Barcelona is the technical stopover from our flight in São Paulo back to Manila via Singapore. Which meant that on my way back from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo (via Tam Airlines) we needed to go through Barcelona. We agreed that the stopover would be such a waste and another conference shouldn't be missed, but I won't bore my readers with the meeting. None of my readers care anyway about the boring conferences I attend.
Touching down in Barcelona, we needed to check-in to Iberia Airlines for our connecting flight into Madrid. That meant that four airports later (Galeao Airport in Rio to Guarulhos Airport in São Paolo to El Prat Airport in Barcelona and finally to Madrid-Barajas International Airport) was like joining the Amazing Race.
I probably wouldn't have the energy to pack, unpack, pack, unpack again.
Touching down in Barcelona alone was like wanting to kiss the ground. Not that I did not enjoy Rio de Janeiro/São Paulo for that matter, it's that coming from a third world country like the Philippines, I sadly did not appreciate what Brazil had to offer. When I compare it to Manila or the Philippines in general, I seem to be feel more blessed. Even the concierge warned us to be careful in going to certain places and to shun away from shady characters or people who approach you on the streets of Brazil. Of course I'm not saying that Spain or any part of Europe is safer. I recall two years ago I had my whole bag - wallet, cards, money and passport - stolen right in front of a police station in Milan inside the train. I have never felt so violated and traumatized in my life, but hey, there's no Duterte in Italy. I realized that in any part of the world, crime will always be part of civilization. But the economy gets dragged down not because of crime in the streets of New York or Rio de Janeiro or Manila or Bangkok. It gets dragged down because of so much corruption in government. It does not take an economist to tell you that the poverty and the economy of a country are directly correlated. The more poor people there are, the worst the economy of the country.
When we interviewed some of the Brazilians, they were not in favor of the impeachment of their president and thought it was a coup by the existing vice-president who, together with other congress and senate officials, used government funds in order to gain from the largesse of the taxes of the government. Using the president as the scapegoat has created tension in the economy of Brazil. The Real has sunk to an all time low, with the currency depreciating from a $1 = 2 Real exchange two years ago, to $1 = 3.55 Real today. All because of government instability and corruption.
Our first stop in Spain is Madrid. Unlike the Brazilians, the Spaniards are more laid back. With a brisk economy, the restaurants and pastelerias are busy on weekends and holidays. And with Madrid being the 4th most expensive city in Europe, you'd think that the people would be scrimping on cash. But all the Euro currencies are new. And there is a lively economy in the city especially on weekends or holidays. Shops and malls are closed. Families are families and they utilize the parks and movie houses or go out and have fun with friends and share some laughter with families. I'd have wished that Manila would be more like Europe where Sundays and holidays have shopping malls closed so that there would be more quality time. Unfortunately, some Filipinos would rather rationalize that the malls in Manila are built for family bonding (not sure if people even knew what that meant) or that there are no parks in Metro Manila (and yes, so that's my fault? Isn't that supposed to be the job of the local government? I understand that there are some cities that do have recreational parks but people just simply don't want to go there.) or that it's really hot in Manila so an airconditioned mall is the venue of choice.
The parks are well kept and even the plazas are busy with exchange in stories rather than checking for FB or Snapchat or Twitter...
The market is cool, clean and food served is sumptuous (why can't we even have a market similar to this)...
Of course, Madrid is not simply a gastronomic delight...
There are a lot of interesting places to see and learn with the vast culture in Madrid...
And Toledo is a 30-40 minutes drive (or 1 hour by tourist bus) from Madrid. Incidentally, Toledo is rich in history as well considering that it was the former capital of Spain.
There's also the shopping area on Gran Via (at the Puerto del Sol metro stop) for the midline clothes and the Serrano-Goya district for the uber chic and higher end brands.
There's plenty to see, learn, do, and love in Madrid!!!
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