Chapter 8 - City of Fountains

I really loved Madrid when I was here last year, it is a spectacular city, history oozing from every cobblestone and alleyway - yet at the same time very modern.

I arrived at Madrid airport and decide to catch the metro into the city. Madrid like London has a great underground rail system, very efficient, very clean. It took about ½ hour to get to my destination and is a great way to get from the airport – the only downside is that you need to change rail lines a couple of times and there are a number of stairs that I needed to lift my rather heavy suitcase up and down. The newer trains are like long concertina buses, you can see from one end of the train to the other, as they traverse bends in the track, you don’t get a great sense that you are going round a bend, but the end of the train will disappear to the left or right, swaying to the rhythm of the bend. It is mesmerising to watch.

Madrid is a very walkable city, I discovered this the last time I was here, although it was the end of winter and still very cold. It is the middle of summer here at the moment and HOT HOT HOT, but a very dry heat, at least compared to Sydney. I am not sure how this group of nuns and monk/priest were surviving in the heat.

Life is Madrid is a little different to other cultures I have been in, people don’t start there day till late, there is a siesta from 2-5pm depending on your working conditions etc, and they don’t take there dinner until 10pm. The last part has been the hardest for me, having meals that late at night, its just not good for the digestion. But then after dinner people go to bars and clubs and drink and or dance until late, 1am is common time for people to be going to bed. I remember the last time I was here, reading an article, they did a sleep study of cultures around the world – the Spanish people got the least amount of sleep, amongst any of the countries in Europe.

At night-time the city just comes alive, at least in summer. A lot of people don’t have the luxury of air conditioning, combine that with very dense and small living conditions and you have a population that is out on the street walking, talking, sitting in Cafés, and strolling in the plazas. Madrid has a population of 3 million people and it seems that all three million of them are walking the streets at night.

Madrid looks like most other cities at street level, with three exceptions, unbelievably narrow streets, an abundance of water fountains, and lots of small squares or plazas – where people congregate and socialise. But you need only look up and you see the most amazing array of beautiful architecture. It is the city of Juliet balconies, of large (and I mean large) sculptures, statues and ornate columns and fixtures. Walk around looking at the ground and you will see a fairly ordinary city, tilt your head high and you will see an extraordinary city of stunning beauty.

There are an abundance of Museums, historic sites and parks. I visited the Prado museum the other day. Huge space, not as large as the Louvre in Paris, but still large. An astonishing collection of art and loads and loads of Goya’s art work – and I mean loads…. Afterwards I visited the botanical gardens – it was one of the few places I have been disappointed with, almost felt like asking for my 2 euro entry fee back. Although they did have an interesting collection of bonsai trees, including a few little forests of bonsai trees – they were very cute.

I was shown, by my friend Carlos, an Egyptian monument – this was a gift from the Egyptian government to the Spanish people, to thank them for their assistance rescuing the ancient temple of Abu Simbal. Abu Simbal was going to be covered with water, as a result of the building of the Aswan dam in the 1950’s. They pulled the temple apart, block by massive block of stone and relocated it to higher ground – building a fake concrete mountain around it to support the temple. Abu Simbal the temple is one of the wonders of the world and a must see if you are travelling to Egypt, made even more amazing as a result of its relocation by 20th century engineering teams.

Spain is very gay friendly; there is a large gay area in Madrid, called Chueca (pronounced Swhe-ca – I think), lots of nightclubs and bars. They recently legalised gay marriage, the current presidents stance – is equal rights for all people, not just some of the people some of the time, like so many other nations in the world. What gob-smacked me about this was that Spain is a very catholic country and one would expect a certain conservatism – given the current and last popes stand on homosexuality. But not so! Which is very refreshing, there is a very live and let live attitude here, even more so than in Australia.

I went to one of the local swimming pools, the complex consists of the two pool areas, one is where the families hang out and the other is where the gay boys and girls hang out – and some families as well. There was a lot of topless bathing at the pool, in both areas of the pool complex. The pool complex itself was beautiful, set amongst a picturesque part of town, beautiful trees and hedges and landscaped gardens around the pool. The ‘gay’ area was located up a flight of steps, when I got to the top of the stairs there was a staff member – making the visiting public take off their shoes, thongs, sandals (any footwear). Then you stepped onto the tiled floor area surround the pool – it was like walking on hot coals. OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH !!!! well it certainly made you walk quickly across to the grassed area.

