So THIS is Madrid....

  Madrid, Spain
Saturday, March 24, 2007

It may seem strange to the uninitiated that Torontonians would fly to Spain on Lufthansa and via Frankfurt, but with code-shares, closed-sky policies, and an apparent lack of demand for direct flights from Canada to Spain, that's exactly what we did.

We left Toronto Friday evening at 6:30 from YYZ's Terminal 1. The Lufthansa counter experience was somewhat less than impressive -- (1) $60 extra fee to pay for the heavy "Shuttle" server we're taking with us..., (2) "you can't take 2 carry-ons!" and (3) "I'm in a middle seat?!? No, I don't do middle seats... please - find me something else now..."

Fortunately, points #2 and #3 were taken care of -- one of my carry-ons was my laptop bag, which is allowed as a "second carry-on", and the counter lady (fortunately) did find me an aisle seat. Which was better for everyone around, believe me.

The flight was uneventful -- rather mediocre food and blah entertainment, but frankly, I'm long past the days where the flight itself was an event for me. These days, it is purely about transportation. We got to Frankfurt safely, and early, and beyond that, well, it was good enough.

Frankfurt airport was as I remembered it: big, confusing and chaotic. One really needs to pay attention to the signs, otherwise one might end up in the wrong end of the airport. Very quick passport control (no questions whatsoever), pretty stringent security control in between flights, and free coffee (Lavazza?) at the gate. All good.

This is for you, Phil!

Three of us are on the next flight to Madrid, with our other colleague having to wait a couple of hours -- it remains a bit of a mystery as to why she didn't get booked on our flight.

We boarded, we flew, I slept, we landed two hours later. On approach, Madrid appears oddly flat - no high-rises, no visible or identifiable "city core". Some mountains, capped with snow, are profiled in the distance.

We arrive at the old Terminal 1, used mainly for domestic (ie, within Spain and the EU) flights. One unexpected fact: no passport control, no customs control. How odd -- no one knows we've entered Spain, and no one seems to care. Well, perhaps Interpol is already aware that we came in through Germany and have since traveled to Spain via Lufthansa... but the blatant lack of passport control as we enter the country feels just plain odd.

My colleagues collect their luggage quickly; mine and the Shuttle server (which weighs about 55 lbs...) take longer. We exit (chaos...), and head for the taxi queue (more chaos). Actually, there is no queue, just an over-abondance of available cabs. In my limited Spanish, I ask for a big cab (we have lots of luggage), or two cabs. The first driver impatiently dismisses me and takes other passengers. Fortunately, the next two drivers are helpful, efficient at loading our luggage, and appear to understand the address I give them.

A colleague and I get into one cab, while our other colleague takes the other cab by himself. His driver takes the lead, with ours in tow. I quickly identify the route the cabs are taking, and am able to follow on the map. Pretty city -- nice architecture, lots of greenery, impressive "plazas", very polite and respectful drivers (important when crossing streets on foot), and very "civilized" overall - ok, other than the chaos at the airport...

The Hotel Zenit Abeba is a nice little boutique hotel on Calle de Alcantara, in the "exclusive shopping district" of Salamanca. Very clean rooms -- smallish, but certainly no smaller than all my recent hotel rooms in New York! -- with modern facilities and bathrooms, a decent set of TV channels (including CNN International and "Richard Quest"), and very expensive mini-bar and Internet access.

The whole setting reminds me greatly of Santiago, where I was last October. But that's like saying that a parent looks like his or her child -- technically, it should be Santiago (the colonial city) that reminds me of Madrid (the imperial city).

We all spent the afternoon resting (got a call at 3pm to confirm that my last colleague had made it in safely too) and went out in the early evening to grab a bite.

We all knew that dinner doesn't happen til very late here in Madrid, especially on a Saturday night. So I trusted my handy-dandy Lonely Planet guide and we walked to the fashionable "Fast Good" "healthy fast food" restaurant about 1km away. Once again, my limited Spanish came in handy -- but fundamentally, it's not a language thing. It really boils down to one's ability to quickly figure things out in an unfamiliar context - and I love that stuff. Walking in, I quickly get my bearings, find out about vegetarian options for one of my colleagues, and read Spanish signs and labels without difficulty. My concern for my colleagues is more stressful than the challenge of taking care of myself -- but as a friend just reminded me, "they're all grown-ups too" :-)  Yep, all true.

Here are a couple of blurry pictures from our dinner. Keep in mind that after a night on the plane, that's about as good as our own vision was. No worries, picture quality will improve.

First dinner in Madrid - Fast Good

First dinner in Madrid #2 - Fast Good

A short walk back to the hotel -- ah, Madrid has come to life during our short and early dinner -- and I've finally logged onto the Internet.

Now -- we'll find out just how jet-lagged I really am...

Hasta la Vista, Baby!