Category Archives: Spain [España]

23rd February 2025: The Annual Medieval Fair (Tendilla, Spain)

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For the last few years, the Medieval fair Feria de Mercaderíass de San Matías in Tendilla has started on the 25th (2022), 24th (2023) and the 23rd (2024) of February. So it makes perfect sense that my mind placed 2025’s edition start on the… 14th, right? Since the fair celebrates St. Matthew, and the onomastic is the 13th, I unilaterally decided that the fair must be that weekend. Obviously, I was wrong, and the fair was held from the 21st to the 23rd. Due to the date mishap, I had a visit booked on the 22nd, and I amended my plans to head to the fair on Sunday the 23rd instead of on Saturday as I usually do – that way I could see the Palace, the Botarga Parade and the Fair on the same weekend.

It was a good thing that I decided to go to the Parade instead of trying to make it to the fair on Saturday, because apparently they were blocking cars from entering the village, but not letting them park anywhere close-by which… is a problem. To avoid a similar issue on Sunday, I drove to Tendilla before the fair even opened, so I was there around 8:40. I used the time to climb up the frozen nearby hills to see if there were nice views from above. I also headed into the pine forest, which was covered by a thin layer of frost everywhere. It was pretty.

Tendilla: Landscapes before the fair started

There was a parade scheduled to take place at 11:00, which did not happen until around 13:00 – there was just a trio of musicians going up and down the main street. In the mean time, I wandered up the fair, and stayed around the ox paddock hearing things like “such noble eyes the animal has” from the mouths of city-dwellers. The poor oxen seemed pretty much used to to be stared at, so they just munched on hay with an air of resignation. There were two of them separated from the herd, which would later be yoked to a traditional cart. Looking back, I’m slightly surprised that I did not get any allergy symptom from their straw.

Three musicians in Medieval Clothes

Oxen in the Medieval Fair

I also found the newly-inaugurated statue to honour the fair – a tiny farmer with two donkeys standing atop a column which… was a bit underwhelming, to be honest.

La borriquilla - the little donkey

Around noon, a queue started forming for migas. In the mornings during the fair, some of the villagers prepare this typical dish from the area for all passers-by (queuers-by?) to enjoy. The traditional migas are made from fried breadcrumbs, paprika and meat from pig slaughtering. However, Tendilla is famous for its torreznos (processed pork lard snacks), so these communal migas are served with the local dry treats, and accompanied with a glass of wine to be washed down. I had never queued for them, but some family members saw me when they were almost at the front of the line and I was snuck forward in exchange for some photos. I also got to talk to one of the stand owners, and I discovered about a place called Emociones al Vuelo, a bird-of-prey rescue and training centre which organises activities. I may or may not have decided to pay them a visit.

Communal migas being prepared

We snacked, and then moved around the village. I was in the middle of Main Street Calle Mayor when the parade came through. The troupe had changed this year, and it was not Christian knights and moors, but gypsies and magicians. They brought horses and “wolfdogs” – not actual wolfdogs but wolf-looking domestic dogs. Enough to fool a lot of people. There was supposed to be a tournament, but apparently the gypsies were not up to it. There was no tournament, and after an hour of waiting, the troupe went back to the Main Square Plaza Mayor, did a couple of horse tricks, and started cutting ham to share with the onlookers. It was a bit disappointing, but I least I got to pet the dogs.

Troupe of horse riders dressed as Medieval gypsies

Dogs from the gypsy troupe

I headed to my relatives’ place and we prepared lunch, though I had some leftover migas that had been saved for me from the previous day, and a fried egg on top. Much better than the communal ones, for real.

The last activities for the day were related to the long-suffering oxen. First, two of them were yoked to a traditional hay cart and children were given rides through the fair. The two oxen were led to the cart and then tied to the structure. Something that I had never known was that part of this tie went around their horns and forehead, so the owners placed a small pillow on the animals’ foreheads for them to pull more comfortably. However, to do the tie the knots as strong as it was necessary for them to be, he had to use his foot as leverage on the ox’s head… Once the animals were yoked, the cart started moving. One small child who had apparently been asking about the ride all day long was the first to be helped on the cart – even though some others tried to cut the line! At first, they went up and down the village, but apparently some idiot spooked the poor animals and the owners decided to just move around the main square afterwards.

Oxen being yoked

After six or seven rides, the oxen were untied and let into the paddock. A lorry was brought and the owners created a mini stampede for all the oxen to go into the vehicle. That was wickedly cool.

That was the last activity, so I decided to say goodbye to my relatives soon and drive back through the sunset. Most of the stalls were already closing anyway and there was no way I was going to stay for dinner – because that would mean I’d have to actually eat more that day, which was not the plan.

On the way back I drove into a very weird traffic jam. It did not happen around the bottleneck, but much much earlier, and the bottleneck was clear. I’ve never understood traffic jams anyway…

So all in all, I had a very complete weekend, combining Madrid, Guadalajara and Tendilla, I had relatively good weather, and got to check out most of what I wanted. The only downside? Having to go to my day job on Monday without having caught any rest!

22nd February 2025: Architecture in Madrid, and folklore in Guadalajara (Spain)

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By now, reaching Madrid by train without anything remarkable to comment on is actually remarkable all by itself – there were actually no problems for once. I had booked a spot for a visit at noon, but since I don’t trust the rail service, I hopped on a train to be at Atocha Station around 10:00, and for once I was there right on time, maybe even a minute early!

As I walked up the street Paseo del Prado, I passed by the exhibition centre CaixaForum, where the Patagotitan still stands. Since it was still winter, the trees on both sides had little to no leaves, and I could see it from the opposite side. I of course said hi.

Patagotitan skeleton

My first stop was the church Iglesia de San Jerónimo el Real, dedicated to St. Jerome, a late Gothic – early Renaissance building erected between 1502 and 1505. It belonged to a monkhood whose original monastery stood near the river. The stagnant waters caused illnesses among the brethren, who asked the Catholic Monarchs for a new location. The church for the new community was created from brick and masonry, and towers were added in the 17th century. The interior is decorated with two gothic altars to the sides, but no main altarpiece, as the original one has been lost to time. Instead, there is a painting by Rafael Tegeo La última comunión de San Jerónimo – Saint Jerome’s last communion – created in 1829.

Monastery Monasterio de Jerónimos

Afterwards, I headed towards the National Museum of Anthropology Museo Nacional de Antropología, a small museum dedicated to the diversity of cultures in the world, particularly the Americas, Philippines, Africa and the “Far East”, focusing on traditions, culture and religion. It is covered by my national museum card.

At the moment, the museum is running a temporal exhibit on art based on myths, legends, and sacred texts from India, Caminos místicos. Tradiciones vivas del arte de la India – Mystic Paths. Living Traditions of art from India. I was curious about it, but not expecting how much I liked it in the end. The pieces of the exhibit were mostly based on Hinduism (Sanātana Dharma, सनातन धर्म), the oldest religion in the world. According to Hindu tradition, the Supreme Being Brahma exists as themself, but also as the manifestation of the deities Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Sustainer and Shiva the Destroyer, all of who at the same time have different avatars (avatāra, अवतार) or incarnations. One of the core principles of Hinduism is the concept of cosmic cause-and-effect justice, karma [कर्म]. Another is reincarnation (saṃsāra, संसार), an eternal cycle of life and death until the individual is liberated from it through self realisation or illumination. The religion is based on values like righteousness, truth, love, peace, and ethical conduct, and it is quite open to other beliefs and ethics.

Religious Indian Art pieces

The Museum of Anthropology’s permanent exhibition has a lot of items from the Philippines on the ground floor, probably due to how long(1565–1898) the islands were a Spanish colony. There are clothes, tobacco items, ritual objects, and a small sample of how the local culture was throughout the 1800s. To the back, there is a room dedicated to the religions of Asia and the Middle East – Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. The first floor is dedicated to Africa, combining a number of traditional exhibits with modern photographs of the traditional people’s way of life – baskets, pottery, leather and wooden objects, ritual masks… The second floor holds items from the Americas, especially from South America. Some of them include a Mexican Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) altar, Andean Carnival masks, Sioux-Lakota clothes, Inuit coats…

Religious icons and traditional masks

I remember visiting the museum when I was a child, and then feeling disappointed in it when I returned as an adult. This time around, I found the permanent and temporal exhibitions quite interesting, so it’s a good thing I headed there. It also helped make time until noon, when my next visit was due, to the only Ministry that can be visited – albeit not freely, by appointment and paying a fee – as it is a historical building.

The current Agriculture Ministry is housed in the historical building known as Palacio de Fomento – Palace of Development. Its plans were originally drawn by architect Mariano  Belmás y Estrada, aiming for an Arts and Craftwork School. Later, Eduardo Saavedra y Moragas took over to turn the design into a university. Finally, the project ended in the hands of architect Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, who erected the building between 1893 and 1897 to house the then Ministry of Development.

The Palace is an impressive construction. The original design had three floors, which have now been turned into five. From the outside, the building looks white and orange-brown, but a more focused look reveals decorative tiles by Daniel Zuloaga, who also collaborated with Velázquez Bosco in the ETSIME. The entrance is flanked by two caryatids and roof above there is a sculpture group – Glory and Pegasi La Gloria y los Pegasos, a bronze copy of an original marble by Agustín Querol.

Palacio de Fomento, outside

Once you enter, you find yourself in a huge majestic hall, where we had to check in, since the building is a working Ministry. The email said to be there at 11:45 to go through security. I got there at 11:40 and went in at 11:44. They took my name (they did not care about the ticket) and they put my stuff in the X-ray machine. I had to go through the metal detector and when I asked whether I had to remove my belt, I was just told to put my hand over the buckle… So much for security, I thought, because I did not beep. Then I realised that I must look quite non-threatening as quite a few people were thoroughly searched as they set off the machine.

Beyond the hall where we were checked in, there is an imperial staircase in marble, and a vaulted frescoed ceiling. From there, we visited some offices and meeting rooms, and the portrait gallery – from which the ministers who held office during the Franco dictatorship had been removed. Finally, we visited one of the side inner courtyards, covered in a skylight with some ironwork.

Palacio de Fomento, inside

After the visit was over, the security guards saw us out and locked the doors. I walked around the building, because I had honestly never realised it was square. As the place was next to the Retiro Park, I had been considering looking for some archaeological spot they had opened. However, there were more ideas – Guadalajara was having the Botarga parade, and it was the fair weekend in Tendilla, though, a phone call informed me that traffic was horrid and that it was not a good idea to head there so late in the afternoon.

Eventually, I decided on the Parade. I bought some sandwiches and headed for the train. Though I got rained upon, it cleared up, and at 18:00 I was in Guadalajara to have a look at the traditional Parade of Carnival characters Desfile de Botargas – “creatures” from the whole area which meet up in the capital the Saturday before carnival, despite each character having its own schedule wherever it is rooted. The parade was a bit late, so I could talk the local botarga group – El Manda (the Order-giver), Los Mandaneros (the Order-receivers), and the Botarguilla (Little Botarga) – into posing for me. I watched and took pictures from two spots, but the parade moved really fast because they only had thirty minutes to do the route – last year they took well over an hour for that. I decided I did not want to run for it that much… I have to remember to find myself a vantage point next year, instead of trying to get the beginning of the parade…

Guadalajara Botargas

Heifferette from Riba de Saelices

Botarga Parade 2025

I got “attacked” a few times, and ended up with soot all over my face, but at least I avoided the guy painting people with mustard… The botargas seemed to zoom in on children and cameras, and so did the devils Diablos (from Luzón) and the heiferettes Vaquillas and Vaquillones (Villares de Jadraque, Robledillo de Mohernando, Luzaga, Riba de Saelices). It was fun. One of these days I might have to try to follow the botargas in their own villages…

4th January 2025: Bye Bye, Murderbird. MARPA, Alcalá de Henares (Spain)

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While it was great to have the Concavenator fossil (a.k.a. Murderbird in my headspace) in the Dragon Hunters exhibit in Alcalá de Henares close enough to visit at will, the time had come to see it move on. Just in case there was any information I was missing, I decided to book a guided visit to the exhibit. As it was scheduled for 12:00, I decided to look for something to do beforehand, and I found guided visits to the monastery Monasterio de San Bernardo at 10:00. I had seen the building before, as it stands next to the MARPA, I just had never given it much of a thought.

The monastery was established under the patronage of Cardinal Bernardo Sandoval y Rojas around 1620. He bought land cheap because it was near the Moorish quarter. The church was erected in brick with decoration in stone on the outside. The inside has an elliptical dome, and it was heavily damaged in a fire during the Civil War, so it had to be restored – the work on it was a Rehabilitation prize in 2019. Most of the decoration of the church was lost and today walls and roof are just white and gold. The building is attributed to architect Juan Gómez de Mora.

