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Published: April 15th 2011
After a layover Friday morning at the state of the art Dubai airport we landed in Madrid in the early afternoon tired from our red eye but so excited for our long awaited exploration of six of Europe’s finest countries. With our souvenirs and items only necessary for Kenya in tow we headed to the “correo” (post office) to lighten our load. Our first night in Europe would be spent (thanks to Mommy and Daddy Sims !!!) at the Hilton airport hotel. A magnificent transit hotel that allowed us to get organized and on our feet ready to explore Madrid!
On Saturday morning we hopped on the metro (why has the U.S. not figured out public transportation?!) and headed to Plaza del Sol, one of the most central and busiest spots in Madrid. To our surprise our hostel was located on the fourth floor of a building just one small block outside of Plaza del Sol and we even had a balcony looking down at the hustle and bustle of fun seeking Madrilenos below.
Our first day exploring Madrid took us to several different sites. First stop- the Palacio Real, where we toured the extravagant rooms of the prominent royal families
in Spanish history. Next stop- Reina Sofia, Madrid’s famous modern art museum that houses one of the world’s most well-known paintings. Guernica, with its powerful, moving, and haunting presence, is an eye-boggling Picasso masterpiece. After our visit to the art museum we decided it was time to clean up and experience what Madrid is legendary for… it’s night life. El Kapital, a world famous club set in an old Spanish theater, stood seven stories high. Each story had its own theme, bar, and dance floor. After being warned the Madrilenos don’t turn up til late we aimed to start our night out at 12:30 (the place did not close until 6 am!). To our surprise, we wandered the seven floors and found it to be close to empty besides a group of British tourists. By 1:30 you could barely move from floor to floor there were so many people and the dance floors were packed!! It made for a fun night of dancing and people watching. (Side note: our American bodies pooped out on us and although we attempted to make it to the 6 am closing we left around 4 am to find some churros !!!)
Sunday was spent
venturing out to more of Madrid’s hot spots. We started with one of the world’s largest outdoor markets that takes place on Sundays in Madrid followed by a trip to Plaza Mayor. Plaza Mayor was filled with people enjoying their weekend in any of the plethora of outdoor cafes that lined the square. Next we had our first experience with “bocadillos”, the Spanish version of a very large sandwich. I feasted on “calamare” while Jake chowed down on “pollo” at El Café Brillante. After filling up on a scrumptious feast we headed to “El Jardin Botanico”, a gorgeous botanical garden lined with an array of tulips that were something special to see. Our trip exploring the gardens lead us to El Museo del Prado, a very grand museum featuring some of the highlighted works in Spanish art history. Sunday night confronted us with rain and a thrilling discovery. Museo del Jamon stands on almost every corner in the city center of Madrid and prior to our exciting breakthrough we thought it was simply a butcher shop due to the excessive number of enormous ham bones that lined it’s windows. After a quick peek inside we found it to be packed
with people enjoying one euro beers and one euro bocadillos! We decided to take part in the action and were very satisfied with the experience!
Day four in Madrid presented us with more sightseeing that was very pleasing to the eye. “El Parque Retiro”, with its green rolling lawns and magnificent pond in the center, and “La Puerta Alcala”, whose arches once marked the entrance to Madrid, were the perfect combination for our last stroll through Madrid. After on last stop at El Museo del Jamon we made our way to the train station.
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Grandad
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Capital Time
Your exploring a very nice part of the "Old World" with alot of charme and excitement, appears that you have found some real exciting places. Got your picture post card from Kenya that appears to have arrived in a record time. Great that you had a rewarding experiences on safari,,,, you were just about to leave on safari for an area to witness the snow of Kilimanjaro. Glad that you got some good rest before heading out on the town and dancing at the Museo de Jamon. Hope you are having more sea food in Spain, their Piala is exdordinary, huge bowl of rice with assorted sea food and of course flavored with safflower - bring safflower home extremely expensive here - essential for chapino. Enjoyed your earlier writings on the blog. Keep having fun and always stay safe.