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umichenginabroad · 5 years

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Hey everyone, I have some good news to start off with: I got a new computer. I’ll be honest, living without your computer for three weeks in a foreign country isn’t as hard as you’d think (as long as you have your iPhone). At least now I have a great story behind my “resourceful” bullet on my resume. Despite the headache, I’m grateful to be back on the keys and I have tons of new experiences to share!

While on my two-week hiatus I spent a ton of time on the weekends exploring Madrid! I came up with a strategy, each day of the weekend I’m going to see as much a new neighborhood in a district as I can. Take a look at how the districts are broken down in Madrid.

My strategy included picking one main thing to see there and then walk around and explore a bit. Here’s the breakdown:

Arganzuela: Delicias & Atocha - Mercado de Motores

This market is teeming with life every with vendors from all over Madrid, lots of live music, and food trucks surrounding the outside. I had looked up markets in Madrid and luckily stumbled upon this one on someone’s travel blog! I actually got really lucky because the market is only held once a month on the second weekend and I aimlessly searched the location in google maps and dedicated a day that weekend to going completely unaware of the fact. Growing up I loved cars and trains so the market was the perfect combination of childhood sentiment and fresh culture. I was able to look inside and learn about all the old trains and walk around to see local craftsmen and entrepreneurs. Below are a few of the stands I stopped by.

I love the style of the Chelsea boot and this pair was one of many handmade leather shoes. Unfortunately, beautiful products like these are a bit more expensive than your average boot so I just had to appreciate it.

This man was displaying the handmade pens he made using a lathe. The blocks under the pens are the blanks that he starts with which he hooks up to the lathe that spins very fast and then sheers down with sharp-edged tools to obtain the shape of the pen. I had actually made a few pens and pencils over the summer in my Grandpa’s workshop so I loved seeing this man’s high quality work. I only wished my technical Spanish was better so that I could have spoken with on a deeper-level.

These last three photos are just some of the culinary masterpieces on display both in the market and outside at the food trucks. I was in heaven walking down the line of vendors sampling the cheeses, meats, pasta, chocolates, and other delicacies.

Centro: Embajadores & La Latina & Palacio - Plaza Mayor, Almudena Cathedral, Plaza de San Miguel, Plaza de Tirso Molina

My major stop in Centro was the Almudena Cathedral pictured below which I spent a few hours walking around and sitting in the pews people watching. The cathedral rises beautifully from the city skyline and sits atop one of the higher points in Madrid overlooking the city. The architecture of the cathedral and extravagant, colorful decor is astounding in person. The whole time I was also wondering how powerful the gigantic organ would sound. From here I walked down to Tirso de Molina where there is almost always a little flower market going on. The neighborhoods in Centro definitely have more of a touristy feel than Arganzuela or Puente de Vallecas, yet it conserves rich history and traditions that are easy to appreciate.

This is Plaza Mayor, an iconic plaza and tourist attraction in Madrid. This past weekend, the city held a light show in the plaza that went through its history. Once it was dark enough, projectors lit up the walls of the plaza accompanied by loud sound effects and music creating a completely immersive experience. It was one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a long time and a truly unique way to glimpse into the tumultuous past of the famous plaza.

Puente de Vallecas: Pacifico & Numancia - Parque Cerro del Tio Pio (aka Las Siete Tetas)

The last district I visited was Puente de Vallecas where I had dercided to visit a new parque, Parque Cerro del Tio Pio. The park goes by a local name as well called Las Siete Tetas which translates to The Seven Tits, a play on the imagery of the shape of the hills in the park that you can see below. Getting to the park takes a while but is easy, although I found a way to make it harder by missing my stop and going 6 stops in the wrong direction. I ended up walking half an hour around another neighborhood next to Vallecas but never stopped anywhere there so I didn’t count it in my list yet. Anyways, I made it to the park around 3PM in the afternoon and quickly realized it was a favorite hang out spot for Madrilenos with an amazing view of the city. I decided it was time to break out my sketch pad and picked a portion of the skyline to draw with the mountains in the background (Look out for my next post where I’m actually hiking these mountains). I ended up staying until sunset at 7PM and getting a decent way through my sketch. By the time I left, every “teta” was coated with people watching the sunset and taking in the view. If you want to relax like a local, I would high recommend an evening here.

So about three weekends, and three different districts. All a bit different but full of life and things to do. Hopefully, by the end of my time here in Madrid, I will be able to say I explored every district! Next up is a major hike in La Pedriza!

Tim Azzolini

Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan University Pontifical of Comillas Winter 2019, Madrid, Spain

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