There is a free-standing ciborium in gold, with a number of sculptures of Saints instead of an altarpiece. Behind the altar and ciborium, there are a number of paintings – they were created by Italian artist Angelo Nardi. Nardi was born in the late 16th century, and studied in Venice before moving to Madrid, where he became a Court Painter. His style evolved from late-Renaissance (mannerism) to Baroque, and he is known for his expressive faces. He was friends with Velázquez, and famous for being quite kind, though his style eventually fell out of grace. He painted most of the pictures in the church, although some of them are now out of order as they were moved during the Civil War.

The visit was interesting albeit a little underwhelming. It felt a bit weird to be the only visitor and having the whole thing explained to me – that has only happened once before, in Recópolis. However, that was epic, because I ended up getting the whole archaeological place for myself. The monastery was more of a serious experience – and it did not rain on me. But still it felt… colder. And like being in an exam, the guide kept asking me questions about history, architecture and hagiography.

Monastery of San Bernardo in Alcalá de Henares

I had a bit of time before my following visit, so I decided to run to the Sala Museográfica de la BRIPAC, a tiny museum about the history of the Army’s Parachuting Brigade. The Brigade was created in 1953, and the parachuters participated in combat for the first time in 1957. In its origin, it was established in Alcalá, so there is a historical connection there. The hall hosts uniforms, flags, medals, and reports about the peace missions in the 1990s. I am not much of a fan of Armed Forces museums, but today the BRIPAC is considered a peace corps. The museum opened in February 2023, on the 70th anniversary of the foundation.

BRIPAC exhibit

I still had a bit of time, so I dropped by Plaza Cervantes, which was full with Christmas lights and shoppers at the small market. There were food stalls, a small bookshop, some rock shops… Nothing really caught my eye though.

Plaza de Cervantes Christmas

I finally headed back towards the Archaeology and Palaeontology museum MARPA Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid. It was one of the last chances to see the exhibition on the history of palaeontology “Dragon Hunters” Cazadores de Dragones with a guided visit, and I figured out that maybe I could learn anything new – despite the fact that I’ve been there a few times and bought the book. We had a nice fun guide who relied a lot on asking questions to her audience. Apparently I was the only one with… some knowledge of… anything she asked – what’s with guides in Alcalá de Henares trying to have you do their job? I felt a bit sorry for her so I answered her questions – with a higher success rate than the ones from the Monastery, to be honest. She did not impress me with the depth of her knowledge, to be honest. She actually looked at me a bit panicky when I asked her t confirm that the T-Rex replica was a cast of the famous Stan.

Cazadores de Dragones entry in the cloister of the MARPA

I stayed back for a bit longer after the visit ended. I’ve ranted on and on about the Concavenator before, both the fossil slab and the actual-size reconstruction. I just loved having both so at hand. When I was young, the scientific community came to the conclusion that “birds descend from dinosaurs” but today it is actually believed that birds are actual dinosaurs. And since the poor beast has such a ridiculous name, I’ve just been calling it “Murderbird” or “Murderchicken”, for kicks and giggles.

There were these two little kids who kept grilling their dad about the skeletons, and the poor man was a bit overwhelmed. I decided to give him a hand with the questions and explained a little. I thought that was it, but the smallest child pointed at the Concavenator and blurted out “can you tell us more things about that one??” He was so eager that I just took the family to see it and told them a few things further. The family was on their merry way in five minutes – four-year-olds only have so much attention span. The kids were happy, the parents were relieved and I got to geek out about dinosaurs with appreciative public. I think the interaction was an all-around win.

Murderbirds: T-rex and Concavenator

At first I had thought that I would be staying in Alcalá for an exotic lunch, but I was not really feeling up to it. With great sadness, I said goodbye to the Concavenator and moved on to drive home.

19th December 2024: Themed visits at Madrid’s Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Spain)

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There have been a lot of witches dripping into mainstream pop culture these last couple of months, what with Disney + / Marvel’s Agatha all Along and (half of) the musical Wicked released as a film. So when I read that the National Museum of Archaeology was running a special guided visit to the exhibition “Between Chaos and Cosmos: Nature in Ancient Greece” Entre Caos y Cosmos. Naturaleza en la Antigua Grecia and part of the permanent exhibition called “Nature, Magic and Witchcraft” Naturaleza, magia y brujería I thought “hey, the Heritage people are catching up with the times!” That day there actually were two guided visits, and the second one was centred around the sculpture Il Pugilatore. One was at 12:00, and the other one at 17:00, so they could be combined – hey, they were free, I just had to find something to do in-between.

Thus, I booked both visits and headed out to Madrid. I got to the archaeological museum Museo Arqueológico Nacional with ample time due to my distrust of trains. As I have the museum card, I decided to just walk in and wait for the time safe from the cold and the rain – and since it had just opened, from the crowds too. Though the ticket said to wait at the meeting point, the museum staff directed me somewhere else, and that is where I sat to wait ten minutes before the starting time. Apparently, a bunch of people did not get the information so when the time came we were few… and promptly joined by about half of the group once we had started.

The first visit was “Nature, Magic and Witchcraft” Naturaleza, magia y brujería. It started at the exhibition Entre Caos y Cosmos. Naturaleza en la Antigua Grecia – “Between Chaos and Cosmos. Nature in Ancient Greece”. As we walked in, the staff scanned a ticket and gave it to us.

The guide made a small introduction to Greek mythology with an emphasis on pre-Olympian “Chaos”. He mostly spoke about hybrids, such as satyrs or harpies, psychopomps (creatures that take souls to the afterlife after death), like Echidna, Cerberus, and the sirens. He also seemed to like the deity Achelous a lot. Achelous [Ἀχελώϊος] was the personification of one of the Greek rivers, a son to the Titans Tethys and Oceanus, and father of the sirens. He was able to shape-shift and would often be represented with small horns as he could turn in to a bull.

Regarding witchcraft, there is a small room in the exhibit about it, and the guide pointed out the concept of sisterhood, and some of the small artefacts and glass carafes. He mentioned the figure of Medea as the greatest witch in Greek mythology. That surprised me, because I had never associated her primarily with magic – I knew her from the Jason and the Argonauts myth, in which she originally helped Jason find the Golden Fleece, but she eventually killed the children they had together when Jason dumped her. Glad to know there was more from her than just being a “crazy lady”.

Afterwards, we moved onto the permanent exhibition. Unfortunately, the tickets we had been issued would not work any more because… reasons. Apparently, they could only be scanned once, and they had already been scanned at the exhibition. However, the person guarding the gates would not let us through without having a ticket beep – despite being with a member of the museum. It was solved quite quickly, but it gave off the feeling of everything being very disorganised.

In the permanent exhibition we mostly saw Talayotic and Iberian talismans and jewellery, then we moved onto the Roman area, where he mentioned the laws regulating the Augurs (people predicting the future), and some small curse tablets that the Romans slipped into each other houses when they were vexed – curses. All in all, the visit did not feel very on topic, just a number of objects vaguely connected together by a weak narrative. And witchcraft was the weakest topic, so it seems that the heritage people have not really caught up with the times. Oh, well.

Artefacts from Naturaleza Magia y Brujería MAN

Before I left the archaeological museum, I dropped by the new “archaeological news” room (Sala de Novedades Arqueológicas). Currently, it holds the exhibit Rostros del Turuñuelo. Los relieves de Casas del Turuñuelo. Guareña, Badajoz – a name larger than the exhibit itself: “The Turuñuelo faces. The reliefs from Casas del Turuñuelo, Guareña, Badajoz”. The Turuñuelo, or Casas del Turuñuelo, archaeological site corresponds to the Tartessian culture – a mix of Palaeohispanic and Phoenician traits which flourished in the south and east of modern Spain (and a bit of Portugal) between the 11th and 5th centuries BCE.

The exhibit is a collection of five faces dating from the late period, found within the ruins of a two-storied building. It seems that the building and everything within were destroyed, set on fire, and buried intentionally. It is possible that the faces found belong to sculptures that can be recovered amongst all that material. The faces, discovered in April 2023, are the first and only human representations associated to the Tartessian culture.

The faces from Turuñuelo

After the visit, I went to have lunch. There is this place I have wanted to visit for a while and it has never panned out. I would have actually wanted to have breakfast there, but whatever – this was doable and convenient. Located near the French Institute, it is a crêperie called Prep’ La Crêpe – it would make sense to think they’re French, but in reality they belong to an English franchise. I ordered a basil crêpe classique (melted cheese, mozzarella, tomato, basil and Mediterranean sauce), a Kick-start smoothie (orange, carrot and ginger), and a Belgian (black) chocolate crêpe sucrée for dessert. All in all, it scratched an itch that I had had for a long time, and it was not bad. A bit on the pricey side, I’d say, but what is not expensive these days?

Prep' la Crêpe lunch

Afterwards, I still had a bit of time so I decided to go into the National Library Biblioteca Nacional de España, where they had transformed the book museum into something called “Hell and Marvels” El Infierno y las Maravillas, which runs through the history of printing and knowledge (marvels), then the history of book banning (hell). The exhibition continues with thoughts on how information is preserved, in books and other formats. Finally, the museum is hosting two special exhibits, one around the writer Gonzalo Torrente Ballester Gonzalo Torrente Ballester, la travesía de un creador, and a collection of historical documents belonging a noble family El archivo del Conde de Orgaz. Una ventana a la historia. The archive was really interesting, with a lot of privileges given to the family by successive kings of Spain. The former count was a member of the Friends of the Library, and the exhibition is a homage to him, aside from showing documents dating back from as far as 1220.

Hell and Marvels, National Library

I then went back to the archaeological museum Museo Arqueológico Nacional for the second visit, with another long title Il Pugilatore y la escultura monumental en el Mediterráneo Occidental Antiguo: Cerdeña, Baleares y la Península Ibérica “The Boxer and monumental sculptures in the ancient Western Mediterranean Sea”. The sculpture Il Pugilatore, one of of the Nuragic giants found in the Mont’e Prama archaeological site in Sardinia, Italy. This ambassador giant, who travels the world to introduce people to his culture, is called Manneddu, and he is the statue in best conditions. He would have had a glove in his hand, and a dagger pointing forward, and his chest would have been painted red.

Il Pugilatore

The guide explained that these sculptures – archers, warriors, wrestlers and boxers – were supposed to be armed, but no weapons from either the period or the culture have ever been found. The giants were found, purposely moved and destroyed, in a necropolis for young men. The sculpture also had “little brothers” with the same poses, made in bronze, which have been preserved. That is how the archaeologists know the different weapons and stances they had. The giants are considered the first monumental anthropomorphic sculptures in the coasts of the western Mediterranean Sea, and the only ones in Sardinia.

We also heard about the similarities between the Nuragic towers, which were used for water management and as meeting points, and Talayotic ones in the Balearic Islands. Then, the guide ended up talking about the bronze bull heads that represent Talayotic cultures, and insinuating that they might have been brought from somewhere else…

Talayotic bull heads

The visit ended there. I then wandered around the museum for a little longer, then checked the Christmas market – and a classical merry-go-round similar to what I rode the previous week. Since it was dark already, the lights were on, but it was raining on and off, so the weather was not nice enough to wander around for long. Thus, I headed to the train to get home.

Classic Merry-go-round in a winter night

11th December 2024: CBA, hotpot and lights (Madrid, Spain)

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Since I was meeting my sibling for the yearly event of Naturaleza Encendida in Madrid in the evening, I decided get there early and make the most out of the day. As I arrived, I headed to the Círculo de Bellas Artes (literally “Fine Arts Circle”). The CBA is a sort of NGO dedicated to culture and the arts. Its headquarters host many activities such as exhibitions, theatre plays, concerts, lectures… The building was designed by Antonio Palacios, one of my favourite architects. It has seven floors, some of them used for events, others for offices. There is even a small theatre.

The CBA was running an exhibition called “Messenger Species” Especies Mensajeras, by artist Álvaro Soler-Arpa. It is a collection of pieces created from animal bones and items found in dumps. Born in Gerona in 1974, Soler-Arpa is a multifaceted artist who does publicity illustration and creates distressing sculptures using animal bones as its medium to make the viewer to think about waste and pollution. This exhibition of modern art is described as “ecological art for reflection”. I thought that it could be either really good or a holier-than-thou approach, but my curiosity was piqued.

The exhibit collects selected pieces from four series of sculptures: “Toxic Evolution” (Evolución tóxica), “Devastated Nature” (Naturaleza devastada), “Design-methastasis” (Diseño-metástasis) and “Sculptures from the End of the World” (Esculturas del fin del mundo). It was… disturbing, but in a good way. It did not feel preachy. The idea is that nature is affected by the consumerism in current society, but not dying – adapting to it. The imagined futuristic animals are a warning sent through time – nature is resilient and it will survive. Us humans? Maybe not if we do not get any better.

