and driving to far northwest Massachusetts to visit a small museum. They have some paintings I've wanted to see for decades.) But the trip should be easy: I understand that English is widely spoken there, and the ATMs dispense our familiar U.S. dollars.

I could care less about the baked beans, but I plan on gorging myself with Boston Cream Pie.

We leave Wednesday, March 31, and return Tuesday, April 6. Blog posts and snapshots forthcoming.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

My Body's in Texas, but my Mind's still in Madrid

We made it home by around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, after one of the most trouble-free trips ever. Our non-stop flights there and back were on time, we had no problems getting to and from the airport, our hotel was perfect, and the food was great. The weather was cold and drizzly for a few days, but that gave us an excuse to take a day off from touristing.

Here's my snapshots of our Madrid 2010 trip, or you can see the slideshow version.

Madrid seems much more accessible than other major cities like Rome, Paris, London, or New York. The slower pace is noticeable while walking in the city center, getting on and off subways and buses, and shopping. As Terri said, Madrid is 'normal' -- it's inviting and pleasant, and we always felt totally at ease. Here's a few random observations about our trip.

Eating in Madrid often means standing up. Small shops serving fried calamari sandwiches, tapas, gambas al ajillo, churros con chocolate, or any of the other local specialties may have tables in the back but the crowds are at the bar or stand-up tables. The prices are cheaper at the bar and standing up means you won't linger before you venture back out on the streets to find the next snack. Standing up or sitting down, the food was really good everywhere we went: lots of ham and seafood, and well-made wine to wash it down.

As I wrote before, the museums in Madrid are stunningly good. Besides the famous trio I wrote about here last week, we went to several lesser-known but equally enjoyable places. The Caixa Forum had a wonderful exhibit of the work of Miguel Barceló, including a crowd-pleasing sculpture of a full-size elephant standing upright on its extended trunk. We also lucked out and got tickets to a concert on our our last night in Madrid, with Trevor Pinnock performing works by Bach, Couperin, and Rameau.

We went to the Museo Sorolla because Terri remembered a Sorolla painting she had seen and liked years ago. The museum is in what was the artist's large, beautiful home, with much of the furniture and decoration just as it was in 1923 when he died. My favorite room was the large studio, which still had his easels and paintbrushes. Terri fell in love with the house, by the way, and considered making an offer to buy it.

Following Rick Steves' suggestion, we took the #27 bus out to Plaza de Castilla in the more modern part of Madrid. While walking around the plaza we happened upon Fundación Canal, a cultural center in what appears to have been some sort of water works. The modern, remodeled space featured an exhibition of the sculptural works of Jorge Oteiza.

We stayed at Hotel Europa and loved it: a simple, clean corner room in a perfect location with a great view of Puerta del Sol, a great shower, and a restaurant/bar for breakfast. Café con leche and a napolitana (cream-filled pastry) for €2 -- a perfect way to start our day.

The guidebooks on Spain all mention the constant threat of pickpockets, but we encountered nothing remotely threatening. Perhaps the pickpockets were all on holiday in a warmer place? (I'll write a post sometime about our 100% successful anti-pickpocket measures.)

There were two minor irritants. First, I got hit with dynamic currency conversion on our first night, at dinner, and didn't catch it in time to reverse it. DCC is a legalized scam: the credit card processor offers the 'convenience' of converting a charge to your own currency, for which they charge an extra 2.5% or more on top of any foreign transaction fees levied by your credit card. We ran into DCC several more times on our trip, but I was able to reverse it (by opting for the charge in euros only) or pay in cash. Because DCC benefits the merchant and the processor at the expense of the consumer, many places will automatically select dollars when they swipe your card and not even offer the option of euros only. I am a near obsessive about the best credit/debit card deals, so this DCC scam really ticks me off, and it seems much more prevalent in Madrid than in any other place we've visited.

Secondly, America will be sleeping safer tonight because Madrid airport security confiscated my sealed jar of Hero chestnut spread. I love chestnut spread on toast, but it's gotten harder to find at home. Our Fort Worth Central Market used to carry it, but no more. So I bought a jar at El Corte Ingles, the huge Spanish department store. As much as we travel, I am well aware of all the rules about liquids and such, but I had no idea that chestnut spread (with the consistency of peanut butter) would be considered a terroristic threat. Air travel security has so much silliness.

