Madrid

It's great when you can combine work with pleasure :-)

And that's what it definitely was when I had to travel to Madrid. We have a big client of us based there. They have their own in-house system where we as a tour operator could directly manage our hotels, prices and allotments we give to them. According to them a very big thing. So we thought it would be good if I was taught this super great system and asked if they'd have someone to teach me. And so I planned a visit mid of February.

The appointment with the client was scheduled on Thursday 17th of February. Since my flight back would only be on Friday and thus the Friday at work anyway lost, I added the weekend in Spain. So I flew already to Madrid on the Wednesday and Marco was joining me then on Thursday, so that we could spend some days together in the capital :-)

Wednesday, 16th February:

I'm for the first time in my life in Spain!!! And that was obvious! I behaved like a total tourist, not only language wise. I mean, yes, I did learn Spanish at uni, but it's something totally different when you are in a country and really have to USE the language in a context, with Spanish people. I could understand a lot, but speaking turned out to become a mix of Italian (because it's so similar and because I was talking it all the time with Marco who was with me) and Norwegian which is currently for me the epitome of "foreign language". English, Italian and French are no (longer) foreign languages for me, but at the moment, when thinking in terms of "foreign language", I think Norwegian... and in Spain of course Spanish... So this became all a little funny mix that made us survive down there. And English? Forget about it!

However, this wasn't the only incident that revealed me as a 100% tourist: we had our hotel booked right in the city centre of Madrid, at "Plaza del Sol". So right upon arrival at the airport I wanted to go straight to the hotel to check in. I had the choice to take either the underground only, but then had to change twice; or I could take first an underground and then change only once onto the suburban railway. And that's where I got a little stuck. The whole local public transport system was colour schemed and with numbers and names. To make it pretty idiot-proof. When I changed from the underground to the train I was looking for the directions to the platform for a train on the grey line in direction Aranjuez/Parla/Humanes. However, wherever I looked I found red indications to "Cercanias".  Cercanias left, Cercanias right. "I don't want to go to Cercanias. I wanna go to Aranjuez/Parla/Humanes. The grey line!!!"... In the end I gave up and I asked  - asking for your way is something for very stupid tourists who manage to get lost in such easy places - some ticket inspector standing around how I get where I needed to go. Even he indicated to "Cercanicas" and I thought, ok, maybe he didn't understand my Spanish. Disappointed I simply followed his instructions hoping to find my way somehow. I can't remember how or when I finally figured out that I was on the right way and that "Cercanias" was not a destination, a place, the name of a station. "Cercanias" was nothing else than the name for the net of the "suburban/local railway" where I had to go.

I know this IS stupid!!! But I eventually made my way to Plaza del Sol and to the hotel.

  

I checked in to our modest hotel and walked already a bit through town, to catch a first glimpse of Spain's capital. Some of the places I visited later on with Marco, so I don't put pictures of them at this point. So here just a few of my little walk around, maily along the "Calle Mayor" and "Gran Via".

 (Plaza Mayor)

(Mercado de San Miguel)

 

(Catedral de la Almudena)

 (Palacio Real - the Royal Palace)

(Plaza de Oriente - right beneath the Royal Palace)

 

 (Palacio de Comunicaciones - Madrid's town hall)

Later I went back to the hotel and prepared for going out for dinner. I didn't get prepared though for the next "you are a stupid tourist"-incident...

I walked a little around the hotel's neighbourhood until I found a place that appealed to me. I'm not a big fan of going out all alone (looks like you don't have friends!), but when you are on a business trip one occasionally has to go out by him/herself and look lonesome.

Luckily there was a place in the corner on a small table. Perfect for me. I sat down, had a look at the menu and ordered. And 10 minutes later I had the surprise!!! The waiter came to my table and served me three big and full plates - all for myself! This could only be a misunderstanding, but no, it wasn't. It was all for me... and I totally looked like a glutton. Luckily I sat in my corner where not too many saw the amount of food I was served.
What happend was: the items on the menu were for me as resident in Scandinavian pretty cheap, between 3,50€ and 6,50€. For this price, I thought, it can only be tapas, i.e. small little portions of food only, something you have to take several of. I wasn't too hungry so I "only" took three. However, what I figured out later what I had ordered, were so-called "raciones", full portions of food! And I had ordered just three of them all for myself! The waiter could have told me before!!!

I ate a little bit of all and then left as quickly as I could. It was a nice place, but I didn't dare going back there with Marco.

So, the result of this is, that I definitely live too long in Norway. I'm so used to the super high Scandinavian prices that "normal" European prices look so cheap to me and that I didn't expect anything big to eat (but only small tapas) for something that costs "only" 3-6 €!

So this was my first day in Spain!

Let's see if I'm doing any better in the next days on the Iberian peninsula...

Thursday, 17th of February:

This day I had the meeting with our client a little North outside the city.

I presented and registered myself at the reception as visitor and was picked up by a girl called Lucia. I was actually supposed to meet our usual contact person for contracts, prices, negotiations etc. However, at last minute he had announced that he wouldn't be there finally. So I met two colleagues of him.

The one that picked me up brought me up to the second floor... which was ENORMOUS!!!! She showed me around and the more we walked through this immense floor the more I got shocked about the working conditions. The whole company at this headquater counts for approx. 600 people who are 85% all sitting and working on this one floor. This floor though doesn't really have rooms, it is nearly one huge single open-plan office with one person sitting next to the other. It looked and felt like chicken in a laying battery. The employees didn't even have their little "cubicle" or any separating walls from their neighbour colleague. And this place was so anonymous!

