The splendor of Madrid

This week, we start our multi-part series on our extensive travel to the beautiful country of Spain. So dear readers, brace up as we bid you bienvenido a Espana.

One can’t really feel a city, or a country for that matter, on just a weekend. Two families, mine with son Wee and wife Baby plus my brother Rey and his wife Evelyn opted to really explore this exciting peninsula for a full 15 days, including a side trip to Portugal, taking the opportunity for a short pilgrimage to Fatima. And since this was going to be an adventure rather than a mere sightseeing tour, we opted to explore the country on land, driving through coastal towns and bustling cities. Travelling a country by car is a beautiful, challenging experience, and the first order of the day is to make sure that you have a dependable, durable vehicle, one that has the speed when you want it, the stability in the speedways, and comfort for the long drives. That pretty much spells a good luxury car for us, and that also went by three letters: BMW.

BMW Philippines (Asian Carmakers Corporation) very kindly accommodated us with not one but two vehicles for our fam tour of Spain. Our first stop was the capital city of Madrid where our gracious hosts from BMW Group Espana in Avenida de Burgos were waiting to present us with the two vehicles for our road trip. The gleaming cars in the display area spoke volumes about the luxury that awaits any BMW owner (or user, as in our case). Proud BMW owners are a class in themselves, and we were soon to find out for ourselves why.

Our X1, a head-turning golden brown compact SUV, which I have appropriated for myself, and the 4-door sedan, a white 320-D which served as the support vehicle, both running on diesel, brought us to our hotel in beautiful style and comfort as we navigated the wide avenues to our home for the next three days, the Hotel de Coloso in Calle Leganito, only 30 minutes from the airport.

A mere 15-minute walk brought us to Gran Via, the major thorough fare leading to Plaza Callao, which for us was the equivalent of the Ramblas in Barcelona. It is summer here now, or verano as they say here, and the season not only brings tourists but also starts the sale season. Rebajas, even doble or triple rebajas (slashed-down prices) await the bargain hunters, and we joined the throngs of eager tourists and locals who have swooped down on this capital city for the start of summer.

Tourism remains a top Dollar or Euro earner in Spain, and we found the constantly cruising patrol cars and uniformed policemen on foot very reassuring. Before the trip, we were warned about gypsies and miscreants, and we remained alert as we elbowed through El Corte Ingles, a big chain that can be found from Madrid to Barcelona, much like our SM here, and happily, no untoward incidents happened, at least not in Madrid. We went home with happy purchases of 10 Euro shirts that would have cost an arm and a leg at home. Inveterate shoppers Babes and Evelyn were ecstatic.

The next day was strictly for sightseeing as we boarded their hop in-hop out tour buses. For 17.50 Euros per person, one can ride any of these buses for a full day. That’s at least P1,100/person, but we learned to stop converting Euros to Pesos or we’d never get to fish out those bills.

First stop was the Royal Palace or Palacio Real, a magnificent white edifice built in the 18^th century. It used to be the official residence of the royal family that has since been opened to the public. The palace is still being used for state functions and is decorated in the lavish taste of King Charles III.

Aboard the tour bus, where pre-recorded running documentaries are provided in English and other languages through private disposable earphones, we drove through the Catedral de Plaza Mayor lined with elegant colonial homes, past the clock tower which used to be the Eastern Gate of the city, through Calle Alcala where we were mesmerized with the amazing architecture of old buildings still functional after three centuries.

Madrid was rich in beautiful fountains and formidable statues in marble, and we feasted on these as we cruised along Plaza de Cibeles and on to Paseo del Prado which has the biggest concentration of valuable art pieces. This is where the famous Prado Museum is, home of various masterpieces from the 12th and the 19th century, among them Goya, Rubens and Murillo. And speaking of Goya, the Spaniards so revered him that they named a street after him in downtown Madrid.

Urban development has placed Madrid at par with other major European cities that are home to royal courts. This is a city of four million inhabitants and it is among the most cosmopolitan in Europe. They have proudly preserved their heritage, we noted, as we saw the Ministry of Agriculture built in 1897, the National Library built in 1866 in neo-classical style by Agustin Querol and the Botanical Garden also built in the 18^th century. It is home to numerous parks, all remarkable in their beauty and expanse like the Paseo del Alfonso X11 in Retiro and the Parque de Madrid where the Crystal Palace can be found. Here, musicians and families mingle for a nice stroll on Sundays.

Situated in the heart of the peninsula, Madrid is the center of parliament as well as the administrative center and the residence of the reigning monarchy.

The days are long and the nights very short, and the Spaniards conveniently cut through the long days with siestas. By 2 p.m. most of the shops and some offices close, to re-open at 4 p.m. Virtually all shops are closed on Sundays save for the occasional small souvenir shops and a few restaurants. Offices open at 9a.m. and close at 6 p.m. while shops generally open at 10 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Some days, the sun sets as late as 10 p.m., but usually, as the dying sun finally sets at 9:00 p.m., night life in Spain begins to stir.

Like most of Spain, Madrid’s population of young and old alike sit out in open cafes enjoying carafes of sangria or ice-cold beer. As soon as you sit down, the waiters plunk down platters of olives, free, for you to munch on while contemplating on what to drink. The Spaniards do love to drink, and one of their local beers, Cruzcampo has been around since 1904. Every time we sit down for a night cap in these cafes or cervezerias, we always ask for San Miguel first, and mildly chide the waiter when they don’t carry the “world’s no. 1 beer”.  And we always ask for a second or third platter of the free olives.

We stayed in Madrid for a full three days, drinking in the sights of their magnificent architecture, their numerous fountains and statues, parks and gardens, and walking as much as five hours a day to check out their “rebajas”. Tomorrow we set out for Portugal, but not before checking out another remarkable city, Salamanca. Usually, long drives can be tedious or tiring, but with our BMWs, my son Ray Louis in the 320 D and I in the BMW X1, driving for hours was a breeze.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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