Madrid version of Pridefest 2023

[J Willhaus]

It has never been easier to cross the streets or find a free bathroom today in downtown Madrid near Atocha. We're staying at the Oxygen Hostel again. Phil still hates it, but I think it is quiet, clean, cool, and in a great location. The streets are blocked all around for the Pride activities. Might get in a little dancing if we can stay up for the music. Walked a little long way today to look for a bag to ship home Phil's hiking poles. He wanted to leave them, but maybe I will have a cash poor student who wants to borrow them for the winter class am teaching about the Camino. In the end we got the 2 euro bag and some tape at the first Asian store near our hostel we stopped at. It will make a good laundry and Camping bag at home. It is kind of an Ikea knockoff. We can check them for free.

Tomorrow out to a Marriott near the airport for Phil's comfort. We leave July 3 in the afternoon and have a long layover in Frankfurt so will get a hotel and go into town. I lived in Frankfurt as a child and both Phil and I were stationed in a Germany so made some trips to Frankfurt as adults from time to time. As a bonus, my German is still pretty good or at least as good as my Spanish.

Right now we are enjoying adult beverages and patatas mixta at a street table near the hostel. I will miss Spain, but I am ready to transition back home.

 

[Phil W]

It has never been easier to cross the streets or find a free bathroom today in downtown Madrid near Atocha. We're staying at the Oxygen Hostel again. Phil still hates it, but I think it is quiet, clean, cool, and in a great location. The streets are blocked all around for the Pride activities. Might get in a little dancing if we can stay up for the music. Walked a little long way today to look for a bag to ship home Phil's hiking poles. He wanted to leave them, but maybe I will have a cash poor student who wants to borrow them for the winter class am teaching about the Camino. In the end we got the 2 euro bag and some tape at the first Asian store near our hostel we stopped at. It will make a good laundry and Camping bag at home. It is kind of an Ikea knockoff. We can check them for free.

Tomorrow out to a Marriott near the airport for Phil's comfort. We leave July 3 in the afternoon and have a long layover in Frankfurt so will get a hotel and go into town. I lived in Frankfurt as a child and both Phil and I were stationed in a Germany so made some trips to Frankfurt as adults from time to time. As a bonus, my German is still pretty good or at least as good as my Spanish.

Right now we are enjoying adult beverages and patatas mixtaView attachment 150993 at a street table near the hostel. I will miss Spain, but I am ready to transition back home.

That's a gross picture of me! Oh well, @J Willhaus is the boss (la jefa).

 

[Former member 104756]

‘Adult beverages’ . Love that

 

[henrythedog]

That's a gross picture of me! Oh well, @J Willhaus is the boss (la jefa).

The camera doesn’t lie Phil; but you’re looking good, and multi-tasking which is impressive.

 

[Phil W]

‘Adult beverages’ . Love that

Yep, I'm an adult most days.

 

[Phil W]

The camera doesn’t lie Phil; but you’re looking good, and multi-tasking which is impressive.

Yes, eating, drinking, and on the forum.

 

[peregrina2000]

That's a gross picture of me! Oh well, @J Willhaus is the boss (la jefa).

There’s a reason why wedding photographers stop taking pictures when the meal is served. But don’t worry, @Phil W, “gross” is not a term any of us would associate with you!

 

[Seekingpeace]

Ahhh, if only I checked forums earlier - we were near Atocha last night as well before our flights home today! Pride in Madrid was spectacular, wish we had arranged to stay longer to enjoy more of it!! Safe travels home.

 

[El Cascayal]

Phil, there’s a Cuban flag on your drink glass! Will have to check that out.

 

[J Willhaus]

It is pretty quiet this morning in our hostal. We ended up going to sleep at 8 pm in our double pod. A day of train travel, hiking around the very hot streets of Madrid and a couple of drinks did us right in, so I missed everything but the pre Pride activities of watching them block the streets. It was also fun to watch the groups of people meeting, hugging, kissing, and shouting greetings of friendship to each other. As there is at our Pridefest, there were a few outlandish and ostentatious costumes, but mostly it was T shirts, Spanish fans in Pride colors, and little and big Pride flags. Even McDonald's was handing out Spanish fans in Pride colors on one side with an advertisement for their wares on the back.

I slept right through it, but Phil said there were some late night revelers who violated the "quiet" space of the pod dormitory a little late in the night. I slept 11 hours so I know I was tired.

