Sept. 17, 2014 So here we are in Madrid after so many years, and nothing looks the way I remembered. Super highway and ferocious traffic in from the airport, for instance. When I worked for the paper in Paris we came down here so often that we developed a circle of friends here and also in Seville, all of them gone now. We checked into the hotel and Peggy just wanted to rest, and try to recover from the all night plane ride, so I went out onto the Gran Via alone and walked along and the Madrid architecture and buildings surprised me--they seemed so different from the rest of Europe. I was looking for a cafe and turned into a walking street, the Calle Montera, and the first cafe I saw was a McDonald's. I would sooner have died than sit down there, but two or three doors further on was a tapas bar with tables outside. Ordering, I brought forth almost all that is left of my Spanish, which may have been a mistake as the girl began to talk to me, and I understood very little of what she said. But she brought me a cafe con leche, one of the best I've ever tasted, and a croissant, also very fine, and I sat and looked at the buildings all around and at the people strolling by, and sipped my coffee and had one of those moments of epiphany that comes once in a while, and thought: there is no place in the world I would rather be right now than here in Madrid at this table drinking this coffee.
1 Comment
8/15/2016 09:01:35 pm
There is nothing constant in this world but change. It is rare to see a place that hasn't changed much since the last time you've been there especially if it was ages ago. I have always pictured Madrid as a city adorned with its rich heritage where the country's culture abounds and can be felt everywhere. But during my recent visit, I have seen how the city have changed and succumbed to commercialism. Foreign establishments and modern architectural designed buildings sprouted in the capital. It was quite different 10 years ago when I first traveled to Madrid after my college graduation. I was enthralled with its exotic ambiance and culture that I even considered getting an MBA degree in one of their universities. I just hope the city could still retain its unique cultural history despite modernization and globalization.
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