Álvaro Soler-Arpa's Especies Mensajeras

There was another exhibition in the building about the consequences of war, but I decided I could not stomach that one. However, I had the access ticket, so I could take the glass lift to the famous terrace of the building – the one that kicked off a trend of opening terraces in Madrid to watch the skyline while having a drink. It was too cold and too closed to have anything, but I did get a nice view, especially of the Palacio de Telecomunicaciones and the Spanish language Institute Instituto Cervantes, both designed by Antonio Palacios too. The terrace is mostly flat, with a bar and an impressive sculpture of Minerva made in bronze by Juan Luis Vassallo. Minerva – Roman goddess of wisdom and art – is the symbol of the CBA. There is also a smaller and higher structure that looks like it could hold an even better view, but that was closed off.

Skyline from Azotea Círculo Bellas Artes

The CBA building has many cool spaces, such as the ball room (Salón de Baile) or the colonnade room (Sala de Columnas). However, my favourite part of the building are.. the stairs. They are designed as a double staircase with mirrors at the landings, and coloured windows alongside the steps. One of the sides is less bright now, because a building was erected and blocks the sun. I still find the staircase superb, so I hung around there for a while until the security guard gave me a weird look.

Stairs Círculo Bellas Artes

I left the CBA and walked down the street Calle Alcalá and stopped at Galerías Canalejas just to see what kind of decorations they had. It turned out to nutcrackers and elves inside and a huge Christmas tree outside. I still cannot afford anything they sell there.

Chrismas at Galerías Canalejas

I continued down towards the square Plaza de Oriente, where there was a classic merry-go-round – empty and ready to be ridden. Thus, since I have no shame, I went on it. The salesperson was incredibly kind, since I was the only rider – and an adult at that – and yet they directed me to a horse which moved up and down and showed me how to climb on it.

Then, I backtracked to the shop Turrones Casa 1880 in the street Calle Arenal, which hosts a small Museo del Turrón. Turrón is a typical Spanish confectionery eaten mostly at Christmas. It is mainly made out of processed almonds, and 1880 is probably the most famous brand – and it prides itself on the most expensive one. I am not a fan of turrón, to be honest, but it was almost Christmas, and if I was ever going to do it, that was the right time frame. The museum is mostly an audiovisual in a decorated cellar, with a photo-op, but the staff was really nice.

At 14:30 sharp, I met up with my sibling for a restaurant that I’ve been wanting to try for a while 壹锅火锅 Hotpot de Sichuan. Hotpot [火锅, huǒguō] is a Chinese type of stew based on a stock or soup that is kept simmering in the table itself, and you just grab the raw ingredients and dip them in the broth to cook them – imagine a fondue with broth instead of cheese. We ordered a menu for two, a pot with two broths, one mushroom-based and one meat-based. The dips were spring onion, coriander (which was not used, because I hid it), shrimp mince, thin beef slices, tofu stripes, Chinese black mushrooms, cabbage, and rice noodles, along with two sauces – one slightly spicy, and my beloved sesame and peanut sauce. The food was great, but at 15:40, the waiters popped up to tell us that they wanted to close the restaurant, and then stood up next to us until we finished and left. It was more than a bit awkward, so we hurried up to do so. While the food was great, the situation spoilt our experience a little, I think. We were still eating, not slouching around. I am not sure I would want to go back…

Afterwards, my sibling had to do some shopping, so we spent a while going up and down some shops and a department store, before we headed out to Naturaleza Encendida in the park Parque Enrique Tierno Galván. This is a yearly light show organised in Madrid parks – it used to take place in the Botanical Gardens, before it was moved to a larger area. The 2024 edition is titled Naturaleza Encendida: Life.

Naturaleza Encendida Life

To be fair, I was a little bit disappointed, as “Life” turned out to have mostly figures reused from the last few events. Though the organisers tried to build a narrative of water, land and air topics, the novelty had worn off. It was not bad, but the show keeps getting more and more expensive every year, with fewer and fewer perks for the VIP tiers. Furthermore, the new larger location does not imply more light sculptures – they’re just spread farther apart so they can fit more people without it feeling crowded, so it simply takes longer to walk it through. This has its advantages and disadvantages – it was good last year when we had to go on a weekend but this time around it just felt… colder. They also tried to give the whole thing an ecologist spin, and this time it did come out preachy… I mean, it is a show of lights, which technically could count as light pollution, without any actual… purpose… but charging you to watch pretty lights.

Naturaleza Encendida Life

Naturaleza Encendida Life

That was the end of the day, and we just headed home afterwards, but aside having to wait for the train for over half an hour, nothing to report on that end.

6th December 2024: Knowing people gets you places – Church of the Virgin Mary, Guadalajara (Spain)

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Knowing people who know people is cool. It opens doors, too. I was in Guadalajara for personal reasons and an acquaintance of an acquaintance offered to show us around the co-cathedral of the Virgin Mary Santa María de la Fuente la Mayor. The church, built in the 14th century in the Mudejar style, shares rank with the co-cathedral of Sigüenza. The whole structure is made or covered in brick, with some traces of coloured ceramic tiles around the horseshoe arch entrance.

Santa María Guadalajara

The interior is covered in plaster, hiding away the original stonework. Golden decoration was added afterwards. The main altarpiece was built by Francisco Mir in the late Renaissance style, with scenes of the life of the Virgin Mary. It was designed in 1622 and decorated in more gold.

Altarpiece at Santa María in Guadalajara

The church has a Mudejar artesonado or Spanish ceiling (a ceiling structure halfway between support and decoration, made out of wood, usually decorated). The artesonado was covered up during the Baroque renovations of the church and recently restored. Furthermore, if you know people, they show it to you. Up the high choir we went, and past a narrow staircase, through a small walkway that has been built for the few privileged visitors who are admitted (a bunch of people apparently tried to emulate us but were declined). We “floated” above the ceiling and underneath the wood for a while, and it was really interesting. Though of course the wood has been restored, most it is the original one. You can also see the Baroque vaults from above, along the original brick ceilings and walls, hidden away in the nave.

Spanish celiling at Santa María in Guadalajara

Spanish celiling at Santa María in Guadalajara

We were invited to climb the bell tower, too. The structure has also been restored, following the original brickwork. The tower is narrower at the top than at the bottom, and the ascending path has vaulted ceilings in brick. On top, there are eight bells. One of them dates from the 18th century, two of them from the 19th century and the rest are newer. There was also a view of the city, but Guadalajara does not really have dramatic backdrops, I fear…

Bell at Santa María Guadalajara

Guadalajara skyline of sorts

It was not a big trip or anything, but apparently you have to know someone to get there. Thus, I guess it is worthy of its own mention, right?

28th November 2024: Parallel Universes (Madrid, Spain)

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Whenever a Marvel film comes out, my parent always comments on how they used to read the comics when they were young – probably they belonged to the first generation of comic readers in this country (and I have to confess over the years I salvaged quite a few “relics” from the attic at the old house). Thus, when the exhibition Marvel: Universe of Superheroes opened, I thought I would bring them along. I booked us tickets on the 28th of November at 10:00 for the event, which was happening in the convention centre IFEMA in Madrid.

By pure chance, my parents received an invitation to Feriarte, a collectionism fair – that is what we thought at that moment. They were not particularly into it, so I asked if I could have the invitation. When I checked it out, I realised that we could visit Feriarte on the same day as Marvel: Universe of Superheroes, since the dates overlapped, and it was also at IFEMA, just a couple of pavilions down. My parent agreed after some coaxing. Finally, I offered to take them to a “fun place” for lunch, and we had a plan.

Marvel has traditionally been one of the most important comic publishing houses in the US. Its key writer / creator was Stan Lee, who came up with some of the most iconic characters in the medium – Spiderman, Thor, Iron Man… It is true that the first superheroes to succeed on the big screen belonged to Marvel’s competition, DC – Christopher Reeve’s Superman in the 1970s and Michael Keaton’s Batman the following decade. However, Marvel kicked off a golden age of cinema superheroes. While DC festered in the darkest, more depressed Batman, Marvel released Iron Man, which took superhero films in a new direction – they turned from fun-for-fans to funny-for-all (of course, purists would never be satisfied, but what are you going to do?). Robert Downing Jr. had a lot to do with this boom, dominating the scene whether the film carried the name of his character – Iron Man – or not. For about a decade, Marvel dominated the blockbuster season, with explosions, one-liners and good-triumphs-over-evil plots. Eventually the bubble burst, as they always do, and things went downhill. However, companies are still willing to milk out any cash cow, and as long as Marvel makes money, it will be producing stuff.

Less known than the film boom is the fact that with the launching of Marvel Studios, the parent company also became a transmedia master. The idea of transmedia is not new, and refers to tying stories in different publishing methods (Hasbro was doing this with GI Joe back in the 80s already). However, Marvel has it down to an art. Samuel L. Jackson was cast as Nick Fury because a comic artist based the revamped character on him, so now Nick Fury statuettes look like Samuel L. Jackson. Since Disney acquired Marvel Studios, the so-called MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) is so interwoven with the Disney+ shows that neither can be followed on its own. Funnily enough, this has not washed over to the comics that much, save for the special Alligator Loki that I kept looking for in London earlier in 2024.

Well, one of the many facets of Marvel’s outreach octopus is organising exhibitions. I suspect that they are all the same under different names though. The one which took place in the IFEMA convention centre in Madrid was Marvel: Universe of Superheroes. The exhibition runs through the history of Marvel from its beginning, hailing the works of Stan Lee and running through the influence of the Comics Code Authority (CCA), which censored the content of the media – and made the evolution of American and European comics diverge forever. The pages from that time are mostly lost, so elements like the first issue of a Marvel comic ever, or original Spiderman and Fantastic Four dating back from the 60s are kind of amazing – and belong to private collectors who have lent (or rented out, one guesses) them to the organisers. Most of the exhibition, however, focuses on the MCU, with quite a few costumes and items from the films and Disney+ series. There were life-sized statues, too – or at least to scale for characters like The Thing or Hulk. There was an interactive game where an on-screen you would wear Iron Man’s suit and practice-shoot with it.

We hilariously ran into a preschool day trip, with the teacher completely made things up as she went and kept trying to keep a bunch of rowdy kids in line – without much success.

The first area ran through the history of American comics and Marvel itself, purely as a comic publisher. Then, it moved into the film area, starting with Black Panther, revindicating his status as the first black superhero. Then there was a room on Spiderman, one of the most beloved characters, even if he was almost not made because editors thought a spider-related superhero would not sell. This was probably the last room focusing heavily on comics. Hulk got a small room to share with She-Hulk. Afterwards, the MCU took over, with film memorabilia of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. The following area was a bit of a mix, with Wandavision, X-Men, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Moon Knight, Ghost Rider… which ended in a very psychedelic room for Doctor Strange. The final room was “Marvel in Space”, with The Marvels (Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau and Ms. Marvel) and Guardians of the Galaxy. Considering the huge hit that Agatha All Along was, I was surprised not to find any references to it, but then I realised that the exhibition predates the series.

Marvel Universe of Superheroes

Marvel Universe of Superheroes: Black Panther, Spiderman, Iron Man

Marvel Universe of Superheroes: Doctor Strange, Mighty Thor, Groot

I would have wanted a memento, but none of the items in the shop appealed to me. Besides, everything was too expensive, I thought. I had no idea. We left the exhibit and marched into the inner pavilion where Feriarte took place. Feriarte is way more than the collectionism event I had originally thought – it is an antiques and art fair, with items that range from archaeological artefacts to the most modern pieces. Our minds were blown. There were 64 art galleries and archaeology specialists from all over the world carrying prehistoric items, Egyptian mortuary artefacts (including a whole sarcophagus), Grecian sculptures and vases, Japanese samurai armours and weapons, paintings, contemporary art (Miró, Dalí, Chillida, Sorolla…), furniture, jewellery and watches, reproductions of Medieval manuscripts… And I thought that the Marvel shop was expensive! I could have afforded… a tiny Egyptian scarab smaller than the nail on my little finger. I was shocked when I saw the first three paintings by Miró (a surrealist painter from the beginning of the 20th century), but it turns out they sell like doughnuts among the collectors…

There was a “collectionism for beginners” area, with tips to “start collecting with pieces under 5,000 €”. When thinking about private collections, I’ve often gone with Indiana Jones’ line “it belongs in a museum”, but lately, with the attacks on art by climate activists, and the fact that most of Marvel’s memorabilia was recovered from private collectors… I’m not so sure. I might have started changing my mind. Then again, not really, because when the original fossil of Tyrannosaurus rex Stan was auctioned and I was sad it would end up in private hands and I would never seen it – good news, it was sold to a museum, though I’m not sure I’ll ever make it to the soon-to-open Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi. Needless to say, we left Feriarte empty-handed, and very amused that you go through security and X-ray when you go out, not when you go in. A couple of days after, I read that an organised gang had stolen jewels and watches worth 390,000 €…

Feriarte 2024

Feriarte 2024

We retrieved the car, and got lost trying to get to the shopping centre La Vaguada to have lunch at Runni In Market, the first of the Running Sushi franchise I visited (and got lost trying to get there too, so… maybe it’s just difficult). My parent loved the concept. However, I was peeved that the table before us kept getting all the lychee and mochi when the time came for dessert. Mean!

