Los Principios

My arrival was smooth and easy. My aunt picked me up at the airport, took me to her apartment and left for work. I spent an hour or two eating and unpacking before I left to go buy a phone and a map. Then I came back to the house and slept for an hour, for although it was 2pm here, it was 7am in NM.

Then I went walking. I had a destination in mind- the plaza where I have spent the most time in Madrid. But, somehow, when out on the street I just started walking. I looked at my map occasionally, finding where I was again and again. Yet never walking in the direction I intended. It was a fun way to get lost. Eventually I asked someone how to get to Plaza del Sol (the center of Spain) and he helped me mightily.

By the time the sun was going down I had made it my plazita (Plaza Santa Ana) to a renowned restaurant where I had spent many hours as a teenager. They recognized me, greeted me enthusiastically and served me some warm hake (merluza) and a cold beer (a small serving is called a caña). After the merluza I still felt hungry so I asked for another caña and some croquetas. Finishing my meal, I was completely stuffed, I walked home slowly and without using my map.

I had decided to spend the next day reading in a park I didn't know. Not any specific park, just any one that I was not familiar with. Looking at my map in the morning I found to my surprise and delight that the river running through Madrid is the Rio Manzanares! (A brief note: One of the students at La Puerta and a good friend of mine is named Rio Manzanares)

Leaving the house just before noon, I made a bee-line through the park, down the hill to the river. I forgot until I arrived there that water and bridges are two of my favorite things to photograph! I strolled and snapped shots until my camera battery died. At which point I sat by an awesome bridge, reading and wishing I could photograph it. I think I may have to spend another whole day by the river, and I may have to go back to that bridge. It had three points of contact with the bank (ribera), it was Y shaped!

After walking through parts of town I had never seen, I eventually made it home to put some more layers on to protect against the cold before going out to meet a friend, Jose. I rode the metro down to see him, back to Plaza del Sol. We walked to a small restaurant that I had eaten at with him one of the last evenings we spent together nine years ago.

It was so enjoyable to see him, to talk of our friends and family, and to be speaking Spanish. He told me my Spanish is really bad. Nobody I know in Madrid has much time for me right now, so I'm going to have to work hard to have conversations (beyond asking for the check) everyday. I am not going to worry, I have a long time to learn a lot. But, I must be proactive about the time I have and improving my skills daily, at least at the start (a principio).