Minor annoyances aside, Terri and I felt very much at home in Madrid. We felt like we could easily fit in, and there was plenty to see and do (and eat and drink). Add to that the great flight schedules to and from DFW, and I think we'll be going back soon, for a longer stay. What better way to practice our Spanish?

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Madrid Museum Crawl

I don't travel to relax, since I do so much of that at home. I don't travel for daring adventure, as I've already had my share and want no more of it. I don't travel to party and cavort -- me? But I do often travel for art: art in museums, art in public spaces, interesting architecture, grand urban design, and all the other sorts of distinctive expressions that identify cultures and places.

The most famous museum in Madrid is, of course, the Prado. Like the Louvre and the Met, it is intimidating. To make it more accessible, take advantage of the daily free hours, from 6 to 7.30 each evening. There's always a line but it moves very quickly and you're in the museum within five minutes. Pick an area ahead of time, say, Italian Renaissance, and spend your time leisurely enjoying the art. Go back the next day and repeat with a different area. And the next day again. What started out as a way to save money by getting in free turned into the best way to enjoy the museum, a few hours at a time over several days.

I like the Prado but the vast displays of Velázquez and Goya are overwhelming. The next museum we visited was much more to my taste, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, displayed in a restored palace near the Prado. Spain acquired the entire collection in 1993 for $350 million although now it's valued at up to $2 billion. And it has such wonderful stuff! There's a Piero della Francesca portrait, Carvaggio's portrait of St. Catherine, Carpaccio's portrait of a young knight, some of the best Canalettos we've ever seen, and Van Gogh's Les Vessenots en Auvers.

After a long day at the Thyssen-Bornemisza, we made it to the third of the "Golden Triangle," the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. The collection here is modern, not as much to our taste, but stunning nonetheless. The centerpiece is Picasso's Guernica. Everyone has seen this painting in books and posters, but the huge original is much more raw and powerful than any reproduction.

Saturday was cold, wet, and grey, a great day for museum crawling. After hours upon hours of wandering through museum galleries, we stumbled back to our hotel room for a short break. It was time to think about dinner. Restaurants here don't open until late, so around 9.00 we went out to El Caldero for a huge and too satisfying meal of fried eggplant and paella, washed down with sangría de cava.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

At last, Madrid

When I wrote about our trip to Madrid, several friends wrote back and said, "Madrid! That's at the top of my list of places to visit!" For some reason, though, Madrid had never really entered my travel imagination. All of Italy, of course, and Paris, the south of France, but Spain? Maybe, some day, but later.

We've been in Madrid a full day and night now, and I cannot understand why I didn't want to come here earlier. My friends are right, Madrid is delightful! We're staying at Hotel Europa, right in the middle of Puerta del Sol, the center of old Madrid. Our second-floor corner room has a great view, facing out onto the plaza. The subway stop is so close the rumble of the trains underground lulls us to sleep at night.

Tio Pepe

Last night, we had dinner at La Finca de Susana, recommended by the hotel and several guidebooks. Terri had shrimp with fried garlic, swimming in olive oil, then a slab of hake fish with asparagus; I had Catalan salami on toast with a small salad then baked bacalao (cod) with cheese and spinach, all washed down with a bottle of Spanish vino blanco. Dessert for Terri was some concoction called tambaon, while I had a custard thingy (of course). Remember Mike's rule of thumb: the best food is in countries that grow both olives and grapes.

Breakfast this morning was at the hotel's cafeteria next door; cafe con leche and churros or a brioche is only €2. Terri had a yummy sandwich mixto: toast with ham and cheese and a runny egg on top.

I cannot imagine this will be our last trip here. There's a direct flight from DFW to Madrid, with a great schedule both arriving and departing. The new Terminal 4 at Madrid is attractive and easy to navigate. When you take the subway to get from the airport to the center you have to change lines twice, but it's actually pretty simple and only costs €2 a person.

We're going out soon to explore. Stand by, you haven't heard the last from me.