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Published: March 31st 2011
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Plaza Mayor
Just before walking into the plaza. We flew into Madrid and arrived at 7AM. The next leg of the journey was to take the high speed AVE train to Córdoba and pick up our rental vehicle at the train station. Although one does not necessarily have to make reservations for the train, I thought it would be prudent to have assured seats since I was not familiar with the amount of travelers on a Sunday afternoon.
Tip: Although RENFE (the Spanish train company) has an online reservation site and it also offers discounts for reservations online, that proved to be an impossible task to accomplish. Beth and I tried for two successive days and finally gave up. While I was doing additional research for ticket purchasingI did find a reference to a company’s website through which one can purchase discount tickets for RENFE. I sent them an email and they promptly replied. I established a connection with one of their representatives and was able to purchase tickets at a 40% discount. By the way, regular tickets ain’t cheap. One way, second class tickets from Madrid to Córdoba are $100. I recommend Petrabax.com if you are taking the high speed AVE throughout anywhere in Spain. It is easy
I need a nap
Oddly the other guy made it look so comfortable...but it wasn't. and painless.
I purchased tickets for an afternoon departure because one cannot foresee delays while traveling, getting out of the airport, etc. etc., so I settled for a 4:00 departure from Madrid. In the end, it would have been better to have left earlier. We got out of the airport in less than an hour. There is a cheap (2 euro) shuttle from the airport to the Atocha train station. This is far easier than the metro. Take the shuttle bus. It stops out in front of Terminal 1 which is the terminal where flights from the US come into and then deposits you in front of the train station. It is yellow. You can’t miss it.
We headed to the train station and stowed our bags at the station’s luggage storage. This is also quite cheap and it is located behind the aviary. Atocha is a very large train station but it is easy to find your way around. The loos are, inexplicably, not that easy to find. We located some in the vicinity of the Aviary. We then grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed out to see some sights.
Just so you know, Madrid is a
Entrance to the plaza
Nice anticipation before walking through the arch. hilly city. We walked on Calle de Atocha directly to Plaza Mayor and then headed to the El Rastro flea market. This is held every Sunday morning. Walk from Plaza Mayor on Calle de Toledo and you will encounter the flea market. It was a mass of humanity. Jill said that she felt claustrophobic – it was very crowded. On the other hand, there is huge variety stuff available.
As you know, it is my tradition to buy a hat for each trip. I try to buy something that the locals wear. I quickly observed that the guys (young & old) were wearing a hat similar to the ones I bought in Italy and Ireland. These are bit different in that they are a bit more round than the other two. I found the hat that was waiting to look perfect on my head and then headed back toward the train station.
We had time to do one more thing so we discussed going to a museum. The only question was whether to go to Reina Sofia or El Prado. Shoulda gone to the Prado. I am not a fan of modern art, nor am I a fan of an
Popping into the sun
Beautiful day on the plaza. institution that looks upon Che Guevera as an icon. The truth is that Guevera was a sadistic murderer and helped construct a tyranny that to this day denies freedom to millions of Cubans. Why people idolize tyrants is beyond me. The banner in front of the building should have been my first clue. We went in and looked at one floor of modern art and decided we were done.
We then headed to the train station to wait for our train. The AVE high speed train is verrrry fast and comfortable. I wanted to stay awake so Beth & I headed to the cafeteria and had a nice espresso. We arrived in Córdoba, got our rental and drove to Las Pinedas. It is about a 20 minute drive and yet so far away. There isn’t any urban sprawl so once you leave the city you are out in the country.
Maribel (the housekeeper) and her husband greeted us. She had dinner ready for us. We had a salad (fresh ripe veggies!), gazpacho with croutons, apples, and peppers, a baked chicken & garlic dish, and a flan-like dessert. Deeee-licious! It was the perfect end to a long and arduous day.
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