Runni Sushi In Market

We left afterwards to head home, having caught a glimpse of the secret life of superheroes and what kind of décor rich people have in their houses. Parallel universes indeed…

26th November 2024: Another Concavenator visit (Alcalá de Henares, Spain)

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I had to run some errands in Alcalá de Henares in the afternoon, so I decided I would get there in the morning, and walk to the Archaeology and Palaeontology museum Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid, MARPA. The exhibition “Dragon Hunters” Cazadores de Dragones was still running and since it was a random weekday morning, I thought it would be empty.

I was right, it was deserted enough that the security guard looked at me weirdly. Yes, I’ve been there before. Twice. I hope to be back at least once more before the exhibit closes in January 2025. The security guard should not be remembering me, I did nothing weird. Taking a few hundred photographs of a fossil is completely normal.

Why am I so obsessed about the Concavenator? Well, one does not always have such a unique fossil so handy, and for free. Furthermore, the usual home of the Concavenator does not allow pictures. And lastly, I’m a nerd. The species Concavenator corcovatus was described in 2010 by Francisco Ortega, Fernando Escaso, and José Luis Sanz from a single skeleton found at Las Hoyas site in 2003. The specimen was officially catalogued as MCCM-LH 6666. The animal was a medium-sized carcharodontosaurid. Carcharodontosauria, which included the likes of Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus or Carcharodontosaurus, were a group of large theropods from the Cretaceous period. The skeleton was almost complete, with the tail and neck contorted in rigor mortis. The fossil shows two things that make it special – a hump or sail created by the spines of the back vertebrae, and the fact that some pigments were found on the fossil. Not unique but rare enough findings include impressions of skin and scales, and smaller bones in the belly area, rests of undigested dinner. On the arm bones there are insertions for ligaments similar to those that modern birds have at the insertion of feathers.

Concavenator corcovatus

The Concavenator lived around 125 million years ago, in an area of wetlands. Its teeth, general shape (it walked on its two hindlegs and had small-ish arms), along with the remains of animals that it had eaten, tell us it was a carnivore, and its placement in the carcharodontosaurid family, that it was a predator. However, no large predator is known for rejecting a good scavenging feed. The spikes or hump on its back, above the hips, can be clearly seen on the fossil, but nobody has any idea of what it was for – speculations have been made for communication means, fat deposits and thermoregulation. When alive, the animal would have been around 5 metres long, two metres tall, and 450 kilograms heavy.

Concavenator corcovatus details

All that to end up being dug up and named… Pepito, which is the diminutive of the diminutive of the Spanish version of Joseph. The equivalent of Joseph would be José, nicknamed Pepe, and changing the last “e” into “ito” – the suffix for small – would yield to something like Joey. So this magnificent predator was either named after a mini-mini-Joseph, or a small meat sandwich, which is also referred to as a pepito. Seriously, what happened to the illustrious tradition of Boaty McBoatface? This would have been a glorious Toothy McToothface (“Spanishised” as Dientito Caradientez or something).

Anyway, after the visit I dropped by the museum shop to buy myself some Concavenator-related merchandise. When was there the first time, I bought the exhibition catalogue, but since then they had received some silly cute items – I bought a pin, a badge, and a magnet, just because I could. Maybe as the exhibit draws closer to the end there will be discounts on other things…

I left the museum and decided that since it was way past 14:00, I should grab a bite to eat. As I had parked my car next to a shopping centre, I headed there with the idea of some Asian food. However, there is a burger joint that usually has a long queue and that some friends had told me was really good – as good as fast food can be, I guess. It is called TGB – The Good Burger. It is supposed to serve “NYC style gourmet hamburgers”. The place was empty, so I decided to give it a try.

I ordered a “Cheese Lovers” burger, which consisted of a beef patty, American cheese, goat cheese, Gorgonzola, sautéed onions, arugula and honey mustard sauce. It was… very cheesy. It was nice, but nothing I feel I must try again, especially when there are cheaper options in the shopping centre. And sushi. But at least, I satisfied my curiosity before I went off towards all my dull, grown-up errands which I shall not bore you with…

The Cheese Lovers burger

22nd November 2024: “Wicked” (film) on opening day (Madrid, Spain)

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There was a time when you could mute words on social media to avoid spoilers. Since the algorithms have taken over and you can’t curate what you see any more, I decided that the best way to avoid Wicked spoilers was trying to see it as early as possible, preferably on opening day. Ideally, on the first screening on opening day, an English version.

For a change, “ideally” worked. At least, I found a screening at 15:45 on the day the film came out. It was a cinema with Spanish subtitles but I can live with that. I have seen the musical twice in the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London and I’ve loved it both times. Not only I’m a firm believer in the message of Defying Gravity, I also give regular thought to Dancing Through Life. Sometimes I also listen to No One Mourns the Wicked and get all philosophical…

Anyway, I headed off to Madrid with next-to-no information and no expectations, hoping to enjoy the film. I had been slightly surprised that so many tickets were already booked when I bought my own, but I gave it no more than a couple of seconds’ worth of attention, I just thought I was running late since I made the decision the previous weekend before heading out to see Ha·Ya·To . Since the film was rather early in the afternoon, I had to get to Madrid with time for a bite. One of my options was Yatai Market but in the end I decided to grab brunch at Toby’s Brunch Club, where they run an all-day brunch (here I went, cheating the system again, just like I did at the James Joyce – twice in one week, too). I tried to book online but the system only took reservations for two or more. Since the Internet said that it was usually quite busy, just thought I still had Yatai as a backup plan…

I arrived at Atocha Station and walked towards the brunch place. As I did, I had to walk past Caixa Forum, which is still running the exhibit on Patagonian dinosaurs, and the Patagotitan smiled at me. I, of course, smiled back.

Patagotitan mayorum

The very-busy brunch place was empty – weekday “crowds” I guess. I was the only customer there for the duration. Usually, not being able to book for myself on my own discourages me from a place, but I’ve been wanting a “typical” brunch for a while now. The brunch consisted of a cold drink, coffee or tea and two courses (22€). For my cold drink, I ordered orange juice, and for the hot one a coffee latte. The first course was a basket of breads with butter, jams and tomato paste, and a yoghurt with fresh fruit. As my second course, I ordered eggs Benedict with smoked salmon. Because I really wanted eggs Benedict and I can’t cook them to save my life. Everything was delicious, especially the yoghurt. The eggs were perfect. I think this would kill me before noon though, so glad I used it as lunch.

Toby's breakfast club brunch

After my brunch / lunch I still had some time so I dropped by the art gallery Museo del Prado. I used my museum card Tarjeta de Museos Estatales and the lady at the ticket booth told me she had never seen a card like that before. She took it to the back shop, and when she came back, it turned out that the card had stuck to another card, which explained why she was confused. I finally managed to get in, and spent about an hour there. There was a small exhibit called El Taller de Rubens (Rubens’ workshop) which analysed the master’s works and that of his apprentices which was very interesting.

Afterwards, I walked towards Yelmo Cines Ideal (passing by and waving at the Patagotitan again) to watch Wicked. When I got there, the cinema was still closed, but as soon as I turned away to snoop into a shop across the street, the doors opened. I found my seat and I found myself seated between two groups of high school and university students, who were complaining that their life was very hard, and that they had barely had the time to eat lunch before getting to the cinema. And a few of them were threatening to cry. And they were telling each other not to sing along. I had not realised there was such a big following of Wicked from the younger crowd…

After a few minutes of hearing them babble excitedly, I realised that all of them had listened to the songs on the Internet, or something, but they had never had the chance to seen the musical themselves – it’s debuting in Spain in autumn 2025. It made me realise how lucky I am to be able to jump onto a red-eye flight at a random weekend and go to London, and be there for the 14:30 performance at the Apollo Victoria Theatre.

Wicked film poster

In general, I enjoyed the film. More than I believed I would, because I went with zero expectations and I had managed to avoid any kind of spoiler and previous knowledge, except that Jeff Goldblum was the Wizard. The main cast includes Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Ariana Grande as Glinda, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Marissa Bode as Nessa (kudos for an actual disabled actor playing a disabled character!), Ethan Slater as Boq, Jeff Goldblum as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; and Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond (voice).

I do not believe what I am going to say – but I thought Goldblum was the weakest character. I mean, he keeps playing himself, and Jeff Goldblum is not the Wizard (I had the same feeling when I watched Jurassic World: Dominion; he played himself, not Ian Malcolm). On the contrary, Michelle Yeoh was fantastic, her sole presence in a take stole the whole screen. I enjoyed seeing the animal characters a lot, as it is the bit of the musical that always feels a bit off. The logistics of landscaping Oz was a bit awkward at points, but I guess that’s theatrics and not… geography.

I found the music decent. As for me the most important thing was for the story to be faithful to the musical – which is more up my alley than the novel – I was rather satisfied. The best song, in my opinion was What is this feeling?, the camerawork was stunning. It was also great to see the cameo of the actors who portrayed Glinda and Elphaba on Broadway for the first time, Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel – known worldwide today for Frozen’s anthem Let it go. The library scene and choreography for Dancing through life was also impressive.

What I saw of the subtitles was not a good sign though, because the message of No One Mourns the Wicked loses most of its meaning if you translate it as “she’s finally dead”. However, I am rather good at ignoring subtitles anyway. I am not sold on Glinda being all pink either. Too many Legally Blonde vibes there, I prefer ice-blue.

The film ended at the end of the first act of the musical, with the “main event” of sorts – Defying Gravity. Very showy, okay music-wise. It was more visually impacting than musically, and my mind was dubbing it with Kristin Chenoweth’s version anyway. At this point, half the theatre was sobbing, which I found slightly amusing.

All in all, I enjoyed the day and the film. I am looking forward to the second part, and having affordable Wicked merchandise I don’t have to save for special occasions. After leaving the cinema, I walked back, and since it was cold, I got there in record time – and then I had to wait 40 minutes for the train because of course I did.

18 & 19th November 2024: Apocalyptica Played Metallica in Madrid (Spain), so there I went

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Planning for this short getaway started on the 23rd of February, when I bought my ticket for the Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 Tour 2024 stop in La Riviera in Madrid (50.50 €). Almost immediately, I headed off to Apocalyptica’s website to buy the VIP Tour 2024 Upgrade (58,90 €). The upgrade consisted on early access, photograph / meet & greet / autograph session (the important part), VIP lanyard, fabric patch, pin and tote bag. Honestly, all that for barely 100 € was a sweet deal. Back in Antwerp for Starset, someone I was queueing with complained that VIP tickets were too expensive for “a broke uni student”, but for me, meeting with the artist, albeit briefly is usually worth it – early entry is a plus, too, because for some concerts I either find a barrier spot or I just have to go to the back. The bundle was dispatched on the 9th of June (according to the email. Do Finnish post offices open on Sunday?) and it arrived on the 18th.

I originally booked a cheap hotel about half an hour’s walk from the venue. Later, I decided that I preferred the more expensive one less than 10 minutes away, so I changed my booking a week before the concert. I did not book there originally because it required prepayment, and my card was playing up..

On Friday the 4th of November I received an email with instructions for the Meet & Greet, which was to start at 18:30, and I should be there at 18:15. All right, I could do that. It was only a matter of waiting.

On Monday, 17th of November, I took a morning train to head out to Madrid with some leeway for time because I needed to do some small item shopping. I had to dodge some guys trying to get people to sign up for an NGO, but at 11:40 I made it to my first stop of the day – the light museum Museo de la Luz. I had been putting this visit off to go with someone who had expressed interest. However, I also waited for another exhibit and I missed my chance as it turned out to be only temporal. Thus, I decided to head to the Light Museum on my own – it was also one of the few exhibitions open on a Monday morning.

The Light Museum is a modest exhibition with interactive artworks that are mainly made out of lamps, lasers and lights. When you come in, you are given covers for your shoes and a key for a locker – all for free. Then you wait until an attendant takes you in and shows you how to interact with the first artwork “The birdcage” (La Pajarera), a box made out of light and metal that you make change colours with the movement of your arms. Once you know how to “play” with the art, you are left on your own to wander for an hour. At first I thought it would be tight, but the place was small – a bit too small for the price, I thought. I was there for around 40 minutes in total.