Saturday night I went out wondering the streets and doing night photography. I ended up at Retiro park, a large park on one side of central Madrid, just beautiful. It’s a place many people go to wonder in the evenings, after dinner, there was an old-fashioned Punch and Judy puppet show (in Spanish), there is a small lake, people roller blading, strolling and biking. I could hear the beat of several drums in the distance, so I followed my ears and ended up at the base of yet another monument, there was a large gathering of people sitting around listening to a group of drummers. Some people were dancing and there were some people swinging Maori pois (I don’t think I have spelt pois correctly). I of course asked if I could borrow a set of pois and start having a swing – one I got used to them I was swinging like a pro – and showed the girls a thing or two – they were most impressed with my ability (my flagging skills coming in handy). I am thinking of heading back there tonight with my flags and if they are there, then showing them what a Sydney boy flagger can do.

Today (Monday), is a public holiday in Spain, so there are no museums etc open today, and most close on Mondays as it is. So I have had a very relaxed chilled day, had breakfast then came back and had some more sleep. Have been spending the afternoon writing my journal entries and catching up on emails etc. I think I will head out late evening and do some more photography and night-time photography – Madrid is spectacular at night.

Tomorrow is my last day in Madrid; I will definitely head to a couple more museums etc, but also have to get some laundry done and pack in preparation for my trip to Barcelona on Wednesday. I have decided to take the train from Madrid to Barcelona, about a six-hour journey. I thought it would be a great way to see the countryside and a different travel experience. A first class ticket was only a 93 Euros (about $120 AUD) – I could have got a cheap flight for a lot less, there are an abundance of cheap airlines here in Europe – but decided the experience was worth it.

Till the next installment - Peter

Chapter 7 - London

Some say London is the greatest city in the world! I am not sure I would give it quite that glowing a reference, but it certainly has a lot going for it. It’s missing an ocean and a harbour – and then I think it could be the great city in the world. There is an enormous amount of history (or herstory depending on your politics) there. The history of the city dating back to pre-Roman occupation. The Romans developed a square town called Londinium, which became the centre of the Roman Empire on the British Isles. There is little that remains of its ancient beginnings. However there is an amazing array of architecture, monuments, parks. Everything has history. It is a dense city, with officially 7.5 million people, although some guidebooks etc quote 12 million – the truth lies somewhere in between.

One the many things I love about London is the metro and train systems. It has a very well developed underground rail system – referred to as the ‘Tube’ because of the round tube shaped tunnels and trains that traverse them. The history of the Metro system is a book in itself (which I am sure someone else has already written) – I have certainly seen discovery channel documentaries on it.

I was staying with friend in Wimbledon, which is a lovely little area in South West London, SW19 is its postcode designation. As I understand it, London uses a ring postcode system so if you were in SW 1 – you would be in the South West corner of London central, SW2 – you would be a little further out …. SW19 – long fecking way away, LOL. Although I have to say it was pretty easy to get to, using trains and tubes. The trains are the above ground system – if you were wondering why I am using two different terms.

Wimbledon, as you will probably know is famous for Tennis… but the strange thing is – you would never even know that there was the most famous Tennis tournament in the world held there every year. I think I was expecting to see lots of tourist, lots of tacky tourist spots – get your balls here at the London Racket café… but alas I was sadly disappointed. It was a quaint little village on the outer edge of London.

It was great to spend time with Russell and Melissa (ex-Yum friends) and I was also able to catch up with another friend of mine, from Sydney who lives in London. I did a little site seeing – but not much, I spent a good deal of time planing out the next couple of months of my trip, working out how to get there, how to go here, booking flights etc. I had decided to make some changes to my travel plans and instead of heading to Northern Italy I am now headed to the Greek Islands – where I plan on spending the best part of a month. It also gives me the chance to spend some more time with Nirmalpal – whom I meet in San Francisco, as he will be ending a Mediterranean cruise in that part of the world.

Italy will have to wait for another trip, then I will head back to Amsterdam and have not yet decided between flying from Amsterdam to London –cheap and quick, or catching the Train from Amsterdam to London, about 6 hours total – a little more expensive, but an awesome train trip on the very fast train that links London to Paris and Brussels. I am leaning towards the train.

I did go out clubbing one night, went to a places called the Arches – which is built beneath the arches of an old railway line – very cool place, music was great and I did not get home till 5am. I was a little seedy the following day – ahhh youth, why haste thou forsaken me.

One of the things that amazes me is that this far north of the equator the sun does not set till 9:30 – 10pm. Same here in Madrid – so the days are glorious long. We get the benefit of daylight savings in Australia – but certainly in Sydney the sun is down at 8:30ish ….

