Madrid Day 2-8th June 2008

I managed to tune myself to wake up early at 8.30 a.m for breakfast and headed out to explore the city. The first item on my itinerary is the Sunday FLEA market. It is one of my favourite places in Madrid honestly. What else but shopping for GIRLS right? There were all sorts of items on sale from shawls, bags, clothes etc

Plaza mayor on the way...

My Summer outfit @ Plaza Mayor

Where all the artists gather... @ Plaza mayor

The Flea Market...

People are friendly, smiling and saying “Hola” to you whenever you pass by. However, the weather wasn’t that friendly. It started to get gloomy and I was so afraid that the tears of the sky would start flowing… Initially I was in my t-shirt and shorts but after I finished the flea market, I headed back to the hostel to change into jeans and coat… What an irony.. Wearing the same outfit that I had on during winter when Summer is knocking on the door… ? hahahaha.. Anyway, back to the flea market… It was huge and I actually spent about 2 hours whizzing my way through the crowd… Have you ever heard the song by Jolin Tsai “马德里不思议”? If you remember the scene where she skipped past the flea market lined up with blooming flowers, road-side stalls etc, YES that’s the one! It’s AWESOME!

Music by the streets...


More Music..
Nice Hooks on sale.... Compared to those S-Hooks sold in Singapore! :(

After changing into my “winter-outfit”, I headed to the MADRID PALACE! I guess my luck is just taking a toll on me… My hostel is just a 10-minute walk from the Madrid Palace and when I was halfway through, there was the SUN… OUT AND BRIGHT! However, it was still a bit windy so my scarf and coat was put to good use… I love the well-decorated gardens just outside the Palace. There were people sitting around, just relaxing, admiring the sceneries etc…

The Beautiful Flowers....

I hesitated as to whether I should enter the Palace but eventually, I still went in. I wanted to take a good look of it inside. ‘Regret’ is not the word I’d use to describe my post-visit state of emotion..Instead, I would think DISAPPOINTMENT fits better. It is just like any other Palaces that I've visited but the only thing that sets it apart is its white walls which made it looked astonishing..

The only picture of the interior of the Madrid Palace

Knight outfits for CHILDREN

Unlike in my past travels, I practically skipped all museums because they are time-consuming and I don't get much out of them when I don't understand their language. No Prado Museum for me. :) Instead, I headed to the world's 2nd richest soccer club's homeground, the SANTIAGO BERNABEU - Home to Real Madrid FC. It's not as well-furnished as Old Trafford or Emirates Stadium, I'd say it's the equivalent of Stamford Bridge on a larger scale. I was hesitant about paying to go inside the stadium so I just took a walk outside the Stadium and visited the mega store. Football clubs in UK have their Mega Store catered to only their own merchandises but that's not the case with Spain. For e.g. Real Madrid is sponsored by Adidas so you can actually find other merchandise of FC sponsored by Adidas like Spain National Team, Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC etc. It's so hilarious. Who would go to Real Madrid and buy a Chelsea jersey?!?! Likewise, it was the same case when I went to Barcelona FC @ Camp Nou. They had Arsenal and ManU jerseys and some other merchandises on sale.

Metro Stop attributed to the Stadium..

Only Raul has the privilege of having his name printed on a ball.... WHY?! Prince of Madrid..

Beckham used to be on the poster I bet. :)

Think back to the time when Barcelona played ManU during the Champions League Semi-finals and ManU fans going over to Barcelona's Mega Store to buy ManU products?!

After the visit, I got a bit tired and decide to head to my next destination-La Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas del Espíritu Santo.



You must be wondering where on earth is this place?! Well, it's where BULLFIGHTING takes place!! Before I tell you more about Bullfighting, let your imagination run at this moment and give yourself a picture and idea of what you think bullfighting is about? I can tell you I had one of the biggest shock of my life when I catch my virgin bullfight show in Madrid.

The bullfighting ground...

Basically, what happened was that a really handsome young Spanish guy walked past me at the moment when I was preparing to take this shot. That explains this Candid shot. :)

Now we shall begin~~Bullfighting is as popular as Soccer in Spain. Large crowds gather to watch the game and each game lasts about 2 hours or so. However, there's a winning probability of 0.5 for each team in a soccer game whereas in a bullfight, the BULL never WINS. It always loses and ends up DEAD. It's extremely Cruel!

I didn't know the rules of the game at all and this Spanish lady who sat beside me was actually very nice and started to explain to me how Bullfighting works. There's are 3 steps that lead to the death of the poor BULL...

Before the cruelty begins....

First, they will attempt to arouse the bull with a pink cloth to test the bull's courage, strength and general ability to fight. The crowd and president serve as the judge. Waving a white cloth indicates that they recognise the bull's fighting ability while a green ones signals the replacement of the bull. The Picadores, fighters on horseback will come next to challenge the bull and stab its neck. The whole idea is to weaken the bull's neck muscles to weaken his fighting ability. The second challengers, the Banderilleros will have to stab brightly coloured barbed sticks into the bull's back and there are 3 sets of those sticks. By then, the bull will be bleeding quite a bit and it gets more aggressive somehow.