There were few people and I was able to check out most of the artwork uninterrupted. The next exhibit is made out of a number of old music festival lights – those that gave a lot of heat from the 90s, which are supposed to be a reference to climate change. Then there is a giant kaleidoscope you can walk in – this one became my favourite. Other rooms or works include a wall of lights that follow you as you move or dance, something with lasers (that I think was broken), some light illusions, a room full of hanging lights, a cube of mirrors and light… At the end there is a wall reading “light museum” in differently coloured lights. When I left, the lady at reception gave me a badge for booking with the official website.

Light Museum Madrid

Light Museum Madrid

I walked out and headed towards the restaurant where I wanted to cheat the system. I crossed the square Puerta del Sol, where they were setting up the Christmas tree – it was about 45% Christmas. On my way, I walked by the underground stop Metro Banco de España which has a tiny door for Little Mouse Pérez – Ratoncito Pérez, the Spanish equivalent to the tooth fairy. I never remember to check it out when I am around, but I made the connection this time.

I finally made it to the James Joyce Pub – which is technically a sports bar. I was not there for the TVs though. I had a while back found the place looking up places which served English breakfasts in Madrid. The James Joyce prides itself in being an Irish pub and offers Irish All-Day Breakfast (12.00 €) – two pork sausages, two rashers of bacon, baked beans, fried egg, sautéed mushrooms, grilled tomato, blood pudding, chips, two half-toasts and butter. No, I would not survive that for breakfast, so I ordered it for lunch (and dinner), thus tricking the system indeed. Unfortunately, it was really good and authentic, so now I’ve got to come back for the sausages and the shepherd’s pie, so at least twice.

James Joyce Irish breakfast

After lunch, I headed out towards the park known as Madrid Río. The park runs along the banks of the river Manzanares. It covers 121 hectares, and it was designed after to cover the space emptied when the belt road M-30 was rebuilt as an underground tunnel. The original project was created by a team of architectural studios and landscapers, with strong ecological consideration – aiming to help the area recover from the degradation and pollution caused by years of road traffic. The project was carried out between 2006 and 2012. In 2015, a second project was carried out to “renaturalise” the river, opening the dams to allow the water to flow freely, which in turn caused the recovery of many plant and animal species (to the detriment of… the local rowing team).

There are also bridges that connect both banks of the river. One of them is the one I crossed – just because I could. It is the pedestrian bridge Puente Monumental de Arganzuela, designed by Dominique Perrault. It is a bridge in two parts – one crosses the river, the other overlooks the park and connects to the urban area, and a total length of 278 metres. It is a tube made out of steel and wood that I’ve been wanting to check out for a while.

Arganzuela bridge

Another important bridge is the completely different Puente de Toledo, a baroque bridge built by Pedro de Ribera. It was erected in granite between 1717 and 1732 as the previous ones had been taken down by torrential floods. This one was made to stay, with nine solid arches opened to allow for the river floods. It was… ready for Christmas.

Madrid Río and bridges

It was weirdly warm for a November afternoon, so when I went to my hotel I opened the window while I had a shower. Around 17:00 I headed out to the venue, where there was a small group of people waiting already. La Riviera is a 1,500 people venue, with really good acoustics – and very dedicated staff. The place was originally a cinema, which was turned into a disco, and then into a music venue and nightclub. It is the same place I saw Epica and Apocalyptica in 2023, and I was surprised how many people came for the M&G considering that last year we were… six. We were around 30 this time around.

At first we were chatting in front of the main door, but soon a queue started forming. A little later, the nice security guy (who last year told me “I looked the part of an Apocalyptica fan”) took us to a secondary door, and the queue was properly organised. Surprisingly, bags were not checked – while last year they even took markers from people.

Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band. It was formed in 1993 as a tribute to Metallica with a classical touch – playing with cellos. Their debut album Apocalyptica plays Metallica by Four Cellos was released in 1993. They slowly moved from covering other bands in a neoclassical style to their very own repertoire. Today, the members are Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen and Perttu Kivilaakso, three classically-trained musicians with a deep love for metal. In 2024, they have gone full circle with the album and tour Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2, performing with drummer Mikko Kaakkuriniemi.

Apocalyptica Tour 24/25

We were ushered into a queue for signatures, and afterwards we would go at the end of the line to wait for photographs. I had brought a print-out of the picture from the previous year, and I told them that whenever they came to Madrid, I would come see them. I got a smile for that. It was an awesome photograph, after all. After everyone had their stuff signed we had the photographs. I asked for “a big metal hug” and got trolled instead. Fun times though!

After the photograph, I found a spot at the barrier. Last time I got on the right, this time I went left. Just a little. I did not want to go dead centre in case anyone decided to moshpit, but I might next time as there was no issue – everyone was too entranced for anything like that, I’d say.

The opening act was the Finnish band Arctis, a baby band who has just debuted with their first CD. They were pretty fun, maybe… a bit… too happy bouncy for metal? I’ve read their act described as metal-pop. It might be. I liked them okay, and they were nice.

Setlist:
 1. I’ll Give You Hell
 2. Remedy
 3. Tell Me Why
 4. WWM
 5. Bimbo (Lambretta Cover)
 6. Fire
 7. Frozen Swan
 8. When The Lights Go Out
 9. Theater of Tragedy

Arctis at La Riviera 2024

Arctis at La Riviera 2024

Apocalyptica came on stage at 21:00 sharp, and the live was glorious. All the songs were Metallica covers, from the new album, the first one, or the remastered version of Plays Metallica released in 2016. Despite that, one would not even have to be a Metallica fan to enjoy the concert, because the three men that compose Apocalyptica have an amazing magnetism. Perttu reminds me of the Duracell Bunny, he just did not stop for a second throughout the whole concert, which lasted a good two hours. Paavo seemed to be in his own little world, as he usually does. Eicca is the one doing most of the talking, and he is hilarious when he delivers his puns with a total deadpan voice and face.

Setlist:
 1. Ride the Lightning
 2. Enter Sandman
 3. Creeping Death
 4. For Whom the Bell Tolls
 5. Battery
 6. The Call of Ktulu
 7. St. Anger
 8. The Four Horsemen
 9. Blackened
 10. Master of Puppets
 11. Nothing Else Matters
 12. Seek & Destroy
 13. One

The audience was mostly moved by Nothing Else Matters, I’d say, judging by how they chorused it. Perttu was all in for that. Personally, I found Seek & Destroy and One, particularly, to be extremely powerful. Also, knowing that they dug up the original bass track from deceased Metallica member Cliff Burton for The Call of Ktulu was half-amazing and half-chilling. All in all, it was a fantastic concert, no matter how one looked at it.

Apocalyptica La Riviera 2024

Eicca Toppinen . Apocalyptica La Riviera 2024

Paavo Lötjönen. Apocalyptica La Riviera 2024

Perttu Kivilaakso. Apocalyptica La Riviera 2024

Apocalyptica La Riviera 2024

Afterwards, Arctis was hanging out by the merch. I got their CD, they signed it, we took a photo. It was fun!

I left the venue and I brought an ice-cream and a sports drink for “dinner” of sorts, because I was thirsty. I had both in the hotel room before my shower – the second of the day – and collapsing onto the king-sized bed. I had to wait for the phone to finish charging before I slept though, so I watched a movie before I zonked out.

I woke up on Tuesday, 18th of November and drank my coffee before I set out. It was freezing out there, with frost on the grass, in spite of the warm afternoon the day before. On my way, I found the ancient walls of the city, remains from the old Moorish fortress alcázar, which stand to the side of the Royal Palace and the Almudena cathedral. I walked towards the centre of Madrid – The Sol Christmas tree was about 60% ready – to meet up with my relative for breakfast at a new place called Kawaii Cafe. Inspired by the Japanese kawaii [可愛い]. Kawaii means pretty, childlike, cute, and the Kawaii Cafe has taken the idea to heart, maybe not not in a complete accurate manner though. Everything is pink, full of fluffy and glitter. The food is not only tasty, also pretty. However, the wait staff is dressed as “maids” [マイド], which I tend to associate more to the… hm… more risqué side of hospitality. When food is brought out, you are offered to chant a spell for it to be even tastier.

I found the place existed by chance, and I was instantly smitten by the rainbow waffles, because they were adorable, and very, very rainbow-like. Thus, I ordered them, along a matcha latte. My relative tried the pancakes with a cocoa. She was ecstatic at the quirkiness of the place.

Kawaii Cafe Madrid order

We stayed for well over an hour, and then headed out to one of the local museums Museo de San Isidro – Museum of Saint Isidore the Labourer. Isidore is the patron saint of Madrid. He is credited with several miracles – multiplying wheat and food, having his oxen plough on their own, and rescuing a child from a well making the waters inside rise. According to tradition, the museum is housed where he used to work, and legend has it that the old well is the one he pulled the child from.

Today the museum hosts some palaeontological and archaeological exhibits, from a mastodon and ancient rhinos to Medieval artefacts, running through the Roman occupation and the Muslim period. The place is a complement to the Museo de Historia de Madrid, or maybe its competition, though I think both belong to the same institution – and both are free. As the building is a historical place, it offers the chance to enjoy its small but beautiful Renaissance courtyard, with sculptures of mythological heroes, and of course St. Isidore and his wife. There is also a tiny Baroque chapel.

San Isidro Museum

San Isidro Museum: chapel, well, and courtyard

Right next to the museum stands the Baroque church of Saint Andrew the Apostle Iglesia de San Andrés Apóstol , which was getting ready for Christmas. The church is one of the oldest in town, though it was rebuilt after its destruction during the Civil War, and it has been recently restored. It hosts a number of religious sculptures and a painted vault above the altar.

Saint Andrew church Madrid

We took the underground at the station Tirso de Molina, which can still be accessed through the historical entrance hall, which is similar to the one that was closed off in Pacífico. It was beautiful, though of course busier than the museum one. Over the entrance to the platform there is a tile mosaic with the old shield of Madrid, dating back from the original station. It was installed in 1921, and it is the oldest artistic item in the underground network.

Access Hall at undeground station Tirso de Molina

From there we commuted to Nuevos Ministerios, where they had just kick-started the Christmas market. It seemed to be the “brands” market, with Lego, Disney, and so on. There was also a food truck by a famous chef selling basically chicken sandwiches at outrageous prices. I had been vaguely curious but not going to break the bank for a chicken sandwich, especially after such a breakfast!

I took a train from there back home, with no incidents whatsoever (because by now I’m desensitised to trains being late…)

17th November 2024: Ha·Ya·To Drum Masters in Guadalajara (Spain)

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A while back, I read on Keita Kanazashi’s Instagram that Ha·Ya·To Project was going to come back to Spain for a small tour with their show Ha·Ya·To: Drum Masters. The most convenient place for me to see them was Teatro Buero Vallejo in Guadalajara. I got tickets as soon as I realised they were out, and still I did not beat the local crowd who buy tickets for any and everything.

Ha·Ya·To Drum Masters promo

Ha·Ya·To: Drum Masters is a Japanese percussion show wadaiko [和太鼓]. While Ha·Ya·To is officially formed by the three Kanazashi brothers, Keita Kanazashi, Ryota Kanazashi, and Yuta Kanazashi, for Drum Masters they are joined by Koji Hada, Takayuki Hashiguchi, Makoto Sekine and Shunichiro Kamiya, along with special guest stars Chieko Kojima (first female wadaiko master) and Masato Shibata (Japanese guitar shamisen world champion).

The show depicts the seasons of the year. It starts in Spring, with flowering cherry blossoms and a slow build up that yields to a super-energetic Summer, full of bouncing and strong beats. Then there comes the break and afterwards there is Autumn, where Chieko Kojima really shines, though the rhythm is a bit lower and more melancholic. Finally, energy picks up again for Winter – because it’s cold and one needs to warm up.

Ha·Ya·To Drum Masters

Ha·Ya·To Drum Masters

Ha·Ya·To Drum Masters

Ha·Ya·To Drum Masters

The show was absolutely fantastic. Afterwards, there was a “collective M&G” with pictures with the musicians. I did not get any autographs, though Ms Kojima did notice that I was carrying the DVD I bought in 2018. That lead to her, Keita and myself talking a little. I also had a photograph with Keita from an event in 2019. Their manager is very strict, and once she decides picture time is over, she really ushers them away. I did manage to sneak a selfie with Makoto Sekine after the rest of the group had left though.

Ha·Ya·To Project

I love taiko. It really energises me, and it was a great way to spend the evening. I could’ve combined it with something else, but I had plans for the next couple of days. I was off to see Apocalyptica the following day.

