Spanish spite and Spanish success
I saw a good deal on some convenient flights a while back, so booked a long weekend in Madrid. I flew right after work on Wednesday, with the plan to do mostly culture, but also to get to the two Madrid parks.
Day 1 - Thursday – Culture in Madrid
Some unbelievably unruly teenagers staying in the hostel kept me (and most of the rest of the hostel) awake all night. I think they were on some sort of school trip, but their teachers sounded like they were barely able to control the little ****. Anyway, this put me in a slightly groggy mood come Thursday morning. The plan for the day way just simple sightseeing, so it wasn’t the end of the world.
I was staying next door to the Palace, so I headed there first. Turns out it was randomly shut for some state event, so I couldn’t go inside as I’d planned (I’d have to save that for another day), but I wandered through the grounds and surrounding parks. It was a little overcast, but area was quite nice really.
I’d recently bought a new wide-angle lens, which I was enjoying using as the clouds cleared and I got some sun!
I also stopped by the Cathedral, which was nice enough. Nothing particularly spectacular:
I wandered through the centre of Madrid towards the Retiro Park, on the way stopping at Plaza Major. This was meant to be “must see” of Madrid, but I have to admit I didn’t think it was anything special. Maybe you need to be there during a festival or something?
Then a couple of pictures from the nice and green Retiro Park. I half expected Madrid to be a lot dustier, but on the whole it wasn’t and this park was green with lots of flowers and trees. They had a boating lake, which seemed quite popular – probably not surprising given the weather.
The big art galleries are free to enter after 6pm, so I had an hour or two to wait before going in (I’m not really ‘into’ art enough to want to pay to go in, although if you were I think they were quite reasonable). I’d heard about a rooftop bar nearby, which I thought might be a nice place to spend an hour or so. It was!
After chilling out there for a bit, I headed into the Prado. It was pretty cool to see all that work, and it’s a very impressive and important collection of art… I just didn’t like very much of it. I’ve never really liked the intense religious art, and there was a lot of that, but some of it was quite impressive if only for the scale of it. I wandered around for a couple of hours in the end, it’s a truly massive place. After that it was back to the hostel and bed, I was knackered.
Day 2 – Friday – Parque de Atracciones de Madrid
I had a lazy morning, as they didn’t open the park until midday, grabbed some breakfast and then just wandered around a little bit before making my way to the park. The park was insanely easy to get to. It was only three stops on the tube from where I was staying, and the entrance is about 500 yards from the station. Brilliant!
I’d bought my ticket in advance, as there were good savings for doing so. As I was waiting for them to open the gates I noticed that one of the information boards at the entrance had a small number of rides listed, one of which was Tornado. I assumed this was the ‘rides closed today’ list – although that was a guess as I speak very little Spanish! Ah well, I was at the park now and would at least get the other credz. Just as they were unlocking the gate, they came with a couple more boards for closed rides, one of which was Abismo. ****! :lol:
I went in and started working my round the park, riding things as I came to them. First the kiddie coaster, then the mine train, then the wild mouse and then into their ‘extreme’ section. I rode the drop tower, which was quite good, but skipped the other flat rides for now. Next on to Tarantula.
I actually really liked this. I think it’s probably my favourite spinner. The layout is long, smooth, varied and hidden. I ended up riding with two small kids the first time, meaning we also got some good spinning going. I particularly liked the second large drop, very exciting!
Walked past Abismo, and realised there was no way it was going to open today. There was no train or engineers to be seen, the ride looked completely kaput. Have a picture anyway:
The same seemed to be the case with Tornado. Only one train the maintenance shed and it was full of water dummies. No way was it going to open. Oh well! I did think when I saw the two signs at the entrance that I might nip back on the last day of my trip, but after seeing the condition of these two rides I decided not to bother coming back – it seemed unlikely they’d be up and running in 48 hours.
