Madrid, Spain

Adios Barcelona, Hola Madrid!!

We took the fast - no, the super fast, train from Barcelona to Madrid. This train took about three hours to go halfway across the country. We were going around 300+ k/h. It was a really nice train trip - Italy could take some lessons in the public transportation department!

After arriving, we made our way to the hotel. I knew the hotel was in a good location, but I didn't realize how good - we were just off the main square, Puerta del Sol. That really helped getting around. After checking in, we set off exploring. We didn't make it too far because it was hot, hot hot!! After a while, we went back to the hotel to get ready for our Saturday night!

We had dinner reservations at a wonderful restaurant called Casa Patas. We had a tasty supper with excellent sangria!

After supper, we went into the small room for the flamenco dance show. It was so fun! The venue was really small and intimate, so we got a close view. Flamenco dancing is very serious (almost angry) and marked. It was a very good show!

The next morning in an effort to beat the heat and see the major sights in this big city, we took the tourist bus tour.

We really enjoyed all the different architecture in Madrid. Lot of influence from other parts of Europe, especially from Italy.

A nice view of this huge, capital city.

"Bear and the (El Madroño) Tree" ("El Oso y El Madroño")

I got this from a website, it tells a little about the next picture:

This statue weighs almost 20 tons! This statue is sometimes translated as the Bear and the Strawberry Tree. The Madroño tree (which sounds like Madrid) is not native to Madrid. And it is not a strawberry tree. The berries of the Madroño tree are red like strawberries. However they are very sweet and are really not good eaten raw (unlike strawberries), but are only good to eat when made into a jam.

We found a good way to beat the heat - mojitos!!

The next morning, we took a nice walk through town. We started from our hotel at Puerta del Sol. Here I am standing at the exact center of Spain!

We walked through this wonderful market with fresh fruit, meat, cheese, dessert and juice.

Here is J in the huge Palaza Mayor.

We then made our way to the Palacio Real (the Royal Palace). It was really interesting walking though the ornate rooms. It was really beautiful!

Catedral de la Almudena

After a wonderful Paella lunch and a siesta we went to the Real Jardin Botanico. The Botanical Garden was disappointing and my allergies really acted up!

We then headed to the Reina Sofia Museum. It was really wonderful!

We saw great paintings!

These were a few of our favorites:

On our last day in Madrid, we went to the Prado Museum. We got audio guides and spent the next 4 hours wandering around learning about the paintings, artists and history. We had a good time!

This is the church behind the Prado. I thought it was pretty!

After that we walked to the Retiro Park to relax.

While at the park, it looked like a storm was brewing. We started walking around and then the skies opened up and the temperature dropped. It was a nice relief!

We had a great time in Spain. It is has such a unique and fun culture. It is a fun place with so much to offer!