Beggars - To Give or Not to Give

For someone that lives in a fairly small cathedral city in Hertfordshire, moving to Madrid was a shock in more ways than one. The sheer number of people I encounter on a daily basis is staggering. I was chatting to my Dutch/French housemate the other day and she joked that the people sharing her metro train probably outnumbered the inhabitants of her entire village!

All echelons of society are squashed together in one noisy, frantic, multicultural mess. This means that, while also sharing the pavement with impeccably coiffed women clacking along in high heels and business men in their loafers and blazers, you inevitably encounter those who are less fortunate. In a word - beggars.

At first Madrid's beggars made me feel deeply uneasy. This might seem a bit pathetic but bear in mind that these people are often terribly disfigured. There's the man in Sol with no arms who sits rattling a plastic cup full of change by holding it with his teeth. An awfully burned man with no fingers walks the train on my metro home every day calling "yo no tengo dedos, una ayuda por fa!". A woman with an empty eye socket stands at the base of the stairs to Sol metro trying to get the attention of passers by. These are just a few examples of the people I've encountered and there are many, many more.

I'm happy to say that after 6 months abroad I am no longer frightened by beggars but they still give me cause to think. I have never given one of them any money. I defend my actions by saying that it would be impossible to give money to them all and who am I to decide who is more deserving? This doesn't mean that I don't feel sorry for them though and I can't say that my heart doesn't sink when I hear "yo no tengo dedoooos" ringing through the train.

Most beggars are not aggressive in their asking; they simply hold out a cup of change. On the street it is easy to walk on by and I find that on the metro is where begging can feel the most awkward. Here many people look away or try to hide behind their tablet or smartphone which can cause the beggar to stop and be a little more persistent. It is entirely up to you whether you give money or not. If you decide that you'd rather not there is nothing to worry about - just shake your head and say no. I have never seen a beggar stop or make a scene after this.

If you're from London or Manchester you're probably wondering what all the fuss is about but let me assure any small town people like me that there's absolutely nothing to be worried about! If you're heading to a big city for your year abroad it's inevitable that you'll encounter the homeless, or people asking for spare change, fairly regularly. Begging, unfortunately, is a fact of life and whether you choose to donate or not it isn't going to be a problem that disappears any time soon.

Medical Matters

When on a year abroad the everyday sniffles and headaches that can crop up in England don't just disappear. What can make for an even bigger headache, however, is working out how to get hold of the medicines you need to get you feeling better.

A few weeks before Easter I came down with a horrible virus that affected my ears and throat even spreading to my eye in the form of conjunctivitis (super sexy...). I wanted to make sure it wasn't a bacterial infection but delayed trying to get a doctor's appointment because I thought it would just be a massive faff. In fact the opposite was true:

How to register with a Doctor/Make a Doctor's Appointment

Things you will need:

• Your European Health Insurance (EHIC) card
• Your Passport or NIE (if you've got it)

Find your local health centre/doctor's surgery and explain the situation in person at the front desk (you're an english student studying abroad who needs to be registered with a doctor as you'd like an appointment). In my experience the registration process should take about 15 minutes and you'll be assigned a doctor to see while abroad. I asked for an appointment that day and after waiting for about 30mins was seen by a GP.

Once registered you can make any future appointments over the phone.

I'm sure it's pretty obvious but make sure you swot up on the vocab you'll think you'll need regarding your specific complaint. It'll be a pretty awkward appointment if all you can do is point at parts of your body and mime pain...

Medicine

If what you have is mild or can be treated with a medicine that you can buy over the counter head to your nearest pharmacy. You'll most definitely have seen these on travels in Europe as they advertise their presence with enormous neon green signs in the shape of a cross. I've found the staff to be knowledgable and helpful with any questions I've had. In fact if you're not sure what you've got, or even if you need to find a doctor in the first place, paying a visit to your local pharmacy and asking the pharmacist is often the best thing to do.

