Travels with V
Madrid
Flamenco – Spain's hot blood
Madrid part three
Flamenco dancing was invented in Andalucia, a part of Spain that was a cultural melting pot in the medieval ages, when arabic, romani, jewish and spanish were blended into a spicy mix. The modern flamenco has developed into a highly sophisticated improvisational dance where the dancer expresses her/his personality using elements from a more than hundred years old tradition.
You can’t describe Madrid and not mention the Retiro park, an oasis right in the middle of the city. In reality it’s actually not much more than a big pond with a great surrounding garden. You’ll find here a bombastic monument for the king Alfonso XII and some exhibition halls. The Madridians love their park and on weekends you’ll see lots of families rowing boats on the pond, having a drink in a café or strolling around bying souvernirs.
On our last half day we set our minds on the Teleférico de Madrid, a cableway to a hilltop in the enormous Casa de Campo park, with great views of the city. But unfortunately it’s too windy that day and the Teleférico is temporarily closed. So instead we wandered around in a nearby rosary with roses from every corner of the world. Each one has a little name tag with the name of the grower that has interbred it.
To conclude: Madrid is a town that you immediately feel that you want to return to. It just has so much to offer to the visitor, architecture, art, food, bars for the thirsty and tapas joints for the hungry.
