Top Ten Questions I asked the National Palace tour guide

Top ten questions I asked the tour guide at the National Palace in Madrid

1. Does the Spanish Royal Family have as much inbreeding in it as the British Royal
Family?

2. Who are the most obnoxious; Americans, Brits, or French?

3. How many blow jobs did you have to give the King to get the tour guide gig?

4. She pointed out a reception room that Kofi Annan was visiting next week, and Vladimir
Putin had been in the previous week. I asked er how drunk Putin was.

5. Why are there more mullets and rattails among the Madrid male population than at a
NASCAR race?

Ok, so I can only recall five of my questions right now.


I didn't find and mimes to spit on this time around. I guess I need to go back to Italy.


Seville was quite lovely, instantly became one of my favorite European cities. The
Alhambra was awe inspiring, though the hippie vibe in Granada was a bit much. Madrid was ordinary, other than the three biggie museums and quite possibly the nicest public park I've ever been/run in. Toledo just seemed like a collection of souvenir stands.

And we caught a very cool show in Madrid by Jayhawks' singer Gary Louris, who played with
Golden Smog mate Kraig Johnson and a Spanish dude on drums. Was very cool to see 250-300 Madrilenos in a packed house, singing Jayhawks songs word for word…though of course that would probably be very cheesy if it were here. Was also great to see nobody use a cell phone for a whole show, and for the people in the back (where we were) to keep their yaps shut the whole show. And also cool that the Spaniards are so short, I had no trouble seeing the stage, even from the back.


And I picked up the new Drive By Truckers album in Madrid, a month before it comes out in
the States.


Did I miss any good music commentary or board squabbling?

I saw Presuntos Implicados when I was in Madrid. They are cool if you are heavily into the Miami Sound Machine

I was in Toledo last year. I really liked the Stuckeys.

did you go to Segovia? a trip to Madrid improves if you visit Segovia as well.

That was easily my favorite part of my trip. Rounding that corner into the center of town and seeing the aquaduct fully take shape is one of my favorite memories every. Simply amazing.

Originally posted by Barcelona:
did you go to Segovia? a trip to Madrid improves if you visit Segovia as well.

We considered it, but instead opted for the shorter commute to Toledo. In retrospect, we should have chosen Segovia over Toledo, even if Toledo does have a nice Stuckeys.

Originally posted by Barcelona:
did you go to Segovia? a trip to Madrid improves if you visit Segovia as well.

Now that you have visited the two largest cities in Spain, which one do you prefer? good to know the view of people from other countries to see what needs to be improved.

nkotb, I agree about Segovia, it still might be my favorite small sized old city in the country.

The basque country is also great.

man, i am sorry i missed out this attempt by Rhett to be funny…damn.

Well I think both my wife and I decided that it's too stressful to visit large cities in foreign countries, and I prefer smaller cities and towns. Though we both still love Paris.

Madrid reminded me of Rome, though I haven't been to Rome in perhaps eight years. The sidewalks were very packed with people. Just too much activity and too many people packed too tightly together. And people walking in slow motion.

And it was quite tough being a staunchy anti-smoking vegetarian.

That being said, I think we preferred Barcelona. Though Madrid had the best museums and park, Barcelona didn't seem as crazy. And Barcelona seemed to have better vegatarian options. Madrid seemed to be more old school Spain, which was interesting, but Barcelona was more cosmopolitan in vibe, which fit our taste better I think.

How would YOU compare Madrid and Barcelona? It's really difficult to compare two cities you've only spent a few days in.

Originally posted by Barcelona:
Now that you have visited the two largest cities in Spain, which one do you prefer? good to know the view of people from other countries to see what needs to be improved.

nkotb, I agree about Segovia, it still might be my favorite small sized old city in the country.

The basque country is also great.

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer:
Did I miss any good music commentary or board squabbling?

Music commentary, no. Some minor squabbling with two new female boardies. We actually missed you, if only because you're our lightning rod.

Originally posted by Julian, faux celeb-porn CONNOISSEUR:

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer:
Did I miss any good music commentary or board squabbling?

Music commentary, no. Some minor squabbling with two new female boardies. We actually missed you, if only because you're our lightning rod.

speak for yourself

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer:
Well I think both my wife and I decided that it's too stressful to visit large cities in foreign countries, and I prefer smaller cities and towns. Though we both still love Paris.