7th November 2024: The Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute (Madrid, Spain)

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I know you do not believe me when I say I don’t like guided visits, but they are the only way to do some stuff – such as stepping into the Stonehenge circle, or basically anything managed by the Madrid city hall. The Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España IPCE is a governmental organisation whose functions are preservation and conservation of cultural items, research, communication, and safekeeping of the documents in its archive. It can only be visited on certain dates, by appointment, and with a guided visit. I managed to secure a free Thursday visit at noon, so I headed out to Madrid. Surprisingly, neither trains nor underground had issues, so I was over an hour early on site. The IPCE is located in its own building in the area known as “University City” (Ciudad Universitaria), close to the Fine Arts faculty – by design – and the President’s official residence – by chance.

The headquarters building was commissioned in 1965 to architects Fernando Higueras and Antonio Miró. The architects’ original project had to be severely modified, but it became a very different structure. Construction was stalled for years, and the building was not usable until 1985 – when new remodelling was tackled. The building is circular, nicknamed the “Crown of Thorns” (La Corona de Espinas) because at the top there are “spikes” of sorts. Top-view, the structure is divided in 30 sectors, with 56 semi-sectors and four empty ones for the main access staircase and gate. It has four floors and at least one basement. It was built in concrete and glass, with some cork floors, but lacking plaster or any kind of concealment for the structural items. The centre of the building is an open space with a glass dome, and serves as reception. Unlike the original project, this space is covered with a glass vault. The interior has a lot of plants, even three small “gardens” mainly with hanging plants. The building is considered an important cultural asset BIC (Bien de Interés Cultural), and these plants are protected along with the structure.

Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute building

The visit consisted of an introduction to the building and the work which is carried out there. We saw the model of the original project – the only similarity is that it was also vaguely circular. We climbed the stairs to the upper floors to snoop at the rooftop and the “thorns”, and then rode the lifts down to the basements to see some X-rays of paintings and sculptures. Back on the main floor, we were shown into painting restoration workshop – they were working on Maerten de Vos’ Abundance, having repaired the work and erased some extra (puritan) clothing to make the goddess Ceres look less… naked. Finally, we were invited into the library, which is round and has three levels. It has natural light due to its own skylight, a decorative glass dome in the middle of the main open area.

Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute inside

The visit started at noon, and it lasted two hours. Heading out to the centre of Madrid would take around half an hour of walking and underground. Thus, it gave me the opportunity to book a late 15:00 lunch. Since I was lucky with my connections, I was in the Cuzco neighbourhood almost half an hour in advance.

It was the perfect opportunity to go get some groceries at the Chinese supermarket Ibero China Madrid in the street Calle General Margallo. While I needed some items, I was distracted as I walked the “geek” fizzy drink aisle. There is a company called Ocean Bomb which makes sodas – sparking water, yoghurt drinks and bubble milk tea with “creative packaging”. I was aware of them because a friend collects the Sailor Moon ones and we checked for them in London in 2023. Well, now I went and found myself some Saint Seiya sodas – Gemini Saga (grape yoghurt flavour) Aries Mu (apple yoghurt flavour) and Virgo Shaka (peach yoghurt flavour). They were out in 2023, but I had not heard about them, it is the first time I saw them. And of course, I bought them (I have no idea if they are official or not, but the publicity I found afterwards has the Toei stamp on it, so I’m hoping they are).

For lunch, I had a reservation at Comic Planet. Last time I was there, a member of the party was late, so in order to keep the table, we ordered appetizers. They were great, but afterwards there was no stomach-space for dessert. And dammit, I wanted some dessert – particularly, I wanted pancakes. I had been looking at coming back to Comic Planet for a while just to have them, but it never worked out. This was finally my moment. I had a lemonade, some nachos – which were delicious – and I finally got to eat my pancakes – which are green and called Hulkcakes, and come with whipped cream, brownie and shortcake crumbles , and around ¾ of a strawberry. I ended up extremely full, but happy.

Comic Planet lunch

Oh, and I was confused because it was early November but… already Christmas in Comic Planet!

Comic Planet Christmas decoration

I left the restaurant and headed towards the archaeological museum Museo Arqueológico Nacional, which is running a temporal exhibit regarding Nature in Ancient Greece “Between Chaos and Cosmos: Nature in Ancient Greece” Entre Caos y Cosmos. Naturaleza en la Antigua Grecia. It hosts over one hundred pieces of classical Grecian art. Most belong to the museum’s own collection, acquired from the 19th century collector Marquis of Salamanca, and some are national and international loans. Since a large percentage of items were original and not replicas, it was really cool. Then again, I have to admit I have a thing for Grecian vases, especially with mythological motifs.

Entre Caos y Cosmos. Naturaleza en la Antigua Grecia

The exhibition was not big, so later I used my National Museums card Tarjeta de Museos Estatales to go and take a walk around the permanent exhibition. There is a loaned exhibit from the Mont’e Prama archaeological site in Sardinia, Italy. Mont’e Prama was discovered in 1974, unearthing remains from the Nuragic culture (1800 – 700 BC). This Bronze Age civilisation created large sculptures called the Giants if Mont’e Parma (Giganti di Mont’e Prama), depicting wrestlers, archers, warriors and boxers. One of these colossi Il Pugilatore (The Boxer) has been brought to the MAN for display for a few months. Boxers were characterised for having a glove with metal reinforcements on their right hands. Il Pugilatore is the largest sculpture, two metres tall and 300 kilograms heavy – which has been travelling across the world to promote the archaeological site. There was… something imposing about the whole thing, and not even its size. Some kind of… presence there. It made me want to visit Sardinia, to be honest (and it is much, much affordable than Easter Island…), so I guess the promotion… worked?

Il Pugilatore

I took a stroll through the permanent collection afterwards, especially the Iberian and Talayotic areas, because I am fascinated with them these days – and I shall make the most out of my pass for as long as I can. It was getting dark though, and the commute to the IPCE had taken long, so I headed back.

Museo Arqueológico Nacional

16th October 2024: San Francisco Ballet’s Swan Lake at Teatro Real (Madrid, Spain)

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While heavy metal and hard rock concerts are my form of meditation, there is something magical about ballet in general and Swan Lake in particular. Also, in my defence, I’ve loved Swan Lake since before I first saw Yoshiki play part of it on piano. Swan Lake is a three-act ballet written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1876. The story is widely known – Evil sorcerer Von Rothbart curses princess Odette to live as a swan during the day and only return to her human self at night. Nearby, prince Siegfried is trying to avoid all his obligations, and goes hunting. The two meet and fall in love, and Siegfried invites Odette to a ball where he will propose and both will live happily ever after since obviously love is stronger than black magic. Except, at the ball Von Rothbart shows up with another lady, Odile, the black swan, who seduces Siegfried, and he proposes to her, thinking she is Odette. Drama ensues. Siegfried realises that he has the wrong girl, and runs to the lake where he first met Odette.

Now, depending on the version, after Siegfried and Rothbart fight, the ending can go several ways, and I’ve seen a few. There is a standard happy ending – true love conquers all, Von Rothbart is defeated, and Siegfried and Odette get their happily ever after. In another version, Odette commits suicide as Siegfried’s mistake has made the curse unbreakable. Another option is that she dies of heartbreak. Her death yields to a very epic ending image of Siegfried lifting Odette’s body into the air, and Von Rothbart is defeated by Siegfried’s grief and true love. Finally, there is the option of both Odette and Siegfried dying, and the power of their loving sacrifice defeats Von Rothbart. Note how the evil sorcerer “loses” every time. However, in the original script – which I’ve actually never seen on stage – both Siegfried and Odette drown in the lake and Von Rothbart sort of wins. I’ve always found that interesting. 

Anyway, I really enjoy watching Swan Lake and trying to anticipate which ending the choreographer has chosen. I have to admit that I’m personally partial to the ending where Odette dies of heartbreak, because while I love the ballet – and the black swan – Siegfried is an idiot and with this ending he gets to live with the knowledge that he proposed to the wrong girl.

Back in March I read that the San Francisco Ballet was taking their version of Swan Lake to Madrid. I asked my parents if they wanted to tag along and since I had not received an answer by August, I checked for tickets. Whilst Teatro Real tends to be a bit on the expensive side, it is rather easy to find an unoccupied single seat in a good location just searching a bit. I could not really afford floor seats but there was a very nice single seat on the first row of the third floor that I soon got my clutches on.

I had planned to take the train to Madrid to be there around 16:00. I wanted to go see an exhibition in the manor Palacio de Longoria, since that is the only way to enter it and last time I could not climb any of the stairs to get a good look at the skylight. Unfortunately, there were issues with the previous train, which got stuck in Atocha. My own train could not enter the station, and we were just a few metres away. It is illegal to walk on the tracks, so the train driver, of course, would not open the doors. We were stopped there for over an hour. I was sitting in the first carriage, and some people lost their nerves – they started banging on the driver’s door, and one of them even grabbed the emergency hammer and tried to break the glass on the doors. Thus, I decided to just get off the train when we finally reached Atocha and walk towards the theatre.

Swan Lake promo

I had arranged to meet with a friend for a quick coffee around 18:00 near the theatre. There is a Starbucks within the same building, and it is easy to find a sitting space. At 19:15, we said goodbyes and I entered the theatre Teatro Real and found my seat. What I was not able to find was a brochure.

San Francisco Ballet artists:
  Orchestra director: Martin West
  Odette / Odile: Wona Park
  Prince Siegfried: Wei Wang
  Von Rothbart: Jakub Groot
  Choreography: Helgi Tomasson
  Artistic Director: Tamara Rojo

The show was fantastic. Wei Wang as Siegfried had a lot of weight in the first act – sometimes a lot of his work is given to another character. In this ballet, the ballerina dances two different roles, which sometimes feel like three – First-act Odette, who is nice and falling in love with Siegfried, Odile in the second act, the Black Swan seductress, and the Last-act Odette, who is dying… Wona Park did a fantastic job with her body language in order to show both Odette and Odile.

The corps de ballet was so numerous that I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen so many swans on stage. The set-up was beautiful and the coordination was incredible. At some point there were 32 swan-dancers there. It was fantastic, and I enjoyed every second of it. The ballet lasted 2 hours 40 minutes with a twenty-five minute intermission.

During the break, I went off to find a brochure – not because I did not know the plot, but because I wanted the names of the artists. I thought that one day I needed to try the intermission dinner at Teatro Real, but since they have the “to share” dishes, I don’t think they’ll take bookings for one.

Main dancers accepting the ovation

Swan dancers accepting the ovation

Dancers accepting the ovation and musical director accepting the ovation

The show was over before 22:00, and the waters had calmed down on the train front. They were still running late, but there were no aggressively frustrated passengers on the platform nor the train. I made it home just before midnight.

13th October 2024: Mercado Cervantino de Alcalá de Henares (Spain)

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Alcalá de Henares was the birthplace of writer Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, one if not the most important novel in the Spanish speaking world – often considered the first modern novel in Western literature. Thus, a lot of the town activities are presented in relation to Cervantes, one way or another.

Renaissance Fairs are getting popular in the centre of Spain, and Alcalá has dubbed its own “Cervantine Market” Mercado Cervantino as part of a week-long celebration of Cervantes’ christening Semana Cervantina. I missed most of it since I was in Türkiye, but on the last day I was able to drop for a couple of hours with my sibling.

Mercado Cervantino

We reached the market around 11:30, too late to hear the cannons. It being a Sunday, everything was packed. We got to see Don Quixote and his sidekick Sancho, a horde of orcs, and a falconry exhibition by Francisco Miranda and his Harris’ hawk.

Don Quixote

An orc

Falconer

Harry's eagle mid-flight

Afterwards, I talked my sibling into dropping by the nearby Archaeology and Palaeontology museum Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid, MARPA. The exhibition Cazadores de Dragones – Dragon Hunters – is still on, and I was not going to waste the chance to see the Concavenator (Concavenator corcovatus). I realised they had brought some extra merch for the exhibition, and I decided to drop by in the near future.

Concavenator Skull

We went off for a late lunch afterwards, and later I just drove off.

14th September 2024: The long way back {Escapade to Cádiz, September 2024}

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I woke up before dawn and took a train out of Cádiz to El Puerto de Santa María to spend a few hours with a friend. We had breakfastand caught up, and I headed back to Cádiz around noon for food and my train back.

I returned to the area where the market Mercado Central de Abastos de Cádiz stands, and found a place for lunch Cervecería Boquerón Barbudo for puntillitas fritas, which is a dish of battered and fried squid, and one last tortillita de camarones before heading back home.

Tortillita de camarones and puntillitas

I had some time to kill before the train, and I thought about walking back towards the beach, but there was a strong wind coming from the west – nothing unusual, this wind even has a name, Poniente. Instead, I headed towards the harbour. I wanted to reach a specific quay to take pictures, but it was too hot and I was carrying the backpack. I ended up turning towards the city at the last pedestrian crossing in sight. I climbed up the stairs to the station and went out the other side. There, I found a lookout above the harbour and the bridge Puente de la Constitución de 1812, a cable-stayed bridge which joins Cádiz and Puerto Real which was built between 2007 and 2017. It measures just above 3 km, with 37 pillars, and there is actually a removable part in order to let ships of unlimited size to go through. As what I actually wanted was to get a sight out of said bridge, it worked well.

