Blog: Pre-Celtic Invasion, Caledonia (Video) (Patreon)

11 June

I’m in Madrid. Madrid was different than I expected.  I thought it would be less green. The train ride had a lot of brown much of the way interspersed with farms.  But Madrid feels like many European cities. It’s bustling with life and even quite a few parks located just a few blocks from the train station. 

It was a smooth trip here. I left early on Wednesday to avoid any late afternoon weather delays where I flew to Boston, then Barcelona. I watched 2 episodes of Rings of Power before switching to Star Trek Strange New Worlds since I haven’t seen that show yet. 

I had about three hours until my Airbnb opened. So I walked from the station. I found a mostly used book market a few blocks away. There was a big park. I thought about stopping and just relaxing in the beautiful warm weather. But I was hungry. So I headed to a cafe. 

My one goal was to eat outside, okay, maybe also to find a tapa or two. I found a lovely cafe across from the botanical gardens. 

I walked to the entrance and when the red-headed waitress asked something, I  accidentally responded, “Oui.” 

She perked up and replied in French, “parlez vous Francais?” I fumbled words to speak. What language were we talking? I responded, “no I speak English”.

I kind of regretted that. Yes she was fluent in English. But I kind of relish having a foreign menu that I don’t understand. She gave me the English one. Oh well. 

I ordered a sangria and some pickled mussels and soaked up the weather. I ate slow and somehow a good hour and a half passed slowly and deliciously. I also ate a zucchini carpaccio. Both were delicious. 

As I was about to depart, I learned the waitress was French, studying in Madrid. She recommended the city center. But alas I didn’t have time to go explore it. So I took a FreeNow taxi to Charmartin area and went to my Airbnb. 

It was a tiny but comfortable room. But it was also warm. No a/c. So I was “forced” to walk around Chamartin. 

Turns out, Chamartin is a residential area. I love seeing how people live, true glimpses of the local culture. This was definitely the place to be. I found a large plaza with families and a few restaurants. It was live with activity as I walked through. I found small food markets all along the main Street thru the region and ate some fresh figs. 

I finally stopped at small bar a dozen blocks from my room. I sat at a sidewalk table, drank a local better and was given olives. But I want super hungry, still full from my late lunch. 

It was still fairly early by Spanish time but I headed back the room to unwind. The warm room and lack of sleep caught up with me. I crashed easily. 

12 June

I woke up early. I got anxious. Instead of going to a cafe to wake up, I caught a cab to the Atocha station. I tried checking. They told me I was at the wrong station. 

In typical me fashion, I forgot that my train was leaving from Chamartin, not Atocha. 

I freaked for a moment but caught a taxi. Good thing I left early. I was dropped off at Chamartin. I scrambled around and finally found my platform. Then I finally got a cafe and croissant and boarded my train. 

I finished Rings of Power by Ourense. That’s when the views from the train really started getting good. I do love mountains and hills more than plains. 

I arrived in Santiago de Compostela right before noon. I was a bit hungry so I reached out to other invaders and walked to meet Jan and Jim for lunch. It took an hour to get there. Not because of the distance but because I had too much fun stopping at shops all the way there. 

Lunch was nice. Always great to catch up with Jan and Jim. the Albariño wine was delicious. Then I slowly headed back to check into my hotel. But not before stopping to record a couple videos: Caledonia and First Rule of Flying.