Madrid reminded me of Rome, though I haven't been to Rome in perhaps eight years. The sidewalks were very packed with people. Just too much activity and too many people packed too tightly together. And people walking in slow motion.

And it was quite tough being a staunchy anti-smoking vegetarian.

That being said, I think we preferred Barcelona. Though Madrid had the best museums and park, Barcelona didn't seem as crazy. And Barcelona seemed to have better vegatarian options. Madrid seemed to be more old school Spain, which was interesting, but Barcelona was more cosmopolitan in vibe, which fit our taste better I think.

How would YOU compare Madrid and Barcelona? It's really difficult to compare two cities you've only spent a few days in.

Originally posted by Barcelona:
Now that you have visited the two largest cities in Spain, which one do you prefer? good to know the view of people from other countries to see what needs to be improved.

nkotb, I agree about Segovia, it still might be my favorite small sized old city in the country.

The basque country is also great.

I can't give an objective comparison, was born in Barcelona and lived there for over 25 years until I moved to the US and then to Latin America.

I prefer Barcelona, it is a coastal city and decent mountains are two hours away driving. Madrid is flat and the surrounding areas are pretty flat as well with no sea nearby. Architectonically, I also prefer Barcelona, Guadi and the modernists of the late XIX century left the city with some astonishing buildings (one of my favorite things in Barcelona is to walk at nights by the modernist areas of Barcelona).

However, people tend to see Madrid as much more vibrant, nightlife in Madrid is said to be much, much better than Barcelona's, which could perfectly be the case. As for recent developments, the Olympic Games in 92 changed Barcelona and allowed it to rediscover some of the best parts in the city, the old neighborhoods that had been a bit neglected in recent decades. On the other side the right wing government in the mid and late nineties in Spain did its best to put Madrid ahead of Barcelona with all its excellent museums. Two different cities, but have always liked the fact that Madrid has been historically tied to Franco while Barcelona was one the main opposition center, along with the Basque Country, to the dictatorship.

However, I hate all the nationalism in Barcelona right now, I just don't care anymore whether my passport says that I am from Spain or Catalonia, couldn't care less. The fight over whether Catalonia can be called a nation in its "constitution" is becoming one of stupidest things to argue about. Both the right wing and catholic church in Madrid and nationalists in Catalonia are acting as true assholes, which is what they are. In general, I like to hear people's criticisms of Barcelona to see what needs to be improved.

Is it possible you're a bit biased since your name is Barcelona?


Swish. Count it!

Thanks for your unobjective opinion, Barcelona.

I liked visiting Madrid because of the museums (I'm not much for the nightlife.). But I think I would actually prefer living in Barcelona for the reasons you state: the interesting architecture and proximity to mountains and sea.

Experts agree, Spain is gay.

I made it pretty clear in the first sentence that it is impossible to give an objective opinion. But still glad you were not disappointed by Barcelona.

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer:

And it was quite tough being a staunchy anti-smoking vegetarian.

boo-hoo.

i concur with the segovia statements. as for barcelona, admittedly i was there just before the olympics which probably explains itself, i did not care for it at all. there really wasn't anything memorable, to me, in barcelona. i will instantly remember the flat plains of castille, and the alcazar in segovia, the alhambra in granada and even wandering around sevilla at 3 in the morning trying to find a cab. i would rather spend time in madrid, sevilla and granada (gypsy kicking included). again, i was in barcelona just before the olympics, so the city was probably not at its best.

I'll still take Barcelona, if I were going there to live. It's not like you're going to be hanging out at the AlHambra or alcazar on a daily basis.

Why would you need to take a cab in such a small walkable city as Seville?

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer:

And it was quite tough being a staunchy anti-smoking vegetarian.

boo-hoo.

i concur with the segovia statements. as for barcelona, admittedly i was there just before the olympics which probably explains itself, i did not care for it at all. there really wasn't anything memorable, to me, in barcelona. i will instantly remember the flat plains of castille, and the alcazar in segovia, the alhambra in granada and even wandering around sevilla at 3 in the morning trying to find a cab. i would rather spend time in madrid, sevilla and granada (gypsy kicking included). again, i was in barcelona just before the olympics, so the city was probably not at its best.

The basque country is also great.

couldn't agree more - spent some time in Bilbao, San Seb and Elizondo (just outside Pamplona) last year and loved every minute of it