The weather for the most part in London was great, mid-20’s during the day. So a nice Sydney winters day ;-)

I have now arrived in Madrid … I really love Madrid – but that will have to wait till the next instalment.

Peter

Chapter 6 - A pure and clear soul

G’Day All

It is rare that one can say they have meet the “bearer of a pure and clear soul”, however by a chance meeting, a smile, a smile returned and a decision to stop and see where that smile would go – I meet Nirmalpal (Nir-mal-paul), who’s name means just that in Punjabi. I love San Francisco, I loved living there, I love returning here. And I love meeting people as special and wonderful as Nirmalpal.

San Francisco is a unique place, a bubble in the space time continuum – where people are free to be whoever they want to be, with little to no judgement (compared with the rest of the US), and little to no harassment from the police or other authorities. It is wonderful to see transgender people walking down the street, people wearing goth makeup, people wearing crowns on their heads, while riding a bike up the street. Of course the flip side of this coin, the underbelly of the Emerald City, is the poverty, the sick and those in need of mental healthcare – who have limited access to overstretched resources and more often than not – no resources at all. I used to be able to proudly say that Australia had an abundance of care for its poor, sick and mentally unhealthy – but over the recent decades we have been headed more and more rapidly in the direction of US when it comes to issues of health, wealth and education – and this is NOT a good thing.


San Francisco was not always like this, although it has always been a unique city, drawing to it a varied and interesting history of people. The gay population has had to fight, politically and sometimes physically, to create the haven that is San Francisco. One of the most wonderful things I saw (at Gay Pride) was a male couple, carrying around a baby that they had adopted – see picture. I was touched by the love and commitment of this couple and the knowledge that to have adopted this child this couple has had to travel a road much harder than a heterosexual couple would ever consider.


I love San Francisco and always feel at home here, this trip enabled me to see it from a different perspective on a number of levels. Firstly I spent most of my stay with a friend in the East Bay (thankyou Bernard), Oakland to be precise, so I needed to travel by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transport) across the bay, each day that I wanted to spend time in the Emerald City. From across the bay, you get to see the city and the fog and gauge how thick and deep the fog might be and whether you will venture forth from from the warmth of the Eastside. Yep it can be foggy in San Francisco and Sunny just a few hundred metres out into the bay. Yet another reason I love the Bay Area, micro-climates, never have I been in a city or area where there are so many micro-climates. Even within the city of San Francisco itself there are micro-climates within the micro-climates. The other day I drove down to Santa Cruz (about 45 miles South of San Francisco) a glorious summer’s day, spent in the mountains with my friends Flo and John, as I drove back to San Francisco, you could see the bank of Fog from miles away. As I got closer and closer, the fog bank became darker and denser, spilling over the mountain range that runs the length of the San Francisco Peninsular. The fog was like a thick wall, and the sun was blotted out, as I drove into the wall of condensation. The car was covered in a fine layer of water as I speed on up the 280 Freeway and I needed to turn the wipers on to keep the windshield clear. It was NOT raining, the car was simply running into millions of drops of vaporised water suspended in the air and carried on the currents of air. It really is a unique experience.

I also got to see the city through Nirmalpal’s eyes, he was born in the East Bay, growing up in the Bay and living in San Francisco itself for the past 12yrs. Been of Indian decent, with a dark rich velvet brown skin, he like many people of colour living in the US have a different experience of life, than those of us who are born white. Added to this, certain family-cultural expectations, and you can only imagine the sort of life experiences he has had. Nirmalpal has shared some of his life with me, for which I am deeply grateful, it is not my place to tell his story here, hopefully he will write it down one day. However I will say that I now know what a ‘Bearer of pure and clear soul’ looks and feels like – the miracle is that he has been able to live up to his name and I am proud to have had to opportunity to get to know him and experience some of life through his eyes. He has given me a profoundly greater appreciation for the family that I have and love.

Having lived in San Francisco, I did not feel compelled to run around and do the usual tourist things, and was able to get some good writing done. However I did do one thing. San Francisco now has this company called GoCars, they are basically a three wheeled moped/scooter. They have a PDA device with a GPS tracking system in them. They provide a running commentary through the radio, about where you are the history of various areas of San Francisco as you drive through it. And it directs you as you drive, so you can’t get lost. See picture – was a LOT of fun.

I am now in London and about to head to Madrid in a couple of days.

Hope you all are well.