I was shocked. I had never seen an office like that. Of course, I myself I haven't worked and looked into many companies and offices. And I know open-plan offices only from television where the people have at least their own little private niche, though. However, only the immagination of working in such a place is a nightmare to me. In that moment I once more appreciated my work environment and the working atmosphere in our office in Oslo :-)

Well, I eventually sat down with that Lucia who was designated to teach me this system. So I sat squeezed in the 50 cm space between her and her colleague to the left, right in the middle among another 450 people! In this personal and private environment Lucia showed me their system and what I as a tour operator can or actually better cannot do in it. It turned out that the only thing I could really do all by myself was giving and inserting more rooms on free sale. For everything else - changes in allotments, release dates, prices, a new supplier etc - in the end I had to contact the client directly.

So my "lecture" was already over after roughly 45 minutes and then I was presented to another girl, Patricia, which was responsible for packaged ground services, a new branch under development. So far our client deals with single accomodation services only. So this Patricia was really interested in our packaged itineraries through Scandinavia. I had brought her some copies of products from our current summer brochure and had a really good and I'd say successful talk to her.

Both girls I was in contact with during my visit were really nice. We still had some small talk before I said goodbye. In the end after not even 3 hours I was again out of this place; this was my "big" appointment with this client for which I explicitly flew to Madrid. I was prepared to spend a whole day with the client. However, so much the better like this. This way I could meet Marco already at lunch time. He had already arrived in Madrid and was waiting for me at the hotel :-) ... :-)

Both hungry we walked through town looking out for some lunch opportunity and then just strolled a bit through town.

 

(no, I don't take a picture of this guy's ass... it just turned out that it looks like that!)

 

Since it wasn't throughout the nicest weather (a bit grey and windy) we decided to visit the "Museo del Prado", housing one of the world's finest art collections of mainly 16th- and 17th century paintings among others from Goya, Velázquez, Raphael and Botticelli.

 

Later in the evening we went out for dinner... but not at the same place I had been to the night before :-)

Before heading back to the hotel, we enjoyed a walk through the nightlife in Madrid.

Friday, 18th of February:

The weather forecast for this day was much better and so we had a pretty sunny and warm day for continuing our discovery of Madrid. On the programme:

the "Catedral de la Almudena" (from exterior)...

...and the "Palacio Real", ...

 

 

 

 ...a walk via the "Plaza de Oriente"...

      

 

 

 

...over to the "Plaza de España"...

 

...and from there all the way Eastwards to the "Plaza de Cibeles"...

  

...with the imposing "Palacio de Comunicaciones" (home of Madrid's town hall).

Here we took the train out to the "Estadio Santiago Bernabéu", the home of Real Madrid.

 

(only those that speak Italian will understand me when I looked a bit strange when I saw this indications to a place called "vomitorio")

After this visit the day was pretty much over. We headed for dinner in a good, but pretty expensive restaurant.

Saturday, 19th of February:

What a rainy day! We decided to visit the "Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales" a museum and working convent which is crammed with works of art - paintings, frescoes, sculptures, tapestries, tiles, liturgical gold and silverware - donated by the former nun's wealthy relatives. (No pictures allowed...)

Though the weather wasn't really inviting, we spent some more time outside walking through the streets, the bigger and also the smaller ones of the town and later even entred a huge shopping mall.

After an extensive lunch break Marco couldn't be bothered to stand the rain and decided to stay at the hotel. *no comment* :-( 

In the meantime I defied the weather and had a look at the "Parque del Retiro", the city's "green lung and madrileños' favourite weekend retreat". Many decorative features including statues and sculptural arrangements, a formal French garden, lakes and ponds and other amenities make the parc a known attraction. Only that it didn't leave this nice impression under these meteorologic circumstances combined with the leaveless season of the year. In summer, when all the trees are beautifully green and/or on a nice sunny day, I'm sure this whole parc will look much different.

Since it is a huge parc it took me quite a while to cross at least a part of it and by early afternoon even I was fed up with the weather. So I walked through the various streets of Madrid back to the hotel.

Sunday, 20th of February:

Great, like the forecast we were granted some sun :-) ... and so I took Marco to the parc I had visited just yesterday and which I knew would be nice with this weather. It was ncie to walk together outside in the streets of Madrid, enjoying the sun rays and the upcoming feeling of and longing for spring and summer.

 

 

Unfortunately we couldn't benefit too long from this weather together. Marco had to take his flight back to Bologna in the afternoon. Since it doesn't cost a fortune like in Oslo to get to/from the airport - to be precise it costs with 2€ exactly a 10th(!) of the express train to Oslo Gardermoen - I accompanied Marco, so I was still able to spend some more time with him until he really had to leave :-(

Since there were no (affordable) flights between Madrid and Oslo on that Sunday, I had my flight back only the next day :-( It doesn't feel nice to be still kind of stuck all alone again in a foreign place where you have just spent some great days together with your boyfriend. But well, what should I have done? Leave even before him? That's like not even seeing him at all.

So I made the best out of it and stopped on my way back from the airport at the "Plaza de Toros de Las Vantas", a famous bullfighting ring in Madrid. Unfortunately I could only see it from the outside; would have been intersting to have a look inside. However, opening hours at this time of the year were pretty restricted.

 

 

Early in the evening I returned to the hotel. I was allowed to keep the double room we had also as single for the last night. Strange feeling to be alone in there then, with Marco gone.

Anyways, I didn't do any big thing anymore. I just grabbed some fast food around the corner and went to bed early.

Monday, 21st of February:

Without stress I checked out of the hotel and proceeded to the aiport to take my flight back to Oslo. I was welcomed also by a lot of sun and good weather... but also by a beautiful snow landscape. What a contrast after the relatively high temperatures in Madrid! Mentally already in spring from moment to the other back in winter!

Novertheless, it was a great weekend. I discovered yet another place, could stay again with Marco and all that (at least partially) paid by the company :-)

¡Adiós y hasta luego!