Marvellous Madrid

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Geo: 40.4167, -3.70327

Our last day of the tour was spent in this bustling city. It is much larger and busier than others we have visited, including Lisbon and Barcelona. We set out in the bus at 9am and were taken on a driving tour of the p[ace. Our first stop was at the Madrid Bull Ring. During May there are bull fights every day and when we arrived there were queues for tickets. Several statues dedicated to famous toreadors decorated the area. It is an attractive building, beauty which masks the carnage inside.

We then drove through the streets to the Plaza D'Espana. The traffic was heavy and we crawled along behind a line that seemed to go on forever, We passed the Prado and the Queen Sofia building, both of course famous art galleries. We stopped at the park to view a very impressive statue dedicated to Cervantes. It has life sized figures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza mounted on their respective steeds. On the top are six women representing the continents and all round other figures look admiringly at Cervantes effigy.
From here the bus was supposed to take us to the parking area of the Royal Palace, however, the police had closed it and the streets leading to the palace were also closed. So we left the bus and walked to see what was going on. Outside the front of the palace were many army units and official guests were milling around ready to take their seats. We were given a half hour here to go the toilet and look at the palace. We found out later that the Queen of Spain was honouring the police. I saw a man inspect the guard but did not catch a glimpse of the queen.

We then set off on a walking tour of the old part of the city. This took us through the Plaza Mayor and down to the Puerta de Sol. Again the architecture was elaborate and the squares very large. We passed the Mercador of San Miguel, a beautifully restored market building which now not only sells fruit and veg but is dotted with wine bars and Tapas outlets. Lots of small shops and restaurants are in this area. At the Puerta de Sol we finished the tour. This is literally the centre of the city as we found the point marked there from which all distances are calculated. We handed back our "whispers" for the last time and then were free until our final dinner at 8-30pm.

We returned to the market for a look and in there found a vendor dispensing blue wine! We had to try that. It was a chardonnay he said but artificially given a bright blue colour as a gimmick. It was OK but I'm not rushing off to buy anymore. We then looked for somewhere to eat. Most places had just snacks. We sat down in one restaurant and I had to go inside and call out for service. When the lady came she brought a Spanish menu and then we asked for one in English The only dish which seemed inviting was garlic prawns but she shook her head and told us that was not available. In the end we left! Our guide had not recommended the restaurants in the Plaza Mayor but in desperation we went there. This proved to be an OK choice, Fletcher had a steak while I chose octopus and potatoes. Both were OK without being brilliant. After lunch we set out for Queen Sofia's Foundation rather than the Prado as Fletcher was keen to see Picasso's famous painting, Guernica. It was a long walk but it was a pleasant day so we took it slowly. The Gallery is near the main railway station, the Atocha which is an impressive structure. The Gallery itself is striking with large glass elevators on the front.We asked for "pensionista" tickets and on showing our passports to prove we were over 65 we had free admission! Another bonus was there was a special exhibition centring round Guernica showing how and why it was painted and Picasso's development of his style leading to its production. This was great and the painting itself leaves an inedible mark on the memory.
We also looked into some of the other rooms where there were displays including Salvador Dali and other Spanish surrealists . However, by this time we had walked over 15,000 steps for the day so I was tired. We found a taxi to take us back to the hotel and we rested there until dinner time.
Our farewell dinner was at a nearby restaurant in an upstairs room. There was tapas for entree, grilled vegetables, artichoke hearts and croquettes and then I had fish for the main course while Fletcher had another steak. The fish was excellent. Wine was included and a good time was had by all. I was asked to give a vote of thanks to our guide, Lucy, and Gay read out a poem she had written. Much gaiety all round. We left a little early as we had to be up early next morning. As we emerged from the restaurant it was raining, so a quick trip back was in order. We had farewelled our new friends and agreed that the tour had been enjoyable and the company friendly.

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