I carried on moseying around the park, riding various things as I went. The Star Flyer had a really long cycle, which was nice as the views were really rather good. I also rode the Huss Frisbee. I think it’s the first one of these I’ve actually ridden and I really didn’t enjoy it! I’m not really one for the spinning flat rides at the best of times, but this just knocked the wind out of my sails a bit. It was awful. :lol: At this point I decided to ride the suspended monorail thing, as a chance to relax. I then just did some re-rides on the coasters and mopped up a few of the flats and things. Thankfully the park was DEAD (I had to wait for at least 10 people before they’d run the mine train), so I didn’t have to worry about queues. Just shame about Abismo and Tornado…
I left the park and headed back into Madrid for some food. Came across this market, which my parents and some friends had recommended, so I had some tapas and wine and generally just had a peaceful evening.
Day 3 - Saturday – Parque Warner Madrid
I’d been planning this particular day for a while, as I wasn’t very confident about the travel arrangements. Thankfully, Smithy’s little description a few weeks back helped, and in reality it was a piece of cake. As I’m sure Smithy would, I’m happy to explain it to anyone if they want. A pleasant train and bus later and I’d arrived at Parque Warner.
I headed straight for Stunt Fall, and was on the first train of the day! My first GIB, and it was pretty great. I liked the drop (both forwards and backwards) and the inversions were intense. It also wasn’t anything like as rough as I was expecting. A really good ride.
After being spited the day before, I was keen to get the two B&Ms next – thankfully they were both walk ons. Superman was very good. It vibrated a lot in the high-G areas, but for the most part it was very good. I particularly liked the straight drop, cobra roll and airtime hill. Just a shame about the vibrating, as it would have been amazing if it’d been smooth. Batman was Batman. Forceful, fast and fun like they always are. :lol:
From here I basically just circled the rest of the park riding things as I went. Coaster Express was awful (gave me flashbacks to Mean Streak – looks great but shakes like mad), and I thought the little Mack Youngstar Coaster was excellent. At this point I basically just started re-riding things and picking up some of the flat rides at the same time. I did end up in the Vekoma Madhouse, which I thought was going to be a ghost train at first. Didn’t understand a word of it, but it’s an enjoyable experience and it’s always fun seeing the other guest’s surprise when they don’t know what’s coming.
At this point some big storm clouds started to roll in (you can see the weather turning in that last picture – I took that just as I was leaving), so I decided to make a move back to Madrid before the heavens opened and everyone had the same idea.
After I’d got back to Madrid (again, painless), I went for some food and had a couple of beers. And then a couple more beers. And then one more. I decided I needed to try and sober up a bit before bed, so I went to snap some pictures of Madrid at night.
Day 4 - Sunday – More culture in Madrid
I had to do the usual ‘check out of the hostel and leave my bag in their luggage store’ thing in the morning, but my flight wasn’t until quite late in the evening so I had the whole day still.
I started off by heading into the palace. It was open, and I was very near the front of the line to get in. This was good, as it meant it wasn’t that busy and by the time I’d finished the queue must have been a few hundred people long.
The palace is quite nice, as they usually all are, although some of the décor was questionable! Unfortunately once you’ve gone into the proper bit of the palace you’re not allowed to take any pictures (there were so few people in there the guards were easily able to spot people trying to sneak pictures), so I just took some from the main staircase.
I then went and enjoyed the sun in the main courtyard for a bit.
I did then head towards the ‘famous’ market, but I don’t really like markets at the best of times and it was stupidly busy and full of crap. I basically just walked past it – couldn’t be arsed.
Finally I headed to the Reina Sofia – the modern art gallery. This was again free at certain times, and on Sundays this was after 13:30. I spent a few hours wandering around there, but most of the art was ****. There were a few nice pieces, but not really my cup of tea. I did find one room playing Buster Keaton movies (which apparently counts as art), so I sat and watched that for a little while as they always enjoyable.
I was starting to feel pretty worn out at this point, so I headed back to the hostel and got my bag. Grabbed some food and then headed to the airport. I had a few hours to wait, but the terminal was very quiet so it was nice to have a bit of down time before the flight.
A nice long weekend. Got spited at PDAM, had great success at PWM and enjoyed the ‘culture’, so all in all it was a good trip.
That’s all, thanks for reading!
I saw a good deal on some convenient flights a while back, so booked a long weekend in Madrid. I flew right after work on Wednesday, with the plan to do mostly culture, but also to get to the two Madrid parks.
