Travel Log
Archive for the ‘Spain’ Category
Today is my last day in Portugal. I am on the overnite train from Lisbon to Portugal that leaves Lisbon at 22:00. Part of the trip is in a first-class seat, the remainder is in a bed. The train arrives in Madrid at 08:30.
Taking an overnight train was something that I was looking forward to since it's something pretty much unheard of in the United States. I must admit that I had visions of "Orient Express" and its opulence even though I new I was ridding in a shared 4-person room that would be far from elegant. Sitting in the train station (Santa Apolónia) with my bags piled at my feet I felt pretty good that I was starting to get the hang of train travel. I was at the station an hour before my 20:00 departure having already taken the train from Oreias to Lisbon that afternoon. Unfortunately the Oreias train arrives at Cais do Sodré and the international trains leave from Santa Apolónia. Its about a 3 mile hike between the two stations since the metro between them is still under construction. I'd left myself about 6 hours between arrival and departure so it wasn't really an issue. I'd spent most of the afternoon wandering around the Rossio shopping area and stopping in a nice café for a few beers and a late lunch/early dinner.
So the time comes to board the Lisbon to Madrid train and everyone piles aboard. The attendant in the car helped make sure that everyone found the correct berths. It turned out that I was sharing a room with guys from Japan, Australia, and Great Britain. Everyone spoke English much to my relief. Since it was already late, everyone was off to bed in short order. The room, although small, was comfortable with bunks on both sides of the door. The window, which had the curtains closed, was at the opposite end of the compartment from the door. A washbasin and hanging closet where next to the window. For someone used to living on a boat the space didn't seem too confined even with for people and all of their bags. I was surprised that I quickly feel asleep and didn't wake until we were about an hour outside of Madrid. In total it was a 10-hour trip and turned out to be fairly relaxing. I'll definitely plan on using an overnight train for any long trips that I need to take in the future.
I arrived in Madrid at Estación de Chamartin almost exactly on time. Trains so far have been very punctual for both local and long-distance travel. The US airlines could sure learn a few things about scheduling from these folks.
The train station is in the northern part of Madrid and my hostel (MAD Hostel) was in city center. The trip into town was easily accomplished by metro with only one line change. Coming up out of the metro station I pulled out my trusty directions and the required city map I’m ready to head off for the hostel. I’ve started collecting a city map from each Tourist Information office before ever leaving the train station. Unfortunately, the streets around the metro station were nothing like what I saw around me. Okay, now what? Just start walking is my usual method of figuring out where I am. I’ve discovered that there are so any small streets in the historic sections of town that the tourist maps only depict about one out of every six of them. That, coupled with a distinct lack of street signs, can make navigation a challenge. This particular adventure was quickly solved. After wandering down the street for a couple of hundred yards I came upon another entrance to the same station. Ooooops… I exited the station at the wrong place. After locating the correct exit it was easy to follow my directions the 8 blocks to the hostel.
I'm planning on doing a side trip to Toledo on Friday. Toldeo is the capital of the province and has a huge mount of interesting historical sites. Its about 1 hour 15 minutes outside of Madrid.
