Throwback Spain

A collection of travel books and itinerary inserts flew in front of me as I was surfing channels one evening in March. An orange paperback, the size of a bond paper, read “Europe”. Without hesitation, I picked it up and curiously browsed through the pages. A sheet fell as I was turning the leaves. It had cities and tours corresponding to particular days in May. “Spain?” I asked dad. “I thought we should go somewhere we have not been to before, and looks like someone has to re-learn her Spanish” he said with a crafty grin on his face.

Fast-forward to the day we were on our way back to Manila. We were aboard an airport service vehicle while cruising down the streets of sunny Barcelona, when dad looked at me puzzled, “Why Spain? Why did we choose this country?”

“I no longer want to know the reasons, for the whole travel was a masterpiece. It need no reasons, it was worth everything” I answered. An adventure I was willing to share with people who dream of basking in something as mind-blowing as a land we’ve only come to know in our history books. Indeed, in this case? to SEE is to BELIEVE.

And, like any astonishing memory I once took part in, this had a resplendent story to tell.

Side story…

Mint Chocolates

Before we left for our grand adventure, a friend of mine gave me something to bring for the trip. I will never forget this gesture because though it was simple, there were two things that struck me that day. One, he deliberately looked for my favorite chocolate and two, instead of resting after a long day’s duty (as a med intern), he went straight to my house and stayed till midnight. We were good friends and I guess that is all we will ever be. It was funny how I tried saving every bit of sweets left for the entire duration of our stay in Spain.

Our journey began on the Sunday of May 18th. With only a few hours of sleep, we arrived in Madrid at 8:30 AM, two hours shy of our check-in schedule. We had barely enough strength left after our 15-hour airplane ride, and to roam the city streets instead of lounging in bed seemed like torture. Nonetheless, I reserved my complaints, whines and feelings of self-indulgence to myself and seized the day like there was no tomorrow. I was a very well-behaved human being, with whiffs of desire for adventure from time to time.

We planned on taking things slow during our first hour in Spain. It was funny how our idea of momentary relaxation was nothing short of taking a cup of coffee from Starbucks. HAHA. “Bakit tayo nag-SStarbucks??” dad asked me. “Kasi wala ng iba? at gutom na tayo?” I replied for the sake of having an answer. Some things never change! It was either that or McDonald’s! I told dad I did not want to spoil our fancy travels with a meal from a fast food chain! Boy, did I eat my words a few days after!

Back in my hometown, Manila, I was always fond of observing reality from the inside of a coffee shop. I took luxury in looking at people passing by and cars rushing to beat the agony of traffic. The only subdued actuality was, faces changed but the backgrounds from which they moved to and fro never did. Imagine how my heart leapt when I was gazing at old buildings from where I sat! It was a whole new view.

That same day, we braved the streets of our first city! With only a map in hand we went in and out of alleyways and found ourselves in various plazas filled with people, cafes, and music. It was amazing how sharp my sense of direction was when usually, I get lost in local cities! I thanked God for proper discernment, wisdom and sense of excitement for all these things!

Honestly, this trip was particularly different from all the travels we have had in the past! It was our most action-packed holiday, and reality is, we hardly planned our list of activities! We did take a city tour bus to survey the area of land we will be walking on, but we wandered through the districts ourselves. It was the best! We were never scared of getting lost! and truthfully, we barely were. It was astonishing that the more we deviated from our supposed path, the more we discovered beautiful things. My behavior that time was to be on the look out for small streets leading to destinations that I feel might be more memorable. We tried to cover as many attractions (included or not included in the travel guide) as we can, because we may never see them again. Bottom line is: GAME KUNG GAME! We were practically all out for anything, and everything the country had to offer. Call it, circumspect recklessness! haha, what a term. We were careful, but we took risks.

Our first lunch was set on local time! We were enjoying a plate of paella at 3:30 PM! Mercato, Salcedo Market and other first-class food fairs were nothing compared to what Mercado de San Miguel had to offer! It was the exhibition of cuisine and lavishness of Spaniards encased in a glass aquarium. The accents, boisterous laughter and afternoon chatter could be heard all throughout the enclosed location. There were stalls of meats, seafood, paella, wines, pastries surrounding the area, while the middle was reserved for elevated dining tables and high chairs. It was packed with people! We can hardly see the food that was on display because some chose to eat in front of the counters! If a thought bubble were to appear on top of my head, it will read, “hello?? pwede kumain? uhm tumabi kahit isang second lang, pwede? excuse me!! nagugutom na ako! gusto ko makita yung pwede kong kainin!!” hahaha that was a bit intense, but again, I was hungry.

We were less adventurous and so we settled for Paella (pa-e-ya, as I was corrected) and Sangria (so many ‘yas’ no? ya ya ya ya  haha) for it was the only thing we were familiar with, and we had 16 more days to experiment on food! And experiment did we!! I shall write about that in the days to come. It was my first time to use some elementary Spanish in ordering this meal! haha. I felt mighty proud! It was so shallow, but I still felt a little bit accomplished. “Perdon con permiso senor, puedo un paella con chorizo por favor?” then, “cuanto cuesta?” “gracias!” haha ang babaw!

Mercado de San Miguel was a favorite of mine! We actually came twice here during our four-day stay in Madrid! It was a bit easy blending in as compared to the other countries in Europe. For a fact, we can somewhat understand their language because of the similarities of some words in Filipino. And, relatively some locals can be quite friendly. My advice to travelers is that even though you have been warned to be cautious of your surroundings (and you should be on the alert for pickpockets) you also have to be at ease! Do not be scared to look silly at times because after all, you are a tourist and you will be encountering everything for the first time. Also, smile! be courteous and friendly! the least thing we can do for the Spaniards is to be nice! since we are the ones visiting their country!

We have been a colony of Spain for 300 years, right? Can it be that once upon a time, our monuments looked like this? Think about it. There are a few evidences left in Manila today that can actually prove that Philippines used to look like this. If we only preserved our buildings, we could actually be staring at Madrid without spending a single peso. Diba? Sayang. That was how I felt the whole time I was viewing one beautiful establishment to another.

I took a photo of this because this landmark was called the Arch of Toledo. I do not need to explain why haha. Why can’t we have arches like this?

When we arrived, Madrid just won the football championship! They were mighty proud of it! The area where this building can be found was a place my dad and I kept going back to. It was along Calle Mayor, and from there you can access a lot of tapas bars, quaint shops and other brilliant finds. It was like being in Eastwood City, only better! The Madrilenos were also fond of those animated statues that move if you are gracious enough to spare a quarter. They were all over the square, each with his own gimmick of some sort. There were men floating on thin air, those that balance themselves on motorcycles and Disney-looking characters that were a disgrace to the actual ones. Mickey Mouse was wearing green trousers!! haha what in the world??

I went crazy over Mango, Zara and their street art! Their apparel was much cheaper compared to ours! I was able to shop for a few clothes (a jacket, a shirt and a skirt haha just so it can all fit in my suitcase) during our stay! Again, I felt mighty accomplished haha. I am so blessed to have a dad who enjoyed shopping as much as I did!