Madrid, Spain

Our adventures in Espana continue...

We took the train from Barcelona to Madrid.  Let me just say...being in a foreign country where you don't understand the language is like watching a movie with the sound down.  You kind of understand what's going on but not really.  That was very evident today when we took the train.

If there's any language I should have learned, it was Spanish.   I really did try to communicate but after exhausting my not so extensive vocabulary, I gave up.  Next time...

Anyhoo, we found our place on the train and made it to Madrid.  I like traveling by train.  It's a lot less hassle than going to the airport.  Plus you get to see stuff...Like the Spanish countryside.

When we go on vacation, I'm the navigator...which is ironic because I get turned around coming out of my neighborhood.

Madrid is a lot different than Barcelona but the difference is hard to put my finger on.  Granted, I've only been here half a day but I feel like it's a lot busier.  Restaurants don't open until 8 pm.  The places that are open are touristy and the service is not so good.

We stopped at this place in Plaza Santa Ana for a snack and a drink.  While the Sangria was delicious, the service was like pulling teeth to get anyone to help us.

Not much happening on Day 1 in Madrid.  This is our hotel - The Westin Palace, which is very nice and in a great location.  Everything is within a reasonable walking distance.

Day 2 in Madrid - Starts with a cuppa Joe from Starbucks and then the Hop on/Hop off city tour.  There are two routes.  The first route (Ruta 2) took us by the Real Madrid Futbol stadium.

There was a flurry of activity going on and we were wondering if there was a game today.  The rest of the tour on Route 2 was rather boring...Except we did pass by the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas - the bullring.

 

I'd almost like to see a bullfight because I've never seen one (unless you count the number of times Bugs Bunny fought that bull) but would it be wrong to cheer for the bull?

We got off the bus and found a place for lunch that was surprisingly good.  It was a "combo" meal that came with an appetizer, a main and a drink.  (Beer, wine, soda, whatever you want, says our waiter).  Well, it if comes with the meal...I choose wine.  I kid you not, the waiter brought me a bottle and said, "Drink however much you want."  Was he kidding?  I love this country!

I would like to go on record and say I didn't drink the whole bottle.  Also the risotto with mushrooms was very tasty.

 

This little scene is called "Bored while waiting on the bus".  The rest of the bus tour was kind of interesting.  We drove by lots of architecturally cool buildings.  Below are random photos from the tour.

 

Catedral de la Almudena.

The city of Madrid.

Bascilica de San Francisco Grande.

Cathedral Church of St. Michael Military.

A guy on the street.

Fuente de Neptuno.

Cybele Palace (Palacio de Communications).

Some random factoids.  Did you know the Spaniards (or maybe all Europeans and I never noticed) wear their wedding bands on the right hand?  About 80% of the people here smoke even though you can't smoke inside.  If you eat at a restaurant and sit outside, you pay more than if you sit inside.  It's okay, though because the food and alcohol is really inexpensive! Spain still has a monarch...Felipe VI.  The European carryall?  Very popular here.  They all seem to wear the same kind of jacket - like it's 30 degrees or something.  It's a quilted-looking jacket that kind of reminds me of a ski jacket.  Today it was 82 degrees and the scarves and jackets were out in full force.

 

This is the jacket!  Seriously! 

Day 2 ends with some ridiculously good Argentinian food.  We found this restaurant on Yelp.  It was down this tiny little side street that you wouldn't have even looked twice at.  But it was so good!  We had Pincho de tortilla - which was like a scalloped potato pie; Bunuelos de spinaca - spinach with rocotta cheese rolled into a ball and fried; Albondegas - meatballs; and Ricotta Empanadas - these were like little flaky pies with ricotta cheese. 

Day 3 in Madrid starts once again with a cuppa java from Starbucks.  I think they are trying to see how many ways they can misspell John's name.  First it was Jonh and today it was Jhon.  Tomorrow he's going to tell them his name is Othello.

We spent the better part of the day at the Prado museum.

 

No photos inside.  I think we were there for a good four hours or so.  They had paintings by Rubens, Valasquez, El Greco and several other artists that I'd never heard of.  It was amazing.

 

After the museum, we walked around a bit and came across the Monument for the Fallen Heroes.  I think it's like the tomb of the unknown soldier.  There's an eternal flame there as well.

