Arcticterntalk.org

The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world

Archive for the tag “barajas”

28 Jun 2016
2 Comments

A few thoughts on a few hours in Madrid


I have posted a few articles this year on Madrid. A great city but a warm one. Recently I had a few hours to myself to walk around and that goes quickly in Madrid. Who cares where I walked but it was on the edge of Gran Via.

IMG_4299A few things struck me:

  1. This is a seriously hot city. Temperatures that day were a medium 30c at maximum but it felt hotter, what we call dry heat. In the summer I am told 45c is not unusual. Now that is too hot to be walking aroundFullSizeRender-5
  2. Prices for ice creams are a disgrace. In general Spain is not an expensive city at all, in fact relatively cheap, but to be asked for 3.20 euros for an ice cream cone is criminal.
  3. Everyone still seems to smoke here. This is not backed up in the official statistics of course, but just take a walk and take a look. FullSizeRender-6
  4. Spanish food is curious frankly. They never seem to want to heat it up properly and seem to regularly recycle in buffets food that maybe in UK would have been removed. IMG_4322
  5. The people generally are smiling. People are talking to each other. They tried talking to me, as most think I am Spanish, but at a conversation speed that appraoches the speed of re-entry into the Earth atmosphere.
  6. I like the city, the country and mostly the people.
  7. There is no word in the spanish language for Queue. This does not happen. They are not being rude ( well maybe they are) but people do not queue. Not anywhere. Old ladies are the most dangerous species with their bags and coats at strange angles and heading directly towards where they want to get to. If they knock you then so be it ( its your fault of course, not theirs),
  8. Lastly there is a reason why the abbreviation for Madrid Barajas airport is MAD. A really confusing and complex airport. Do allow time there to negotiate your way through.

 

When can I go back please? But dont mention the football. Euro 2016.

FullSizeRender-4

 

 

Posted in madrid, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
10 Jun 2016

Muhammad Ali. Some Photos. A Memory


As thousand prepare for his funeral in Louisville. A few photos from photographs shown in the VIP lounge at Madrid Airport Barajas. For me these capture the man perfectly. There is no reason to repeat what has already been said and written more eloquently but I will share a quote from Barack Obama that maybe says it all.

“This week we lost an icon. A person who for African Americans, I think, liberated their minds in recognising that they could be proud of who they were.”

 

IMG_4346IMG_4347

Posted in muhammad ali, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
22 Feb 2016
2 Comments

The Absurdity of Business Class travel on short haul flights in Europe


When selecting a seat in economy it is an Imprecise art to know where the business class section will end. So on occasions like today one is unfortunate to be sitting in the row immediately outside business class meaning that the ridiculous curtains get pulled across . This is not the happiest nor optimal view of a flapping curtain a few inches in front of ones face. But even this today reached hithertoo unfathomable heights or depths because each time the curtains opened a millimetre the air stewardess rushed towards them to rescue the curtains and pull them closed. This presumably is to protect the business class passengers from visually having to witness their foul economy class cousins or maybe to prevent some supposedly plague ridden air entering the cabin of the elite. This of course is utter nonsense. Business class is dead in short haul and frankly anyone who wastes money on this needs counselling .

image.jpeg
  
What do you get for your extra money? You get exactly the same seat as on this Airbus 321 operated by Iberia the seats are identical. You might get a spare seat next to you. Where I sit in row 6A I have two spare seats next to me as do many on this empty flight. You get a meal of some sort normally a salad related affair and on Iberia free drinks too. But is this really worth paying for? Usually an extra £100 per flight maybe more. All the frills of easier check in become pointless as most are done now on the mobile phone. But even if checking in luggage there is no preference over the frequent flyers  who use the same check in and indeed board the same time. So the reality is you get a curtain drawn behind you and food and drink . Not terribly special and uplifting.

Meanwhile my view is almost claustrophobic  but I do get to count the number of times the rushing sprinting stewardess recloses the badly behaved curtains. Somewhere in the region of once every 10 minutes on this Madrid bound flight. Comedy and cabaret are free to all on board. However I was able to sneak a view into business through the gap and I could see 30 seats occupied by 4 customers.

 These curtains do actually swing back and forth and I can imagine that folks seated in the aisle seats might not enjoy being continuously massaged by the errant flapping curtain.

 Business class for short haul is absurd as is the thinking behind it now.

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Post Navigation

%d bloggers like this: