Doer & Dreamer

Madrid has countless great museums, but a certain subset really appeal to Doer’s engineer brain. This city, like much of urban Spain, has a great public transit system based largely on different kinds of trains. There is actually a long history to the railroad here, and we set out to explore it a bit. Our first stop: the Museo del Ferrocarril, near modern-day Atocha station in the disused Delicias station, dedicated to the history of Spanish rail. All Spanish railways and this museum are overseen by RENFE, the Spanish national rail operator. The museum is a living history of nearly

Before we moved to Madrid, we heard that we could expect 9 months of winter followed by 3 months of hell, and we have found that to be more or less true. Therefore, we tried to explore in and around our new city as much as possible last autumn, when the weather reached that ephemeral period that is neither too hot nor too cold. October 12 was Hispanic Day, or what we know in America as Columbus Day. It celebrates pretty much the same thing here: the discovery of America, plus the greatness of the Spanish empire. Several perfectly-calibrated projectors were

We are no strangers to parades. When we lived in the Valencian Community last year, there seemed to be one every weekend. But we hadn’t seen any locals take to the streets in the first months after our move to Madrid last summer. In October, however, that changed – in a big way. Despite our repeated exposure to traditional dress, musicians, fireworks, and the occasional horse in Valencian parades, we were in no way prepared to see thousands of animals making their way through a major world capital. The Fiesta de la Transhumancia, or Transhumance Festival, is a nod to

Last October, after saying goodbye to Dreamer’s brother and his wife, we decided to take advantage of the lovely fall weather and appreciatethe beauty of Madrid from above. Madrid’s Cable Car, el Teleférico, begins its ascent a mere 15 minutes from our apartment, in the Parque del Oeste. After boarding, Dreamer did a quick mental safety check: is there anything we should be worried about on this kind of ride? With her mind at ease (or at least realizing we were powerless at this point to get off), we were free to enjoy the views. The ride gave us a