I found a new love in traveling…. Trains. Let me count the ways:
- Easy on and off compared to Airports – No rubber gloves 🙂
- Relaxed enviornment on the train compared to planes – Especially if you pay a little extra for a quiet car 😉
- Smooth ride with the ability to enjoy the countryside of the country that you are traveling in.
- Speed – This AVE train from Seville to Madrid made it in less than 2.5 hours, where driving would take over 5 hours!!!
- City Center to City Center traveling.  Eliminating airport transfers makes a huge difference in the amount of time to be enjoyed in your destination.
I had heard that trains were the way to go in Europe, but after this 3rd train ride in Europe it became glaringly clear. With the time spent getting to the airport and getting through everything, the time advantage for flying is shrinking more and more it seems.
Needless to say we arrived in Madrid in great spirits from our train ride. (May have been from the Rioja wine they served.) Madrid was intimidating me because there was a lot to see and we only had a few days to cover it all.  Not to mention Jessica had to show me all of her old stomping grounds from her previous study abroad experience living in Madrid for 6 months.  When am I supposed to fit in our culinary adventures? My engineering/planning brain was maxed out.
Somehow it all came together and we were able to get everything in. The great metro system definitely helped. We covered the Prado Museum, where I became a fan of Francisco Goya’s paintings.  We really enjoyed the Centro de Arte Reina SofÃa, where we saw Pablo Picasso’s Guernica among other great modern paintings. In general I would say I lean towards more modern art.  I think I am maxed out on classical paintings of Jesus and Mother Mary. Hopefully this doesn’t hurt my report card for heaven. 😉 The parks in Madrid were definitely impressive as well. I really wish Sicily would take some notes on this.
On the culinary side Madrid boiled down to 2 notable experiences in between all of the food on the run:
- La Gloria de Montera– Rick Steve’s redeemed himself on this recommendation. This ended up being a great meal when we really needed one.
- Mercado San Miguel – This was the highlight of the culinary side… if not the highlight of the trip to Madrid for me. This place is a foodie mecca, where you will find a variety of high quality food and wine representing the best of Spain. Also some French oysters thrown in the mix!
Travel Tips:
- Flying into and out of Madrid is cheap with EasyJet. They fly from Madrid to Rome, where you can pick up an easy flight back down to Catania.
- Take the AVE train to/from Seville!! Great experience
- Hotel Preciados Madrid is one of the top TripAdvisor hotels for Madrid. It was a good place, but not that memorable. http://www.preciadoshotel.com/
They don’t call me chippy for nothing! HAHA Mercado De San Miguel…that was awesome! David would approve.