Day 1 - Thursday – Culture in Madrid
Some unbelievably unruly teenagers staying in the hostel kept me (and most of the rest of the hostel) awake all night. I think they were on some sort of school trip, but their teachers sounded like they were barely able to control the little ****. Anyway, this put me in a slightly groggy mood come Thursday morning. The plan for the day way just simple sightseeing, so it wasn’t the end of the world.
I was staying next door to the Palace, so I headed there first. Turns out it was randomly shut for some state event, so I couldn’t go inside as I’d planned (I’d have to save that for another day), but I wandered through the grounds and surrounding parks. It was a little overcast, but area was quite nice really.
I’d recently bought a new wide-angle lens, which I was enjoying using as the clouds cleared and I got some sun!
I also stopped by the Cathedral, which was nice enough. Nothing particularly spectacular:
I wandered through the centre of Madrid towards the Retiro Park, on the way stopping at Plaza Major. This was meant to be “must see” of Madrid, but I have to admit I didn’t think it was anything special. Maybe you need to be there during a festival or something?
Then a couple of pictures from the nice and green Retiro Park. I half expected Madrid to be a lot dustier, but on the whole it wasn’t and this park was green with lots of flowers and trees. They had a boating lake, which seemed quite popular – probably not surprising given the weather.
The big art galleries are free to enter after 6pm, so I had an hour or two to wait before going in (I’m not really ‘into’ art enough to want to pay to go in, although if you were I think they were quite reasonable). I’d heard about a rooftop bar nearby, which I thought might be a nice place to spend an hour or so. It was!
After chilling out there for a bit, I headed into the Prado. It was pretty cool to see all that work, and it’s a very impressive and important collection of art… I just didn’t like very much of it. I’ve never really liked the intense religious art, and there was a lot of that, but some of it was quite impressive if only for the scale of it. I wandered around for a couple of hours in the end, it’s a truly massive place. After that it was back to the hostel and bed, I was knackered.
Day 2 – Friday – Parque de Atracciones de Madrid
I had a lazy morning, as they didn’t open the park until midday, grabbed some breakfast and then just wandered around a little bit before making my way to the park. The park was insanely easy to get to. It was only three stops on the tube from where I was staying, and the entrance is about 500 yards from the station. Brilliant!
I’d bought my ticket in advance, as there were good savings for doing so. As I was waiting for them to open the gates I noticed that one of the information boards at the entrance had a small number of rides listed, one of which was Tornado. I assumed this was the ‘rides closed today’ list – although that was a guess as I speak very little Spanish! Ah well, I was at the park now and would at least get the other credz. Just as they were unlocking the gate, they came with a couple more boards for closed rides, one of which was Abismo. ****! :lol:
I went in and started working my round the park, riding things as I came to them. First the kiddie coaster, then the mine train, then the wild mouse and then into their ‘extreme’ section. I rode the drop tower, which was quite good, but skipped the other flat rides for now. Next on to Tarantula.
I actually really liked this. I think it’s probably my favourite spinner. The layout is long, smooth, varied and hidden. I ended up riding with two small kids the first time, meaning we also got some good spinning going. I particularly liked the second large drop, very exciting!
Walked past Abismo, and realised there was no way it was going to open today. There was no train or engineers to be seen, the ride looked completely kaput. Have a picture anyway:
The same seemed to be the case with Tornado. Only one train the maintenance shed and it was full of water dummies. No way was it going to open. Oh well! I did think when I saw the two signs at the entrance that I might nip back on the last day of my trip, but after seeing the condition of these two rides I decided not to bother coming back – it seemed unlikely they’d be up and running in 48 hours.
I carried on moseying around the park, riding various things as I went. The Star Flyer had a really long cycle, which was nice as the views were really rather good. I also rode the Huss Frisbee. I think it’s the first one of these I’ve actually ridden and I really didn’t enjoy it! I’m not really one for the spinning flat rides at the best of times, but this just knocked the wind out of my sails a bit. It was awful. :lol: At this point I decided to ride the suspended monorail thing, as a chance to relax. I then just did some re-rides on the coasters and mopped up a few of the flats and things. Thankfully the park was DEAD (I had to wait for at least 10 people before they’d run the mine train), so I didn’t have to worry about queues. Just shame about Abismo and Tornado…
I left the park and headed back into Madrid for some food. Came across this market, which my parents and some friends had recommended, so I had some tapas and wine and generally just had a peaceful evening.