Fuente de Apolo on Paseo de Prado.

Fuente de las cibres. (The goddess of fertility sitting a chariot pulled by two lions).

La Puerta Alcala...at least its not an Arc de triomf.

Then we went in search of refreshments and found ourselves back in Plaza de Santa Ana.  This is the Teatro de Espanol de Madrid where they have various plays.

Real Academy Espanola (Royal Spanish Academy).

 

Iglesia de San Jose.

Puerta del Sol - Appropriately named.  When you walk down there in the late afternoon, the sun is blinding!

The police were out in full force...on a Wednesday! 

 

They are well armed with some kind of assault weapons.  I think I feel safer?  And so ends Day 3 with a little culture and Chinese food.  Tomorrow the palace!

Day 4 requires a Cafe Americano for the caffeine boost and then it's off to the Palace.

On the way, we passed by a few things of interest.  Plaza Mayor built during the reign of Phillip III.  All the buildings that surround the plaza are residences.

Casa de la Villa are apartments you can rent in lieu of a hotel.  Next time!

Iglesia del Sacramento (Military Cathedral of Spain).

And finally, Palacio Real, which is the official residence of the King of Spain, Felipe VI.  He doesn't actually live here but conducts all official visits here

The palace without our big heads in the way.  The original burned down in 1734 and King Philip V had it rebuilt on the same site.  Construction was completed in 1755.  The last monarch to live here was Alfonso XIII, who died in 1931.

 

View of Madrid from the palace.

Dinking around in the guard house.

When you enter the palace and climb the stairs to the next floor, this is the ceiling.  

The fresco was painted by Giaquinto.  Not sure who that is but he did a lot of paintings in the palace.  Once you go through here, no photos inside.  Too bad because it was gorgeous.  A good place for people watching as well.

 

After the palace, we found a place off the beaten path for lunch.  Another "combo" meal.  I had paella, which was way better than what I had in Barcelona, and grilled fish.  John had chicken soup and baked chicken.  This was our most challenging lunch because the waiter didn't speak any English.  We were able to communicate well enough to order.  John asked for water and got the bottle below.

Agua con gas.  Uh-oh.  It tasted like tonic water.

After lunch, it was on to Catedral Almudena, which was built by King Alfonso XII to bury his wife, Merecedes of Orleans.  Construction began in 1878 and was completed in 1992.  It's directly across the Plaza de la Armeria.

The inside of the church is gorgeous.  It's a functioning church, as are most of the historic churches in Madrid.

We found this statue of a guy leaning on the railing.  You can't pass that up.

On the way back to the hotel, we passed the mercado San Miguel.  It was the same kind of market as they had in Barcelona but not quite as big.  We walked through and for 2 euros, John got a big bag of chicharones (fried pork rinds).

Some of the American fast food chains have invaded Spain:  McDonalds, which I think is everywhere.  Burger King, KFC and Subway.  We saw Taco Bell while we were on the tour bus.  And this last one is kind of disappointing...Steak and Shake.  Really?  Blech!

So here it is, our last day in Spain.  We got up to get our last cup of coffee.

 

The baristas mess with him, he messes with them.  Ringo?  Really?

We spent our last day at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.  This was a private collection of paintings that were sold to Spain in 1993.  We chose the busiest time to go, of course, because we love crowds of people.

This guy was a serious collector.  He had paintings by Manet, Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse, you name it!  Here were some that I liked.

I don't recall the name of the painter but I liked the picture because it reminded me of John.  The guy looks like he's dying for his wife to stop talking.

 This was Camille Pissarro - a scene in Paris.

This is a Caravaggio - St. Catherine of Alexandria - Beheaded because she refused the advances of some prince.

I think this one was a Pissarro as well.  When you back away, the picture is very obvious.

Up close you can see the brush strokes and there's no definition.  I don't have a lot of art knowledge but I just thought it was cool.

For our last meal we wandered around and found a hole in the wall place and had oxtail.  That and Sangria made a hell of a good dinner.

Tomorrow we head home back to reality.  I'm ready.  After being in this country for over a week, it makes me wonder why it wasn't higher on our list of places to visit.  Madrid and Barcelona - like two sisters that were kind of the same but completely different.  Both places had lots to offer and I highly recommend a visit.

Adios, Madrid!  Muchas Gracias!