Find out the name of the medicine you're after in Spanish/French etc as it's often different to the English name.

CHECK THE DOSAGE!! - Before you take any medicine check the dosage on the pack to avoid accidentally taking too much.

In Spain, for example, Paracetamol can be found in packs of up to 40, 1g tablets whereas in England each tablet contains around half that amount. The maximum amount per dose is 1g but if you're used to taking 2 tablets it's easy to see how you could accidentally take double that.



IMPORTANT
This post is designed to give general advice to future students on their year abroad about getting hold of medicine while away. Of course if you have a long standing or serious health condition that requires certain medicines or care then you must consult your doctor before going abroad.

If there's a medical emergency and you need an ambulance phone the EU Emergency Number: 112

Parrots in the Park!

The Wednesday before last was beautifully sunny and warm so I decided to head to Retiro to take some photos and enjoy the weather. Unfortunately after a whole day's use in Toledo my camera decided to run out of charge within about 10 minutes of arriving but I still managed to get some shots of the cerezos in flower and their resident parrots - enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These birds aren't in captivity but living wild throughout Madrid and most of Spain too I think as I once saw some in Barcelona when I was there years ago. They certainly are beautiful but they don't half make a racket squawking and flapping about in the trees. They didn't seem to be eating the flowers they pecked off either; just ripping them apart and dropping them on the grass - little vandals!

 

A Trip to Toledo

Toledo is the capital of Castilla La Mancha and one of the easiest and prettiest trips you can take from Madrid. A mix of Christian, Jewish and Moorish cultures over the centuries has left its narrow streets full of incredible architecture and atmosphere. After a journey of just 30mins by high speed train Annie and I arrived in the glorious sunshine and set off to walk to the city centre. Almost every guide to the city moans about the journey from the station saying that it's incredibly tiring and suggests taking the bus or getting a taxi. There really is no point though as the walk was gentle (even for someone as unfit as me!) and if you get the bus you miss out on views like this - the Alcázar de Toledo and the beautiful Río Tajo

 

 

 

 

After following a thick pink line painted along the pavement for about 10 minutes we came to the escalators. These are designed to skip the hardest part of the walk and I highly recommend them! Though a bit dingey they mean you start the trip fresh and enter the city as quickly as possible from a point that's easy to navigate from.

 

 

 

 

Once you've wormed your way up to the surface again you'll be met with a square from which the little tourist train departs on its round of the city. This is perfect if you've only got a limited time to see everything but Annie and I had all day so gave it a miss in favour of wandering about.

 

 

 

 

Tantalising glimpses of towers and turrets are everywhere as you walk around the city.

 

 

 

 

The first place we headed was La Catedral de Toledo which, together with the Alcazár is Toledo's most famous building.



 

 

 

We ended up finding a side entrance which led to a quiet prayer room and had to back out again to find the main door but I'm glad we did as the views inside from that angle were incredible - great soaring columns and vaulted ceilings. 

 

 

 

 

Eventually we found the actual entrance and had to hand over 8 euros to get in (pretty steep for a church we thought - though this does include a rather dry and long-winded audio guide)

 

 

 

The stained glass threw shards of rainbow light onto the columns and there was certainly no shortage of sumptuous gold.



 

 

 

 

 

 

After the cathedral we were hungry so set off to find a good place to eat. After a mix-up about which restaurant we were actually in (we'd found a nice looking menu but accidentally sat in the place next door) we were brought two pans of steaming paella and glasses of cool peach juice. A scraggy looking cat with ginger and black blotches came and sat at our feet throughout the meal; though when she turned her nose up at fresh calamari I knew she couldn't have been that desperate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we'd finished we wandered around to the other side of the cathedral and sat in a small square watching the school groups mill about. All of a sudden there was a whooshing sound and an empty metal rectangle on the ground began to fill with water. This was swiftly taken advantage of by every bird and toddler in the vicinity who was after a drink or a splash about.