The pod thing isn't for everyone as Phil will attest, but I find them wonderful. The mattresses are memory foam so not the best on my back but pretty comfortable. Our double pod was 85 euros and included bedding, towels, and a can't be beat location. Quiet, clean, and a 24 hr a day staff presence. There is a little breakfast bar although there is a grocery store just up and accross the street where we got our yogurt and fruit for breakfast. There is also a laundromat one block away. They are on booking or you can reserve directly on their website. You can also just take a shower here for a fee or rent a pod for a few hours for a nap.

 

[AnneMarie1]

It has never been easier to cross the streets or find a free bathroom today in downtown Madrid near Atocha. We're staying at the Oxygen Hostel again. Phil still hates it, but I think it is quiet, clean, cool, and in a great location. The streets are blocked all around for the Pride activities. Might get in a little dancing if we can stay up for the music. Walked a little long way today to look for a bag to ship home Phil's hiking poles. He wanted to leave them, but maybe I will have a cash poor student who wants to borrow them for the winter class am teaching about the Camino. In the end we got the 2 euro bag and some tape at the first Asian store near our hostel we stopped at. It will make a good laundry and Camping bag at home. It is kind of an Ikea knockoff. We can check them for free.

Tomorrow out to a Marriott near the airport for Phil's comfort. We leave July 3 in the afternoon and have a long layover in Frankfurt so will get a hotel and go into town. I lived in Frankfurt as a child and both Phil and I were stationed in a Germany so made some trips to Frankfurt as adults from time to time. As a bonus, my German is still pretty good or at least as good as my Spanish.

Right now we are enjoying adult beverages and patatas mixta at a street table near the hostel. I will miss Spain, but I am ready to transition back home.

I’m in Madrid now, too. Yesterday I arrived at Estación Sur on the bus only to discover the metro between there and where I am is now closed for obras. Decided to just walk — and got stuck behind the parade and festivities and couldn’t cross near Atocha for the longest time! What a party!

 

[J Willhaus]

I’m in Madrid now, too. Yesterday I arrived at Estación Sur on the bus only to discover the metro between there and where I am is now closed for obras. Decided to just walk — and got stuck behind the parade and festivities and couldn’t cross near Atocha for the longest time! What a party!

Yes, we were surprised to see Estación de Arte was closed for obras as we used it only 2 weeks ago when we were here last. We were walking around in the afternoon between 3 and 5:30 and they were getting barriers in place then. On the C10 to the airport now. We were able to get a discount on our ticket by using our Tarjeta Dorada. Its Sunday morning so not too much congestion or waiting at Atocha or the ticket windows.

 

[J Willhaus]

Took the C10 out to the airport and used our Tarjeta Dorada and got a discount. It was 2.05 each. Spoke to the ticket agent about the Madrd Tourist Travel card which gives you access to the bus, metro, and Cercanias trains. It ends at midnight each day so if you start traveling around town early in the day it could be a good deal.

We checked into our airport hotel, the Marriott Convention Center, and wow, did I make a good choice. I used my Marriott points for a free room (15,000 only for this stay) and because I am a Platinum Elite member we got a room upgrade, free buffet breakfasts tomorrow, access to the executive lounge with food and beverages, and the whole mini-bar at no charge. I went out to the pool for 30 minutes to say I had actually worn my swimsuit for something other than shorts and a tank top on this trip, too. Huge gym ( which I did not use).

For lunch there is really only one option outside the hotel--Asador 7 de Julio (beginning date of San Fermin festival) which is directly behind the convention center. Phil ate there in 2021 and always said he wanted to take me back there, so unwittingly we had the most interesting and plentiful meal of this Camino trip.

We arrived way too early and sipped a beer while we waited for the staff to finish their "family meal" together before opening hours. I didn't know this was more than just a US thing, but it was nice to see them all getting fed before caring for customers.

We had already decided on the pricey Menu del Dia de 7 de Julio after perusing the menu for an hour over our drinks. Phil wanted the "pickled partridge salad" as his primary and I was having the "beef carpacio". Well the young wait staff took turns coming to correct us and finally using Google Translate I was made to understand that we would get 4 different primary plates--what we had orded plus beef stuffed peppers, and a plate of sliced cured meats, a bottle of wine and water, and bread. See photo:

Apologetically one of the waiters showed me the price again and asked if it was too much and when I said no, they waited for us to consume as much as we could before bringing out our two platters of lamb chops from the grill. See photo:

And finally lest they thought we might leave with even a tiny hunger, they came again to inquire about dessert. Phil had already landed on carrot cake with cream cheese frosting ad advised me to get the cheesecake with blueberries which he knew he would eat most of since I don't like dessert. We placed our order and yet a 4th young waiter came to inform us that we were getting an entire platter of desserts...fresh fruits, 3 cakes, 2 ice creams and if that was not enough they brought 3 bottles of liquor. The yellow was hierbas, not sure about the red, but it tasted like cough medicine, and the cloudy was kind of like Baileys. See photos:

We rolled ourselves away after paying 80 euros total for the 2 of us. Yes, a lot, but certainly not by US standards for what we got and 4 different wait staff got to practice their English with the crazy Americans.

