Starbucks

What an interesting place - -now I live in Seattle so Starbucks is a staple.  I like there coffee, it is always the same wherever I get it in the States.  I am assured that my ventí vanilla soy extra hot latte in Seattle tastes just like the one I get in NYC, or in Orange County.  I like that.  Plus, it is a good drink.  BUT – Starbucks epitomizes AMERICAN COFFEE to me, and I have always been of the understanding that Europeans make fun of American coffee – it is watered down, tastes like urine, blah blah blah.  And yet, everwhere I turn in London and in Madrid I find a starbucks.  I have gone to the one right next to my hotel in Madrid every morning and ordered una Grande Café Latte con Vannila y leche de soy (grande because that is the biggest size they have).  Everything is familiar.  The furniture, the art, the uniforms, (the napkins are a bit lighter in color and are made in the Netherlands, but we can’t be too picky).  I am a happy American.  I get to drink my American coffee and fully expect to be surrounded by my fellow American tourists drinking there American coffee.  But no.  Instead it is full of LOCALS, tons of Spanish people, ordering Café Latte’s like it is a normal thing, as if they actually like the coffee.  Am I crazy?  If I go to a regular café and get coffee – it is EUROPEAN coffee.  I love that too, but it is a totally different animal.  This is Starbucks.  I feel a double standard here, and I just don’t get it.

Mission Failed

Madrid and snow don’t mix.  Neither does me attempting to speak Spanish.  My plan today was to go to the Modern Art museum - -it is this cool tall greenish glass building (or so they said when it was pointed out to me).  I asked the concierge for directions to it – simple, 15 minute walk, here it is…  I even made sure to say, it is the big tall greenish glass building – he said yes.   I start on my way, it was FREEZING, snowing, and I big chunks were falling from the trees.  But I wanted to go, so I trudged down avenida del prado (south) for about 1 ½ km.  When I get there, I see a nice fountain in the circle, the train station (pretty neat building actually) and this awesome castle like building surrounded by a gate – this was supposedly the modern art museum.. hmm – not what I was told.  Searching for an entrance was hard – there were guards everywhere.  Finally after ¾ of a walk around the entire structure (it is like 4 city blocks) I find a public entrance with 7 armed guards in it.  WOW.  A sign read: registration and informacíon.  I was definitely in the wrong place, men in business suits with briefcase were walking in and out. There were metal detectors.  It looked like a court house or some other fancy government building.  I looked around for another 45 minutes or so but was unable to figure out where the museum was and the map was totally useless and soaked.  

So I trudged back home, bought 1.5L of water for Euro 1.20 – at the hotel 330mL would have cost Euro 5 and now I’m waiting for an acceptable time to head to the airport.  It isn’t worth fighting the snow and I feel like shit.

I am definitely ready to get outta Madrid…  Praga, here I come.