madrid, comunidad de madrid (ii)

so 14 months after i left, i was back in madrid. i was here in a long transit flying between milan and new york city.

in one way madrid made me feeling all sentimental. in another way it was like i never leave. when i read the signs and names of places and metro stops, it took me back to all the memories i have there. it really felt like i left a huge chunk of my heart in the city. but in the metro stations, changing lines, it was as if i was always there. i stayed one night at the place i used to live for months. arriving at my stop, i remembered clearly every single thing, the route i used to take every single day and all the things around. like i never left.

madrid was the first city i lived in before i moved to live in milan, paris, and rome. so i couldn't help but automatically paying attention to things around me. my attentions were drawn to many mundane things like the feeling of the houses there, how people decorate their houses, the proportion of the streets i walked in, the way people dress, the way people talk. after living in other places that were so different, it's like you got to know better the real character of the city.

i spent my time visiting places i used to go. it felt so achingly familiar. like every single memory would pop up in my head. it of course didn't feel the same without everyone there. and of course it will never be the same again. it felt like a phase that has passed. a good one. a hell of a good one. i will always treasure madrid as one of my best periods in life, as one of the best cities i've ever lived in.

madrid, if i could hug you i would.

granada, andalucía.

granada was a bit different than what i've always imagined andalusia would look like, but it was charming in its own way. granada has alhambra as its anchor, then it has the charming city-like city center, then it also has albaicín, a medieval moorish district with its narrow streets and white wash walls.

i was there during the semana santa (holy week of easter), so there were parades day and night. it happened on several spots at the same time all over the city center. what amazed me were not only the costumes and props, the transcendental music played by the marching bands, but also the participation of the citizen, ranging from four year old kids to young men to old people. i admire the urban participation in this kind of city event. it's like they feel belong to the city and the city belong to them. it felt similar with the calendimaggio in assisi that i went to two years ago. maybe the feeling still struck me until this day because i long to feel so too. to belong to a city.

córdoba, andalucía.

cordoba was another city that i planned to visit for an architectural pilgrimage. i still remember the sketches of mezquita-catedral di córdoba on one of the very first architectural books we're studying with. but being there for only half a day and during the holy week, i missed the chance to really explore the site. i got the chance to get inside the hall they're using for the holy week mess for only like five minutes. but even only for that short visit inside, for me it was one of the most beautiful church i have been to, if not the most. it was once a mosque then converted into a cathedral, it has a unique style of architecture with the mediterranean color palette. it was so beautiful it fascinated me and i knew i would have to go back to cordoba just to walk and see the entire building.

bilbao, país vasco.

bilbao has always been known as the precedent of how architecture works as an urban acupuncture reviving a city from a comma. it is amazing how the government initiated and invested on architecture and the city planning.

many famous architects were assigned to design buildings in the city to change the industrialist city into a modern city for art and culture. out of all these architectural pieces, i was stunned mostly by the metro system, which was designed by sir norman foster. the metro, which only has two lines, was built with such elegant minimalistic style. the material is mainly concrete, the graphic element consists only of one red color as its theme, the station uses simple horizontal light along the corridor, and even the train was designed accordingly. it has to be the most gorgeous metro system in the world.

as a person who is usually not attracted by big fancy architectural pieces, i enjoyed bilbao the way it is. and even without the fancy architecture, i enjoyed walking the city in its art-deco-ish style that dominates the façade of the streets. combines with its geographical location and the rainy weather when i was there, the city was pleasing to the eye. my trip to bilbao was initially planned as some kind of an architectural pilgrimage visiting the guggenheim which has been one of the most famous icons of the industry. now let me say that bilbao is much more than just the guggenheim.

mad about mad.rid

in the end, you are the city you're living in. you are the people you get to see everyday. you are the things you encounter on daily basis. you are the sunrise and the sunset you enjoy. you are the mundane beauty you experience.

after one and a half month being here, i can say that although madrid is not a spectacle city like other major cities like paris or barcelona, it has a quality that you can't explain. it might not be a major tourist destination with spectacular landmarks or certain architectural typology for people to enjoy, but as a city to live in on daily basis, madrid is great place to be. madrid is about the people you meet and the streets you walk on. it's about the atmosphere and the diversity that you can find here. it doesn't have certain stereotype, it leaves spaces for people to interpret.
 
i have to say that now i know madrid a lil better than i've known my own city. because of the subject i've been studying, i got to dissect madrid from a lot of aspects from the history, the growth of the city, the behavior of the people, the urban fabric, the on progress development, and etc. it has been great learning from some of the best people in the industry. i got to learn from the master who did the master plan of the city back in the day to the young madrileño who's in the game of current and future technology.

although madrid doesn't offer any specific spectacular landmark, the city offers so many places to see and to experience. from the historical garden and museums, the quirky districts, bars and cafés, business districts, interesting squares, open air markets, refurbished spaces, cool architecture, and so many more. in the end there's so many things you got and you have to experience you can't help but getting more and more into the city each day.

toledo, castile-la mancha

stepping foot in toledo just off the train reminded me instantly of assisi in umbria, italy. initially i thought to myself that assisi is way more beautiful but in the end it wouldn't be fair to compare.

it was such a joy being here as it's my first trip outside madrid and it's a completely different city with how madrid is as an urban metropolitan. the peacefulness. the chill. the group of musicians playing at the square. the street musician playing cello in front of a cafeteria. children playing bubbles. and when you look up to the sky you can see how the clouds moving slowly against the bluest sky. it is as if they're all trying to tell you how good it is to be alive.

madrid, españa.

i didn't expect madrid to be the third largest city in europe. personally i would prefer a smaller scale city where it would be simpler to be identified and explored. but on the third day being here i'm starting to like it. the winter is bearable, the streets are walkable, and what you see around architecturally and design wise is pleasing to the eye. i might not be able to perceive the whole city by only being here for 2.5 months and though i certainly feel less like home compared to when i was in italy, but i'm sure i will miss it one day when i have to leave.