The final challenger is named as the Matadore in English but I remember vividly, the lady naming it the Toledo (most probably the Spanish coined term). He's the one that ends the bull's time on earth with a Knife. He waves the red cape (cloth) and has to make the bull pass his body as close as possible. The manner and fashion going about it is 4 turns in one direction and the 5th turn in the opposite. Occasionally, the bull doesn't die with one stab by the Toledo. Then, the other bullfighters will come in and stab the bull till he drops to the ground and lowers its head. How cruel that can be right?!

Each bullfighting session witnesses the death of at least 6 bulls. What can be done to stop this form of animal abuse? Bullfighting is their culture. Is the preservation of human's culture more important or is it the protection of the animals that should come first? I heard from some locals that in Portugal where bullfighting is also a form of entertainment, the bulls do not die. Maybe that is a better balance between preservation of culture and the humane treatment of animals? I do not know. What about you?! What do you think?!

By the time the show ended, I was a bit exhausted but I headed for some local snacks and more shopping on the night streets of Madrid... Not to forget, headed to HRC for some merchandise stocking once again. Come to my place and you'll see what I've collected from HRC.Beautiful shot-glasses and shirts. I should have bought more shot-glasses!! hahaha.....

Puerta del Sol @ night...

Madrid Day 1-7th June 2008

Exactly a month after I am back. I guess I owe my blog my JUNE TRIP. :) Here it goes......

The day I left Stockholm, the place I called HOME for the past 5 months. It was a trying day for me.. Last night, I had to clean up the room before I left so basically I didn’t sleep the whole night since I had a flight to catch at 7 a.m. Before I left the previous night, I went around to say goodbye to my dear neighbours, people who had form an integral part of my memory for the past 5 months. Some of them were shocked at my departure because everyone seems to be staying till the end of the lease, 15th June. Anyway, my roomie stayed up with me till I left at 3.30 a.m. The departure atmosphere was filled with sadness and though we weren’t that close in the beginning months of our stay, somehow we developed a bond after 4 months. It may be late but “better be late than never”.

As I walked to the City-terminanen to catch the airport shuttle bus, I walked really sloowww. I wanted to have a good look at this beautiful city for the 2nd last time. ☹ Anyway, my flight involved quite a bit of transit since I had to fly to Frankfurt first then to Madrid.

Along the way, when I flew from Stockholm to Madrid, I caught sight of this bridge that connects Copenhagen and Stockholm from the plane. It's amazing. My cousin had told me about it but I didn't see it when I went to Copenhagen. Perhaps it's because I flew back then. It goes beneath the waters and if you see from the top, the bridge looks as if it has disappeared.


By the time I arrived in Madrid, it was already 6p.m. However, the night never comes until 10-11 p.m in Europe during Summer. So I headed straight to my hostel to dump my bags before I headed out to explore the city. Initially, I wanted to watch the Flamengo show but I backed out due to 2 main reasons. 1. I couldn’t find the place. 2. It was too expensive. Instead, I headed for some food-Mcdonalds!

Metro in Madrid. Very much like Singapore I'd say.

Just the streets

Along the way, I came across this Children competition. I forgot whether was it art-related or music-related. But anyway, you see supportive parents, cheering for their kids etc. NICE !

One of the best Ice-creams in Europe.Made in MADRID>>>

Plaza de la Villa-Notice the flowers.. You will see more of them later I assure you. :)

The CUTE road signs of Madrid...

The beautiful streets.. Main Shopping District... Calle del Arenal down to Puerta del Sol

The key architecture that helps you to identify Puerta del Sol

One of my favourite architectures in Madrid. Cibeles square with -Palacio de Comunicaciones-Alcala Gate.Madrid. I thought it resembles a bit of the Brandenburg gate in Berlin....
The Back view

Then, I proceeded to this beautiful park in Madrid called the Retiro Park. The receptionist at the hostel recommended it. Honestly, it was a HUGE one and it was BEAUTIFUL! Along the way, I caught sight of many beautiful architectures and buildings but I couldn’t identify all of them though I had a map with me. Inside the park, you see different groups of Spanish. There were families in the park, teenagers and youths basking MUSIC, individuals sitting by the lake to admire the sunset, couples strolling by the beautiful monuments or sitting by the river, friends chit-chatting away etc. Not to forget, police officers staying guard to prevent any drunkards trying to be funny… Amazing! As I stood by the lake, I caught sight of yet another beautiful sunset…. ☺ Headed for some downtown shopping with the sky darkening before I headed back for some good sleep!

Retiro Park !

Kids playing at the playground...

Look at all these amazing flowers !

Street performers. I couldn't understand a single bit. They spoke Spanish. NO ENGLISH!

The beautiful sunset..... The sun is just right behind the trees... At its horizon....

Sun and Moon appearing in the same sky ! Architectures...