Constitution bridge Cádiz

I walked towards Puerta de Tierra once more, to look at the temporary monument to the Phoenician gods – still garish. I walked alongside the wall until I reached the sea front promenade Paseo Marítimo, from where I could see the castle Castillo de San Sebastián and the bridges that lead to it. There was also a (tiny) swarm of damselflies which seemed to pose for pictures.

Puerta de Tierra (Semana Fenicia)

San Esteban Castle

Damselfly

I finally headed off towards the station to take a string of trains in the opposite direction I had done on Wednesday. First, I took the medium-distance train towards Seville, where I had an hour or so. I bought a sandwich and a soda to go (at exuberant prices, of course), and an ice-cream (at McDonald’s, with a regular price) while I waited. Then, the AVE took me to Madrid, which I reached a few minutes early, even. I hurried towards the commuter train system, hoping to catch a good connection, but – surprise, surprise – it did not let me in.

I had to go queue for help, and an employee let me through, assuring me that the system would let me out. Not trusting that, upon arrival I asked a security guard what I should do, and he said that the gate would be open if my pass did not work. To no one’s astonishment by now, the pass did not work, and the gate was closed. And of course, there was no Renfe employee to man the exits at nearly 23:00. I called for assistance on the inter-phone, and after a minute of ringing without an answer, I gave up and scurried after someone as they went out. Because, really, it was absolutely ridiculous.

All in all, it was a good trip. Cádiz was still an open chapter in my life, and I had always been worried that I would be overwhelmed by sadness if / when I returned to the area. Fortunately, that was not the case, and I was able to enjoy the escapade, along with getting my paperwork. However, the stupid commuter train thing was frustrating. Because Renfe, if the combined ticket works, why doesn’t it work? And if it doesn’t work, why are we told it works? Confusing, isn’t it? I had the same feeling.

13th September 2024: Cádiz, Jerez, Puerto Real & back to Cádiz {Escapade to Cádiz, September 2024}

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After making sure there were no ants in my breakfast – I had stored it in the mini-fridge, and they were all in the trash can with the decoy – I left for an early walk around Cádiz as the sun rose. I went to Puerta de Tierra (the Land Gate), the remains of the walls that closed off the city in the past, which today separates the old and new areas. The original redoubt was erected in the 16th century, embellished in 1756 with a portal, and a tower was added in 1850. In the early 20th century, arches were opened into the wall to allow traffic to come through. There was a temporary installation to commemorate the “Phoenician Week” activities, but it was so garish that I was not even sure whether it was real or a parody of sorts.

Puerta de Tierra Cádiz

Afterwards, I walked to the train station to take the train to the nearby city of Jerez de la Frontera, where my first stop was the fortress-palace Conjunto Monumental del Alcázar. The first remains known of the alcázar date back from the 11th century, though most of what still stands was erected in the Almohad period (12th – 13th centuries). The fortress was repeatedly taken and lost in the war between Moors and Christians until the Catholic Monarchs finally conquered all of Spain. The building was owned by the crown, but it fell into disarray, and in the 18th century a Baroque palace was built.

Alcazar de Jerez de la Frontera - exterior

Today, this palace is the only intact construction, and the one I left for last. I moved towards the garden first, which lead to the Arab baths, the octagonal tower, the cistern, the Royal Pavilion, and the walls, with some of the machinery from the Medieval times. The gardens were patrolled by peafowl. On the other side of the complex stand the mosque, an area with a reproduction of ancient oil presses, and the original gates in the walls.

Alcazar de Jerez de la Frontera - cistern and mosque, and peacock

The Baroque palace Palacio de Villavicencio holds a wooden staircase, several rooms with rich decoration including hanging lamps and wall paintings, and a salvaged pharmacy from the 19th century.

Alcazar de Jerez: Palacio de Villavicencio

After the alcázar, which took longer than I thought to explore, I headed out to the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre to watch the show Cómo bailan los caballos andaluces (The way Andalusian horses dance), an eight-part show which has been performed since 1973. The exhibition showcases the different types of exercises that the horses are trained for – whether it is with a rider, or a handler on their feet, alone, or coordinating with other horses on the arena. It was a really impressive performance, and the horses were gorgeous.

Setlist of the show:
  1. Cómo se anda en el campo
  2. Al son de la garrocha
  3. Paso a dos
  4. Trabajos en la mano
  5. Fantasía
  6. Saltos de escuela
  7. Riendas largas
  8. Carrusel

Royal Equestrian Art School, Jerez

After the show, I hung around for as long as I was allowed to, snooping the horse riding museum and the small palace in the grounds until they closed down and I had to leave. I bought a sandwich and a bottle of water from a supermarket in the way, and went on to the cathedral Catedral de Nuestro Señor San Salvador. The current building was not originally conceived as a cathedral. It was founded in 1778, built between the 17th and 18th centuries, and consecrated as cathedral as recently as 1978. It has a gothic structure, with a Baroque façade and a Neoclassic altarpiece. Behind the altar there is small treasury / museum and a spiral staircase to a secret chapel which is barely the painting of a saint – but the staircase was pretty, it reminded me of the one in the church in Tendilla. I also walked up the tower so I could see the city from above.

Cathedral Jerez de la Frontera

By the time I was on my way back, it was too late to snoop into the farmers’ market Mercado Central Abastos, so I headed directly towards the train station to fight the ticket machine, then headed to Puerto Real. This is a town between Jerez and Cádiz where I used to live. After checking out some places out of nostalgia, I went towards the seaside. It was an eerie feeling, because it had changed very little from what I remembered from almost two decades ago, when I left, and still it was slightly different. I visited the beach Playa de la Cachucha and walked along the promenade Paseo Marítimo until I saw my old university building.

The Andalusian Centre for Marine Studies Centro Superior de Estudios Marinos, CASEM, is a helix-shaped building, originally conceived by Manuel López Vázquez. The building has three “arms” in 120-degree angles, and a glass dome at the centre. It is located in the middle of the natural reserve. However, going there would have made me extremely sad. Thus, I decided to walk back towards the station and take a train back to Cádiz.

Puerto Real: Playa de la Cacucha

Since I had visited the land gates, I also wanted to see the Sea Gate Puerta del Mar, the remains of the entrance to the harbour. Today it is more of a monument than an actual gate, but it is still there.

Cádiz Puerta del Mar

I was able to get there with enough time to head out to the archaeological site Yacimiento Arqueológico Gadir, one of the most important of its kind, since Phoenician settlement remains are far and few. The site, underneath a theatre, has two layers – the original one might date back from the 9th century BCE, with the remains of eight houses, complete with kitchen and oven, and streets. The settlement was destroyed in a fire, which also left two victims, a man and a cat, both of whose remains are exhibited there. The second layer is more recent – a fish processing factory with pools to preserve the product in brine from the Roman domination.

Yacimiento arqueológico de Gadir

Finally, I decided to end the day with a nice dinner. I went to the nearby market Mercado Central de Abastos de Cádiz, which has some eateries that work with local product. However, I did not locate the place I wanted to hit, and ended up distracted by El Viajero del Merkao, a place which advertised bluefin tuna, and offered it in tartar. I combined the tuna tartar with a typical tortillita de camarones, a fried batter made with water, chickpea flour, wheat flour and tiny shrimp, and a not so typical Taco de Cadi, Cadi, a tortillita with guacamole and salsa.

Tortillita de camarones & tuna tartar

I went back to the hotel to have a shower, then I turned in for the night (in a non-ant-infested room now).

12th September 2024: Cádiz {Escapade to Cádiz, September 2024}

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My paperwork-related appointment was at 9:30 in Cádiz itself, and I got up around 7:30. I left the hotel, but unfortunately the café where I had expected to have breakfast was closed. Thus, I instead headed out towards the promenade Paseo del Vendaval to see the ocean again. I turned to my right, in the opposite direction from the previous night, and I walked towards the central beach in town – Playa de la Caleta, a mostly-rocky area with tidal ponds and a long bridge called Puente del Hierro which leads to an old castle Castillo de San Esteban. I chased a few birds on the way for photographs. They were not at all cooperative.

I reached the former bathhouse Balneario de Nuestra Señora de la Palma y del Real, built in 1926 from an original design by Enrique García Cañas with one main access and two corridors that form a semicircle towards the ocean, and end in domes. It was build directly onto the beach, in reinforced concrete, with a style gravitating among Art noveau, eastern historicism and local decoration with azulejo tiles. It was abandoned in the 1970s, but restored for administrative use in the 1990s.

I ventured away from the ocean into the narrow streets of Cádiz downtown until I got to the town’s theatre Gran Teatro Falla, in the Neomudejar style. It was built between 1884 and 1905, on and off due to lack of funds, after a design by Adolfo Morales de los Ríos and Adolfo del Castillo Escribano. The theatre is one of the key spots during Carnival festivities. The Cádiz Carnival is one of oldest and most famous in Spain, known for its groups of people who parade the town in costume to sing simple songs that make fun of every- and anything, normally current affairs – coros, cuartetos, comparsas and chirigotas. The great Carnival contest is celebrated in the theatre, and prizes are awarded in each of the categories. The carnival brings in about 400,000 visitors each year. I tried to get to visit the theatre, but I did not manage to do so.

Paseo del Vendaval & Gran Teatro Falla Cádiz

Around 09:15 I decided to try my luck with the paperwork issue, even if it was early for my appointment, and I was successful. Since it was an important document, I ran back to the hotel to drop it there, and then headed off to the square Plaza de La Mina, where the local museum Museo de Cádiz stands.

It is said that Cádiz is the oldest Western city, founded around the 9th century BCE. Mythologically, it is associated with Hercules’ Columns and the city of Tarsis. The oldest archaeological remains date back to the 7th century BCE. The now-peninsula was originally a small archipelago where the Phoenicians settled down as it was a strategic point for commerce and mining of copper and tin, naming the settlement Gadir. It was later conquered by Carthaginians, whose march to Rome led by Hannibal started there. When Carthage lost the war, the city was taken over by Romans and became Gades in the 2nd century BCE.

As the Roman Empire declined, the city was invaded by the Visigoths, then the Byzantine Empire, and again by the Visigoths. In the year 710 CE, it was the first stronghold to fall to the Moorish conquest of Spain. After the Christians took it over again, it became a key point in commerce with the American territories.

In 1755, Cádiz was damaged by a three-wave tsunami caused by the so-called “Lisbon Earthquake”, 8.5 degrees in the Richter scale. In 1812, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Spanish patriots wrote the first Spanish Constitution, and throughout the 19th century, it was key in the numerous wars and battles through the return of Alfonso VII, the Republic and the Restoration of the Monarchy periods. However, during the 20th century, the city decayed suffering from lack of infrastructures, and rampant unemployment. Thus, it is happy to focus on tourism and the money it brings.

The Museo de Cádiz tries to follow this trail of history, but only the archaeological floor was open. The most important artefacts date from the Phoenician, Roman and Moorish periods. Of particular interest are two Phoenician sarcophagi which were found in completely different areas, but are presented as a couple of sorts, and a complete dowry. From Roman times, they exhibit a few dozen amphorae, sculptures and columns. Finally, the remains from the Moorish domination are quite colourful in comparison with everything else. The second floor of the museum was closed, so I was done earlier than expected.

Cádiz Museum

Thus, I decided to push my luck a little and try to get to the archaeological site called Cueva del Pájaro Azul for the 10:30 visit in English. The place is a former flamenco tavern built within the repurposed dry docks of the Phoenician Gadir. Most of the structure has been covered in brick and barely the original shape can be traced back, enough to calculate that the dry docks served war ships. While building new stairs, they did find part of the original Phoenician harbour though, the most important remain that survives. The tavern itself might be considered of minimal historical importance as it was a considerable cultural hub in the 1960s.

Archaeological site Cueva del Pájaro Azul

To keep in the mood, I decided to visit the archaeological site Yacimiento Arqueológico de Gadir, making a stop for a coffee first. Unfortunately, the site was closed that day. Thus, I decided to check out the Roman Theatre Teatro Romano de Cádiz – it might feel a little back and forth, but distances in central Cádiz are small and I wanted to prioritise Phoenician remains (I said I lived in the area, but all these archaeological remains are newly discovered). The theatre is the second largest one in what was Hispania, and dates from the 1st century BCE. It could host up to 10,000 people, and the stage, stands and the vomitorium (corridor underneath the seats) can be visited. There is an extra room with miniatures of the different stages of the history of the theatre.

