Madrid lives on its streets....

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We got a great night's sleep: it's very quiet here (our room is on the interior "courtyard") and although the walls are paperthin, our neighbors didn't make much noise. We got up around 9:00am, had coffee in an Italian cafe across the street, and planned our walk.

Starting from our hotel we walked clockwise in a large circle, taking in most of the main plazas, and many of the famous buildings in the historic center. We stopped for lunch in small restuarant, eating (as we try to) from the daily specials menu. Good food...

We returned for a short siesta, and then went out again, hoping to get into some of the musuems that are free on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.... No luck: only for EU citizens, and the lines were hours long anyway....

Instead we walked to the Prado and visited the Royal Botanical Gardens nearby, which date back to 1781. On the way, we were in a huge protest lead by firefighters for better public services. On the way back, we stopped for tapas and watched people watching a Real Madrid game in every bar...The city is starting to fill with soccer fans before the big game on Sunday...There are also many groups of Spanish high school students. Almost all the tour groups are Spanish speakers and we've seen very few Americans.

It's 9:30pm and the streets are filled with people of all ages....strolling, shopping, sitting in cafes...

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Photos

Changing of the Guard
Notice the reflection of the royal palace in their shining armour!

Detail of door in a church
1686!

Poor fashion choice
She was sitting in front us in the plaza....can't she feel the breeze???

Palacio Real
Home to Spanish royalty

Changing of the Guard at the Palacio Real
We just happened upon this!

Shiny patent leather hats
All the official guards in the city wear these.

Abandoned buildings
These are covered in grafitti and right on the Plaza de Espana.

Plaza St. Ana
Another beautiful building

Comments

[george]

Send more pics
with lesser clothes on the women. Like that one! G

[Martin]

Love your blog
Your plaza shot reminds me of an old Guindon cartoon caption: "It's de rigeur to show a little cleavage this season."

[Nancy Krill]

Glad to see you made it - Have a great trip!

[boykin]

Madrid = chocolate, art, and fountains lit at night
There's a fabulous place for hot chocolate there - so thick you have to drink it from a spoon - near Plaza Mayor, I think - across the street that runs through the center of the city. We spent 3 days in Madrid - one for each major art museum - when John was in Europe with the UN. But we fell in love with Barcelona. Thanks for letting us relive it through you, judy