Reel Life

You've seen them. 

The reel* where one friend is hunched over a computer, crafting a minute-by-minute itinerary, while the other opens PayPal and sips a glass of wine. 

The reel about that one friend who thinks everything is walking distance...[20,000 steps later]...

The reel about how you talk about buying plane tickets like most of your friends the same age talk about buying diapers. 

Ashley & I brought these and more to life by staying on in Spain for six nights post-conference. The first three, we'd spend in Madrid. It hit me that Spain, and Madrid in particular, was my first international experience way back during my junior year of high school, hence perhaps my love affair with the entire country.

Perhaps that's also why I didn't feel a need to see and do ALL the things: I've done them before. Granted, I could still easily spend a week at the Prado, the Thyssen and the Reina Sofía - each - but in this case I was happy to wander and check out quirky Instagram finds, some of which turned out to be total gems. 

Oh, and take pictures by alllll the Christmas trees. Sadly, we flew home the day Madrid would be lit up in Christmas splendor. 

If I'm planning the vacation, there WILL be walking tours. We did two in Madrid, neither of which was as good as any of the five I did in Portugal, despite some interesting nuggets. 

The 2nd Guinness World Record I witnessed on my trip belongs to the world's oldest restaurant. 

Our tour guide called the modern (completed in 1993) Almudena Cathedral the ugliest in Europe. We popped in so Ashley could use the bathroom, but I feel like I need to go back to give it a fair shot. 

The "Homeless Jesus" sculpture in the church yard caught my attention.

Friday ended with one of few Christmas attractions that, per Instagram, DID open early enough for us to "enjoy" it - a Christmas market at a certain El Corte Inglés department store location that wound up disappointing us. 

Saturday morning began with another Instagram find: a FREE tour of a now-defunct original metro station, accessed through a staircase inside the aboveground portal pictured. 

The stop nearest our Airbnb was on the map!

Tiled ads.

Next on our Insta-tour of the city was a pop-up vendor fair in "Barrio de las Letras," which pays homage to the many authors who once lived there with book quotes embedded in the sidewalks.

Plaza del Sol was a short walk away. 

The hits just keep coming. Instagram pointed us to a super affordable coffee shop above a shoe store that looks out over the whole plaza...when there's not scaffolding in the way. We were practically the only people there.

At some point Saturday, we stumbled across our first "Menina." "Las Meninas" is one of the most famous paintings by one of Spain's most famous artists, Diego Velázquez. The menina is a figure of a girl that's become an emblem of the city. Every November/December, there's a city-wide installation of them, each decorated by a different local artist. I live for this kind of thing (c.f. the 250 cakes for St. Louis's 250th birthday in 2014), so what started with one quickly became two, then three and four (they were in the same plaza!), then downloading an interactive map and going on an all out, full-scale HUNT. Rev. Isaac Machado, a DR seminary graduate serving as an Alliance missionary pastor in Madrid, became a willing accomplice in our antics as of late Saturday afternoon (after mediocre walking tour #2/2). Between Saturday and Sunday, we'd visit all 31 of this year's locations and photograph 29 Meninas; to my annoyance, two were behind closed doors.

My favorite Menina was dedicated to the DOMINICAN! WHAT?! It doesn't say "Santiago," but it does say "Ciudad Corazón."

A significant factor in sticking around Madrid was to worship with the flock at Pastor Isaac's church, Congregación Emanuel, on Sunday. They rent the parish hall at a Methodist church, entered through this lovely courtyard, for Sunday services. 

The entire congregation is made up of expats, including these Venezuelan immigrants I first met in Peru (before Jorge & Betania [L] had Joaquín, now 2) years ago. 

Sunday's Menina hunting took us near Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home to Real Madrid. I could care less about soccer, but the structure is impressive; it dominates the neighborhood. We even popped inside the stadium's brand new brewery that looks out onto the field. Ashley and Isaac were in heaven.

Kilometer 0 (back in Plaza del Sol) is Spain's answer to Rome's Trevi Fountain. Evidently, if you visit it, you're bound to return to Spain. I was already making plans before I learned this particular tidbit so...

I didn't make Ashley walk ALL the time. We waited out a rainy Monday morning doing the in-person version of our frequent Netflix Teleparties. 

Then...off to Granada. On the AVE (high speed train that cuts a 5 hr. bus trip I made way too many times when I studied abroad down to 3.5)! I remember reading a comprehension paragraph in my high school Spanish textbook about its construction. 

Speaking of when I studied abroad, I had high hopes for Tuesday's planned walk down memory lane...

Until next time, blessings in Christ!

*For anyone older than Gen Alpha - me included - Google's AI defines a reel as "a short, creative video that can be used to promote a brand or connect with others on social media."