Day 3 - Saturday – Parque Warner Madrid
I’d been planning this particular day for a while, as I wasn’t very confident about the travel arrangements. Thankfully, Smithy’s little description a few weeks back helped, and in reality it was a piece of cake. As I’m sure Smithy would, I’m happy to explain it to anyone if they want. A pleasant train and bus later and I’d arrived at Parque Warner.
I headed straight for Stunt Fall, and was on the first train of the day! My first GIB, and it was pretty great. I liked the drop (both forwards and backwards) and the inversions were intense. It also wasn’t anything like as rough as I was expecting. A really good ride.
After being spited the day before, I was keen to get the two B&Ms next – thankfully they were both walk ons. Superman was very good. It vibrated a lot in the high-G areas, but for the most part it was very good. I particularly liked the straight drop, cobra roll and airtime hill. Just a shame about the vibrating, as it would have been amazing if it’d been smooth. Batman was Batman. Forceful, fast and fun like they always are. :lol:
From here I basically just circled the rest of the park riding things as I went. Coaster Express was awful (gave me flashbacks to Mean Streak – looks great but shakes like mad), and I thought the little Mack Youngstar Coaster was excellent. At this point I basically just started re-riding things and picking up some of the flat rides at the same time. I did end up in the Vekoma Madhouse, which I thought was going to be a ghost train at first. Didn’t understand a word of it, but it’s an enjoyable experience and it’s always fun seeing the other guest’s surprise when they don’t know what’s coming.
At this point some big storm clouds started to roll in (you can see the weather turning in that last picture – I took that just as I was leaving), so I decided to make a move back to Madrid before the heavens opened and everyone had the same idea.
After I’d got back to Madrid (again, painless), I went for some food and had a couple of beers. And then a couple more beers. And then one more. I decided I needed to try and sober up a bit before bed, so I went to snap some pictures of Madrid at night.
Day 4 - Sunday – More culture in Madrid
I had to do the usual ‘check out of the hostel and leave my bag in their luggage store’ thing in the morning, but my flight wasn’t until quite late in the evening so I had the whole day still.
I started off by heading into the palace. It was open, and I was very near the front of the line to get in. This was good, as it meant it wasn’t that busy and by the time I’d finished the queue must have been a few hundred people long.
The palace is quite nice, as they usually all are, although some of the décor was questionable! Unfortunately once you’ve gone into the proper bit of the palace you’re not allowed to take any pictures (there were so few people in there the guards were easily able to spot people trying to sneak pictures), so I just took some from the main staircase.
I then went and enjoyed the sun in the main courtyard for a bit.
I did then head towards the ‘famous’ market, but I don’t really like markets at the best of times and it was stupidly busy and full of crap. I basically just walked past it – couldn’t be arsed.
Finally I headed to the Reina Sofia – the modern art gallery. This was again free at certain times, and on Sundays this was after 13:30. I spent a few hours wandering around there, but most of the art was ****. There were a few nice pieces, but not really my cup of tea. I did find one room playing Buster Keaton movies (which apparently counts as art), so I sat and watched that for a little while as they always enjoyable.
I was starting to feel pretty worn out at this point, so I headed back to the hostel and got my bag. Grabbed some food and then headed to the airport. I had a few hours to wait, but the terminal was very quiet so it was nice to have a bit of down time before the flight.
A nice long weekend. Got spited at PDAM, had great success at PWM and enjoyed the ‘culture’, so all in all it was a good trip.
That’s all, thanks for reading!
I heard many stories about the ride being closed.
It was at a place called Circulo de Bellas Artes, which was near-ish the Prado. I sort of stumbled across it to be honest, you wouldn't have known it was there. I think I came across it looking for something like "best views of Madrid".