Roman Theatre Cádiz

I left behind something called “The Elf’s Alley” Callejón del Duende, the narrowest street in town, now closed off. Very near both the alley and the theatre, I found the old cathedral Catedral Vieja de Cádiz officially Parroquia de Santa Cruz. This was the original cathedral of the town, commissioned by king Alfonso X around 1262. The original building was destroyed during the scuffles between the Spanish and the English at the end of the 16th century, and a new one was erected a few years later in a mixture of the Renaissance and the Baroque styles.

Former cathedral of Cádiz

Next to the old cathedral stands the museum of the cathedral Casa de la Contaduría. The museum comprises a number of rooms disseminated in a conglomerate of buildings dating back from the 16th century – including the tower of the old cathedral and a Mudejar courtyard. The museum holds – obviously – religious items: paintings, sculptures, mass paraphernalia, codexes…

Cathedral Museum Cádiz

Afterwards, I crossed the city centre all over again, and reached the park Parque Genovés, a sort of botanical garden and the largest park in the old town. It has a small lake with a waterfall and a man-made cave with a lookout of the town and the ocean.

Park Parque Genovés in Cádiz

Then, I had booked lunch in the café of the Parador de Cádiz – Hotel Atlántico, a cute not-so-little place called La Tacita del Atlántico. I had set my heart on a grilled urchin dish – erizo de mar relleno y gratinado con huevos de arenque ahumado which I combined with a salmorejo (a creamy soup with a base of tomato and bread, garnished with ham and hard boiled eggs), though the dish had a local twist salmorejo cordobés, huevo y mojama. The urchins were delicious, but the salmorejo was lacking. I liked the idea of exchanging the ham for salt-cured tuna (mojama), but overall I found the food overpriced and the service mediocre. On my way out, I stopped by reception to get my stamp for the Red de Paradores rally.

Lunch at La Tacita del Atlántico

I stayed at Parque Genovés for a bit after lunch, then headed out towards the “new” cathedral Catedral de la Santa Cruz. The cathedral was built between 1722 and 1838, in a mixture of styles – Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassicism. It was erected in an assortment of materials, from noble marble to the humble local piedra ostionera, a sedimentary rock with a high concentration of seashells (biocalcarenite). The interior has three naves, and a Latin cross floor plan, over whose crossing there is a has dome, covered by golden tiles on the outside. The main altar is neoclassical.

Underneath the cathedral stands the crypt, and one of the towers can be ascended, leading to a great view of the town. The tower has very few stairs, most of the way is done on a ramp. Unfortunately, though, the cathedral is in rather poor state, and a net is cast under the ceiling to prevent debris from falling. I also climbed the tower since it was included in my combo ticket.

Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Cádiz

View of Cádiz from the cathedral tower

Behind the cathedral, I found myself back at the promenade Paseo del Vendaval, and I walked towards the beach Playa de la Caleta. In historical times, it was the natural port for Phoenician, Carthaginian and Roman shops, now it is a small-ish beach in the heart of the city. It is located between two of the castles of the old city, and its most characteristic structure is the bath house I saw in the morning.

The beach has a sand area where most people sunbathe, but there is a long bridge separated in two sections – one directly built upon rock, Puente de Hierro and the other with arches to let the water flow through, Puente Canal. At the end of the half-kilometre of bridges, stand the ruins of the castle Castillo de San Sebastián, which today includes a working lighthouse, and an archaeological site. The first structure in the ancient island dates back from 1457, and the castle itself was built in 1706. Though it was warm and sunny, I walked the bridges and around the castle walls.

La Caleta Beach Cádiz & San Sebastián Castle

Upon my “return to mainland”, I passed by the bath house again and I reached a second castle, Castillo de Santa Catalina. The outpost, in the shape of a five-point star, was built towards the end of the 16th century to defend the city form sea warfare. In later years, a church and a sacristy were added, and from the 18th century onwards it was used as a prison. Today, it mostly hosts cultural or cinema-related events.

Santa Catalina Castle, Cádiz

I continued on my walk around the city, left behind a knee cramp, the Parador de Cádiz and Parque Genovés until I reached the bulwark Baluarte de la Candelaria and the park Jardines Clara Campoamor. From there, I went on towards a second bulwark and the remains of the city walls Baluarte y Murallas de San Carlos. The bulwark was built towards the end of the 18th century to protect the harbour. Not far from there stands the square Plaza de España with the monument to the 1812 Constitution Monumento a la Constitución de 1812, the political response to the Napoleonic invasion. A bit further away stands the fountain Fuente de la Plaza de las Tortugas, with lots of cute turtles as decoration.

San Carlos Bulwark and Walls Cádiz

Monument to the 1812 Constitution Cádiz

Turtle fountain in Cádiz

At this time I decided to get an early dinner around 18:30, so I bought some fast food to take to the hotel. That is when the ant invasion started. It was something I was not expecting – one or two bugs is workable, but this was a whole nest out for my fries. It was not nice. I decoyed them into bathroom and decided to have the room cleaned the next morning.

I set off again about 20:15 to look for a place to watch the sunset at the beach Playa de la Caleta, which did not disappoint, and I sat there until the sun disappeared beyond the water line. Luckily, I made it today, as it would be ridiculously windy the following day.

Sunset at La Caleta, Cádiz

I then found the street Calle the la Virgen de la Palma, at whose end stands the small church Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Palma. It was built in the 18th century and it hosts a sculpture of the Virgin Mary credited with stopping the waters during the 1755 tsunami. In the street, there is a signal marking the highest water point, but there were so many restaurants and people that it was impossible to find it!

Sculpture of the Virgin Mary

I went back to the hotel afterwards to have some sleep – I was beat. I did manage to make a stop at a supermarket to buy coffee and pastries for breakfast the following morning though. Because one late latte per trip is enough.

11th September 2024: The long way there {Escapade to Cádiz, September 2024}

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In order to reach Cádiz, I had to take one commuter train to Madrid Atocha. There, I either needed a high-speed train directly to Cádiz, or a connection via Seville. I chose this last option, because it was less than half the price round trip. The train company RENFE has three types of trains: the commuter trains Cercanías, the long distance system and the medium distance system, and I had to use all three.

Since I worked until the early afternoon, I bought a ticket for the 18:00 AVE (long distance and high speed). In order to be covered by the train company’s delay coverage, my Cercanías train to get to Madrid had to arrive an hour before departure, so at 17:00. The 16:00 train got there at 16:59, and I did not want to get caught in a technicality if there was a problem, so the aim was taking the 15:30 train. In the end, I was able to get on the 15:00 one, which left at around 15:20…

When I bought the ticket, I was issued a QR code which should have allowed me in and out of the commuter train systems as well as the long- and medium-distance ones. However, it just would not work. At first I thought because maybe it was a tad too early, but it turns out… It just did not work on either station – it did not let me either in or out the commuter train system. During the train rides, I had to take care of the process to check in online and get the codes to access the hotel and the room. It was a one-star hotel, the only thing I had found at a reasonable price for three nights that allowed me to check in late – the last train was due to arrive at 22:28. Since they did not have a physical reception, everything was done electronically.

After I talked to someone to let me out in Madrid Atocha, I went for ice-cream outside the station, and a sandwich to go so I could have dinner on the train or after arrival. Then, I went back to check out a magazine shop and buy the September numbers of National Geographic and Muy Interesante, both of which talked about dinosaurs, and there went my idea to be productive during actual travelling time. It turned out all right though, because in three out of the four long rides I ended up seating backwards, which means I get motion-sick if I look at a screen for too long.

After going through security into the AVE boarding area, I tried to find out how to connect with the final train, and I was told that there would be “someone waiting for me to take me to the other train”. I was highly sceptical of this, so once in the AVE I tried again. Once more I was told that there would be someone waiting to signal “connections”.

Guess what? There was nobody. However, I managed to easily find the correct track and my seat with a few minutes to spare – fortunately, I was travelling light. It is possible that the train waited for passengers that were coming from the AVE, but I made it without a problem – I wish I could say without stress. I had however checked online in my hotel, and if I missed the second train, the company would take responsibility, so worst case scenario was having to sleep in Seville on RENFE’s dime, and getting to Cádiz the next morning.

Fortunately though, there were no hiccups. When I finally arrived in Cádiz, about 15 minutes late, I walked towards the hotel, which was less than fifteen minutes on foot. It was around 23:00 when I walked into the room, so the whole trip took about eight hours.

The hotel was a refurbished traditional house built around a patio. The lift – which I used just twice – was just big enough for one person and you had to keep your finger on the button or it would stop. The walls in the common area were covered with azulejo ceramic tiles. The code reader in the main doors reacted quickly. However, it took me a couple of tries to get the code reader at the room working. There were two steps at the room that would threaten my safety if I got distracted – just before and after the door.

The room was bigger than expected for a one-star hotel, it looked reasonably clean, and it had enough sockets. There was a table, which was a little wobbly but did not fall during my stay there, and a small fridge which would be very handy.

What would a normal person do? Eat their sandwich, have a shower and go to bed, right? I did have the sandwich, but almost immediately I went out again. I had to say hello to the Atlantic Ocean. I was closer to the harbour, but instead I crossed the whole city centre until I reached the promenade Paseo del Vendaval, thus called because the little bit of the Atlantic in front of the town is called Mar del Vendaval (Sea of the Gale). The weather was not hot, but humid, and my long sleeves got a bit stuck to my skin. I had forgotten that sensation. I also had a weird feeling of familiarity. A lot of things had changed, but the layout of the town was still the same, so I sort-of knew where I was, though nothing was exactly what I remembered…

Promenade in Cádiz

I walked along the promenade and reached the cathedral Catedral de la Santa Cruz, where I hung out a little. Then headed out for the square where the town hall Casa Consistorial stands. It was way past midnight, so I thought I should head back to the hotel. This time I had no problem making either pin code work, and took the stairs to get to my room on the third floor – it was good exercise after so long crammed in a train. I then finally took my shower and went to sleep.

Cádiz at night

11th – 14th September 2024: A trip to Cádiz, Jerez de la Frontera and Puerto Real (Spain) {Escapade to Cádiz, September 2024}

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I used to live in the Cádiz area when I was younger, and since life is complicated, both living and leaving there were hard. Thus, although it is a beautiful area, I had never been back until this trip. I was never brave enough – I feared that the bad memories would be too much to deal with.

However, this time around, I had a long weekend and I decided to rip the bandage and get there. There was a piece of paperwork from my time there that had been misplaced and I had been trying to get there to fix the issue online to no avail. It is a long trip, but I thought that if I took a train after work, I would “waste” the afternoon / evening travelling, and then I would have three days to (re)explore. So I left on Wednesday the 11th and returned on Saturday the 14th, both in the late afternoon – leaving me with two days and a half in the area. Even if it was back to school season already, prices were crazy, so spending Saturday night over there would be too expensive – I later found out there was a congress in Cádiz, and an event in the Jerez F1 circuit.

I bought trains from Madrid to Cádiz with a change in Seville. In the outbound trip, I had seven whooping minutes for the change, and for the return journey just about an hour. However, I still had to get to and from Madrid, so in the end it was three trains and around eight hours on the go each time!

Spoiler alert – everything went well. Except the commuter train tickets.

8th September 2024: Dinosaur FOMO (Guadalajara, Spain)

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Whenever I’m reasonably close to dinosaur stuff, I have to check it out, I just can’t help myself. About a year ago, I attended DinoExpo XXL in Guadalajara, which turned out to be rather disappointing. Apparently, the town hosts dinosaur exhibits in time with the yearly festivals – they must be profitable. I read about Dinosaurs Tour (or Jurassic Expo, according to the banners), and I thought I would skip it, but in the end… in the end I just had to go and see it, because the Fear of Missing Out was strong. Maybe this time over it would be cool…

The exhibit was small, and while some of the models were correctly covered with feathers, a few were mislabelled to conform to the popular imaginary (way more of a cash cow than anything scientific). The usual suspects were Tyrannosaurus Rex, brachiosaurus, pachycephalosaurus, iguanodon, parasaurolophus… For some reason, there was a stegosaurus half climbing a tree, and a few Jurassic Park inspired reproductions: questionably-represented dilophosaurus and too-big velociraptors. Something new was a sarcosuchus, a giant crocodile ancestor. Oh, and something I was completely unable to identify… like a diplodocus with a beak and spikes… Maybe it tried to be a homage to Littlefoot?

Dinosaur Tour Guadalajara

The lights made everything look weird, too, because there was a lot of colourful – pink, blue, green – lighting which made it for a very disco-like atmosphere. It was not a big or good exhibit – not even the toddlers were extremely impressed, but as I said: Fear Of Missing Out gets the best out of me when it’s about dinosaurs. Next time though, I’ll try to get over the FOMO, because I think they’ll just bring a wall lizard and call it a Velociraptor.