 

 

 

 

Once full to the brim the still water reflected the cathedral perfectly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toledo is most famous for two things; swords and marzipan. This unlikely combination can be found everywhere and on our way round the city we found shopfronts full to bursting with boxes of the sweet treats and others packed with weapons of every kind.

 



 

 

 We had been planning on visiting another of the main tourist sites such as the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes or the Iglesia de las Jesuitas but in the end we found a mirador alongside a synagogue with a fairly decent view and just sat enjoying the sunshine.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 You honestly can walk around the entire city of Toledo in a single day with no need to hurry. Annie and I did a big loop starting at the escalators and heading round to the Puerta de Bisagra; from there the route to the station is an easy downhill walk. We had a bit of a job finding the Puerta though; we ended up walking around it on the inside as we'd gotten bored of just following the city wall and had to double back.

 

 

 

The view through the Puerta is quite special:

 

 

 



 

As are the sculpture that crests the gate and the multicoloured tiles that adorn the rooftops - definitely worth a look.

 

 

 

 



On the way back to station we sat in a public garden for a while to make the most of our time in Toledo and to try some of Annie's marzipan (I've decided I don't like marzipan...far too sweet and squishy).

It looks like spring really is on its way!

 

 

Even the station at Toledo is pretty; a mix of Christian and Moorish styles with gorgeous stained glass and carved wooden panels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unlike a lot of other things in Spain the AVE train gets going on the dot so don't be late back for your return journey or you'll be left behind. As Toledo is so small it can get choked with tour groups and families but Annie and I went on one of the first warm weekends in March and, although almost nobody on the train was Spanish, we didn't find the other tourists a problem.

 

There are plenty of other sights we didn't get round to seeing in our lazy day but that's the beauty of Toledo; you can choose to visit it all in a whistlestop tour or just pick and choose your favourites making time for a long lunch and a sunbathing sesh (am going to have to stock up on suncream soon).

 

Annie and I both had a lovely time and it makes a great change to get away from the huge city to somewhere altogether more relaxed. If you're going to be in Madrid for a while I highly recommend hopping on the train and spending a day exploring Toledo!

 

 

Trains leave from Atocha Railway Station and a return ticket costs around 20 euros. Buses can also be taken from Madrid with a journey time of around 1 hr 30mins and cost around 10 euros.

 

La Estación de Atocha

I hadn't even realised that getting the train to Toledo would mean passing through La Estación de Atocha. I've lived in, or close to, the area of Madrid called Atocha for almost all of my time here and I still hadn't visited this famous landmark. On Saturday morning though, while Annie and I bought our train tickets, I got to have a good look around. The first thing you notice is the fact that there's a tropical garden in the centre!

 

 

Apparently this contains around 500 species of plant...and animal. The terrapin pool is everyone's favourite spot with adults and kids alike lining the barriers to peer down at the piles of sleeping turtles.

 

 

Built in 1851, the station is the biggest, most famous and most important in Madrid. It's here that you can catch any of the high speed AVE trains heading to cities like Barcelona and Sevilla. All the Cercanías lines in the city converge here and Metro line 1 takes passengers from Atocha to the city centre in a matter of minutes.

It really is quite an impressive building and makes a lovely start to any trip to Madrid.

La Estación de Atocha can be found towards the south of the city at:

Pza. Emperador Carlos V, Vestíbulo del Ave, Arganzuela

28012 Madrid

 

P.S: For any fellow David Attenborough fans I give you...terrapin courtship rituals! :)

 

 

 

 

The male "strokes" the female's face by flickering his claws along her cheeks...passionate stuff :P

Teatro Kapital - The Most Famous Club in Madrid

Kapital is a giant on the Madrid party scene; 7 floors of music, dancing and drinking that make up the most famous club in the city. It's something that any visitor to Madrid must see at least once and as it was Annabel's 21st birthday we decided there would never be a better time!