Our plane to Frankfurt leaves at 1 pm tomorrow and Roger, the concierge, says we need to catch the 10:30 shuttle tomorrow back to the airport. No need to sign up, just show up about 10:20 in the lobby.

 

[AnneMarie1]

Yes, we were surprised to see Estación de Arte was closed for obras as we used it only 2 weeks ago when we were here last. We were walking around in the afternoon between 3 and 5:30 and they were getting barriers in place then. On the C10 to the airport now. We were able to get a discount on our ticket by using our Tarjeta Dorada. Its Sunday morning so not too much congestion or waiting at Atocha or the ticket windows.

I’ve been buying Renfe tickets via their app, but haven’t done that for cercanías trains yet.

 

[J Willhaus]

I’ve been buying Renfe tickets via their app, but haven’t done that for cercanías trains yet.

They have a machine in the station for Cercanias. I wasn't sure if we could do the TD with the machine and the line was short. The attendant had to see our cards and key in the card numbers by hand.

 

[Kirkie]

Took the C10 out to the airport and used our Tarjeta Dorada and got a discount. It was 2.05 each. Spoke to the ticket agent about the Madrd Tourist Travel card which gives you access to the bus, metro, and Cercanias trains. It ends at midnight each day so if you start traveling around town early in the day it could be a good deal.

We checked into our airport hotel, the Marriott Convention Center, and wow, did I make a good choice. I used my Marriott points for a free room (15,000 only for this stay) and because I am a Platinum Elite member we got a room upgrade, free buffet breakfasts tomorrow, access to the executive lounge with food and beverages, and the whole mini-bar at no charge. I went out to the pool for 30 minutes to say I had actually worn my swimsuit for something other than shorts and a tank top on this trip, too. Huge gym ( which I did not use).

For lunch there is really only one option outside the hotel--Asador 7 de Julio (beginning date of San Fermin festival) which is directly behind the convention center. Phil ate there in 2021 and always said he wanted to take me back there, so unwittingly we had the most interesting and plentiful meal of this Camino trip.

We arrived way too early and sipped a beer while we waited for the staff to finish their "family meal" together before opening hours. I didn't know this was more than just a US thing, but it was nice to see them all getting fed before caring for customers.

We had already decided on the pricey Menu del Dia de 7 de Julio after perusing the menu for an hour over our drinks. Phil wanted the "pickled partridge salad" as his primary and I was having the "beef carpacio". Well the young wait staff took turns coming to correct us and finally using Google Translate I was made to understand that we would get 4 different primary plates--what we had orded plus beef stuffed peppers, and a plate of sliced cured meats, a bottle of wine and water, and bread. See photo:
View attachment 151104
Apologetically one of the waiters showed me the price again and asked if it was too much and when I said no, they waited for us to consume as much as we could before bringing out our two platters of lamb chops from the grill. See photo:
View attachment 151105
And finally lest they thought we might leave with even a tiny hunger, they came again to inquire about dessert. Phil had already landed on carrot cake with cream cheese frosting ad advised me to get the cheesecake with blueberries which he knew he would eat most of since I don't like dessert. We placed our order and yet a 4th young waiter came to inform us that we were getting an entire platter of desserts...fresh fruits, 3 cakes, 2 ice creams and if that was not enough they brought 3 bottles of liquor. The yellow was hierbas, not sure about the red, but it tasted like cough medicine, and the cloudy was kind of like Baileys. See photos:
View attachment 151106View attachment 151107
We rolled ourselves away after paying 80 euros total for the 2 of us. Yes, a lot, but certainly not by US standards for what we got and 4 different wait staff got to practice their English with the crazy Americans.

Our plane to Frankfurt leaves at 1 pm tomorrow and Roger, the concierge, says we need to catch the 10:30 shuttle tomorrow back to the airport. No need to sign up, just show up about 10:20 in the lobby.

The red could have been Patxaran, although it is usually served up in the Basque country! It has been lovely following you both. Safe trip home.

 

[J Willhaus]

The red could have been Patxaran, although it is usually served up in the Basque country! It has been lovely following you both. Safe trip home.

Yes, interesting that this restaurant with a Basque theme of grilled meats has no locations in the Basque country at all.