I have set a goal for myself to walk 20-25 miles a week while I am here in Guadalajara. I use an app on my iphone as a pedometer to track the distance and I either listen to podcasts or music as I walk. I've been listening to NPR's "Wait, wait, don't tell me", Spanish language lessons, "Coffee Break Spanish", and am just starting a iUniversity course on linguistics. Having these, as well as music to listen to keeps me going and make my twice daily walks even more enjoyable - I just can't help it; I have to multi-task!
One evening my first week, I got lost and had to ask a policeman for help. (It reminded me of lessons with kids -- "The policeman is your friend"!) Since then, I do not go in new directions in the evening and I also make sure I have my map with me. (Can't use the map on the iphone, as I don't have cellular service here.) I was quite frustrated as I knew I was close to home and as it turned out, I was within a block of home twice! I have now studied each corner around here and the map!
This city is very walker friendly. There is a path that circles the city (or so I am told that it circles it; I haven't made it all the way around yet.) It parallels the freeway along the side where I live, but the path is removed enough, and has plenty of trees and other shrubbery around it, that the highway noise and smell doesn't come through. To get to the shopping center there is a pedestrian only bridge over the freeway.
In addition to this path, the sidewalks are wide on the streets and a number of streets have an additional sidewalk down the middle of the street with trees and benches. There is also a very large park that was a pathway through the center of it, with pedestrian only streets at either end. One of the pedestrian only streets is the main street in the old town section lined with small shops.
I have yet to be on a path by myself, regardless of the time of day or evening that I am walking. There are always others out and about. I see babies being pushed in strollers, usually by older women (grandmas?) and I have seen one man pushing his baby a number of times now. Age does not seem to slow people down. I see more elderly men than any one else! They are usually in groups of three to four, walking along slowly or sitting on the benches. The elderly women usually have their shopping carts with them and are usually alone - except when I see a cluster of women who have met up while out doing their shopping -- instead of standing in the aisles of the grocery stores catching up with their friends like we do at home, they are on the streets doing the same thing.
On Sundays and holidays most of the shops are closed, but this doesn't stop people from window shopping. I saw this in other towns as well. Sometimes you'll see a few women, or a family, looking in a shop window, pointing at goods and talking. They'll stand there for sometime, before moving onto the next shop window. It made me realize that we (or at least I) don't really do that. I might glance in a shop window on my way past, or, if I am really interested in something, I will want to go in and try it on or look at it closer, check out the price, etc. I saw an elderly couple looking in a shoe store window at boots, and I wondered if they were seriously looking to buy a pair of boots (do you really need to buy new boots every year?) or just checking out this year's styles. I have to admit though, I did stop for some time to study these:
Another thing I have noticed are the closed store fronts. I have seen a number of store fronts with their grates down and locked up and trash and leaves building up in the entry way. Their windows may be covered in newspaper, cardboard or plain paper. There may be left over signs in the windows showing a going out of business sale. The downturn in the economy has definitely hit here, although I would say all-in-all the town's economy is quite vibrant.
Although there is a bus system here, most of the places I go are a mile or less away. The bus station for Madrid buses, the library (yes, I got a library card!), the museum, the shops, the shopping center, cafes, etc. are all within walking distance. One morning when out walking, I stopped in a cafe for coffee and a Spanish tortilla (like a potato omelet) and the owner asked me where was from. When I told him Alaska, he pointed to the TV and The Deadliest Catch was on! But I have noticed that in the food court of the shopping mall and on the streets, some of the big name places aren't open at noon...I guess it's still to early for lunch and most people don't eat anything more than a roll or croissant and coffee for breakfast - ah, but that is another post!
One evening my first week, I got lost and had to ask a policeman for help. (It reminded me of lessons with kids -- "The policeman is your friend"!) Since then, I do not go in new directions in the evening and I also make sure I have my map with me. (Can't use the map on the iphone, as I don't have cellular service here.) I was quite frustrated as I knew I was close to home and as it turned out, I was within a block of home twice! I have now studied each corner around here and the map!
This city is very walker friendly. There is a path that circles the city (or so I am told that it circles it; I haven't made it all the way around yet.) It parallels the freeway along the side where I live, but the path is removed enough, and has plenty of trees and other shrubbery around it, that the highway noise and smell doesn't come through. To get to the shopping center there is a pedestrian only bridge over the freeway.
On Sundays and holidays most of the shops are closed, but this doesn't stop people from window shopping. I saw this in other towns as well. Sometimes you'll see a few women, or a family, looking in a shop window, pointing at goods and talking. They'll stand there for sometime, before moving onto the next shop window. It made me realize that we (or at least I) don't really do that. I might glance in a shop window on my way past, or, if I am really interested in something, I will want to go in and try it on or look at it closer, check out the price, etc. I saw an elderly couple looking in a shoe store window at boots, and I wondered if they were seriously looking to buy a pair of boots (do you really need to buy new boots every year?) or just checking out this year's styles. I have to admit though, I did stop for some time to study these:
Another thing I have noticed are the closed store fronts. I have seen a number of store fronts with their grates down and locked up and trash and leaves building up in the entry way. Their windows may be covered in newspaper, cardboard or plain paper. There may be left over signs in the windows showing a going out of business sale. The downturn in the economy has definitely hit here, although I would say all-in-all the town's economy is quite vibrant.
Although there is a bus system here, most of the places I go are a mile or less away. The bus station for Madrid buses, the library (yes, I got a library card!), the museum, the shops, the shopping center, cafes, etc. are all within walking distance. One morning when out walking, I stopped in a cafe for coffee and a Spanish tortilla (like a potato omelet) and the owner asked me where was from. When I told him Alaska, he pointed to the TV and The Deadliest Catch was on! But I have noticed that in the food court of the shopping mall and on the streets, some of the big name places aren't open at noon...I guess it's still to early for lunch and most people don't eat anything more than a roll or croissant and coffee for breakfast - ah, but that is another post!
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