After an hour or so at Annabel's flat in Opañel we headed to La Lupe, a smaller club full of Erasmus students, to get our free tickets to Kapital (free entry was brilliant as normally it can cost up to 17 euros to get in).

The club itself is pretty understated on the outside - I actually went to a flat viewing in the same building last month and missed it completely!

We arrived at about 1am which in England would be considered quite late to be arriving anywhere but in Spain was incredibly early. The main dance floor was deserted except for a single dude holding his beer aloft and dancing like a mad man.

Heading up to the top of the club we decided to work our way down through the floors. The 7th floor is the smoking floor with a kind of strange caribbean design scheme and lots of little round tables which we took advantage of later in the night when a rest and some air were desperately needed! As it was so early we were still in search of some actual people to dance with which we eventually found on the Latino and Pop floors. These, together with the ground floor, were definitely the most popular among the punters on that particular Thursday night. We spent a few minutes on the other floors which include cocktail bars and karaoke corners but always found our way back to the main dance arenas.

I was a little disappointed with the Latino floor that seemed to just play rap and reggaeton with no salsa to be heard. The music on the ground floor wasn't really to my taste either but the sheer spectacle made up for it. I have never been in a club so big with so many people; the lasers were spinning, confetti showers fell from the ceiling and spouts of dry ice would whoosh into the crowd. There were also a couple of gyrating girls on podiums behind the DJ but they seemed pretty obsolete with nobody paying them much attention.

We eventually left at about 5am getting taxis home from the rank outside. I'm definitely glad I've experienced Kapital once in my life and I had a brilliant time dancing madly all night, but with a 17 euro entry fee and around 12 euros a drink I'm not sure I'll be rushing back.

Teatro Kapital can be found at Calle de Atocha, 125. Atocha is the closest metro.

Chris to Madrid!

Chris has just left after a lovely 5 day long visit; though it passed so quickly it hardly felt like any time at all! After only an hour in work on the Wednesday morning I hurried to Nuevos Ministerios to meet him on the platform (thankfully this time without falling flat on my face on an escalator...). We wandered around Sol for a bit and then found some huevos rotos for lunch in a little place with a TV showing a live feed from a chicken coop...exciting times. Chris had woken up at about 4am to get to the airport in time for his early flight so we just headed home that evening and relaxed (in case anyone's interested The Maze Runner is a pretty decent film).

Thursday morning was spent at the Museo Arqueológico Nacional which is only about a 20 minute walk away from my new flat up past the Prado Museum. It's really worth a visit if you're ever passing by as there's so much to see. We were there for almost 3 hours and had only just moved into the Middle Ages after passing through the Roman occupation of Spain and the Prehistoric galleries. They had a reconstruction of the first human Australopithicus Afarensis, or Lucy for short, which was brilliant as I'd heard a lot about her over the years but never seen her. She's much smaller than I imagined at only about a metre tall. There was also a replica of the Taung Child's skull with the marks left by the eagle that killed him all those millions of years ago still visible. The rest of the galleries were full of treasures and weapons from throughout history. My guidebook said that the museum would be free which it was for me with my student card but it turned out to be 3 euros for Chris.

That evening we made sure to arrive early at Café Central, the most famous Jazz café in Madrid, to bagsy seats. We turned out to be really lucky grabbing the only 2 bar stools left which meant we had a great view; right in front of the stage and over everybody elses' heads. We'd come to see Pardo & Carmona & Colina & El Bandolero who played a kind of flamenco jazz fusion which was incredible to watch. Pardo switched between sax and flute accompanied by guitar, double bass and with El Bandolero or "The Bandit" on drums.

 

 

 

 

It was a brilliant concert and we sat there in the dark happily munching giant salmon and brie tostadas. Café Central is a little pricey but definitely recommended if you want good jazz in a Spanish atmosphere - I didn't hear another English voice for the whole evening.

 

 

 

 

On Friday came the hour Chris had been waiting for...ParaPark! This concept originated in Budapest and has now spread to the rest of Europe (I know that there are centres in London and Paris at least). The idea is that you're locked into a room and are told to escape within a set time limit. The room is full of all sorts of mind puzzles, clues to solve, passwords to find etc that gradually let you come closer to finding the passcode for the door. It's so much fun! I won't say anything about what's actually in the room in case I spoil it for anyone but having to figure everything out as a team with the added time pressure is really exciting. When the door finally opened with 15 minutes to spare the feeling was incredible; a kind of mad relief and crazy exhilaration! You can play in teams of up to 5 people and there are 2 different rooms to choose from with different levels of difficulty. The place itself can be quite hard to find as there's no big sign outside; you just need to look for a mirrored door that has the ParaPark symbol on it in red paint and press the bell to the right side.

A quick snap of us (and assorted room decorations) that the lady took after we escaped:

After ParaPark we found a bar for a drink and ordered a couple of cocktails...both a bit of a failure. I ordered a Sex on the Beach but the barman made it with white rum instead of vodka which was disgusting while Chris ordered a Michelada. The World's GROSSEST cocktail. It was like a Bloody Mary at first but then after he'd poured the beer in it was just not drinkable. After a while we moved on to a bar that I'd heard about called The Passenger which was supposed to be made up to look like the inside of a train with screens showing passing countryside. It sort of worked but we weren't really impressed in the end; the screens weren't very good quality so it seemed a bit of a waste of time.

Next came the Templo de Debod a real ancient Egyptian temple moved to Madrid in the 1960s and now the best sunset watching spot in the city. We got there in time to see the sun sink behind the temple and although the sky was mostly ragged clouds it was still beautiful. A Trumpeter was leaning on the balaustrade looking out over the Palacio Real playing lazily along to a sound track while his little dog wagged his tail and tried to make friends with everybody that passed. It's definitely one of the most romantic places I've found in Madrid; perfect for the day before Valentine's Day. We also got to have a go on the slacklines that a group of people had strung up between the trees next to the temple. These are like giant stretchy tightropes that people walk along trying to balance and not fall off. It's really tricky!

Dinnner was traditional Spanish fair in La Bola. I ordered Arroz a la Madrileña and Chris had roast lamb which turned out to be the entire front leg of a lamb... hoof and all. He said it was delicious though.

Saturday was skiing day. We decided to visit the indoor ski slopes at Xanadú; a giant shopping and leisure centre on the outskirts of Madrid. It took us only about 20 minutes to get there by bus from Principe Pío. Chris was really good at skiing as he'd had lessons as a kid and been on holiday a few times. This was my first attempt and needless to say I was...less good. A particularly memorable moment was when I crashed head first into the opposite fence after having crossed the entire slope trying in vain to turn and failing massively. Unfortunately we didn't manage to get any photos as Chris' phone got too cold and refused to turn on. The slope is covered in real snow and has a proper ski lift to get you up to the top. I'm not sure how I feel about skiing now; on the one hand when you're doing it right and are speeding along it's brilliant but on the other hand when you're completely out of control and are heading for certain death it's bloody terrifying!!

Sunday was just a chill day. We met up with Cat and her boyfriend Matt, who was also visiting, for lunch in La Fragua de Vulcano a really good Spanish restaurant close to Plaza de Santa Ana near Sol. We wandered around afterwards and headed up to the restaurant floor of El Corte Inglés for mango and chocolate ice cream. Then Cat and Mat left us to try and see if they could hire a row boat on the lake in Retiro and Chris and I headed to a beautiful bar/restaurant that I'd found in Goya when out with a friend. We ended up dallying quite a bit too long and Chris had a mad dash to the airport; getting there after the gate had supposedly closed but thankfully still making it in time.

It was a bit of a rushed end to a lovely few days but it was brilliant fun from start to finish. The time passed so quickly it feels almost like I dreamt it but am now back in the routine of things here with work and YARPing to be getting on with. Next time I'll see Chris will be back in England over Easter and I can't wait!