Córdoba/Madrid

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This morning the rain had finally stopped. We walked over to the Mezquita (former mosque turned into a church in the 16th century). We did not have time to go inside but walked around the courtyard and had an upclose look at the bell tower. We then walked across the Roman bridge which still sits on its 1st century foundation. There is a nice triumphal arch at the end of the bridge as well as an 18th century plague monument. Next, we had a 3.5 hour drive to Madrid. Lots of winding roads and high speed limits; Sandy enjoyed the drive... Diana not so much.

We had lunch in Madrid, tapas at Taberna Origen. They were delicious, we had a variety of different tapas and they were great. Next, we headed over to the Royal Palace. We opted for a self guided tour of the palace. The palace is the 3rd largest in the world; it has over 2000 rooms. We were able to tour around 25 of the rooms. No photos were allowed except in the corridors. The Prado museum was next on the list, we were able to get in free. They offer free admission Tuesday-Saturday from 6pm-8pm. This is an art museum that contains many paintings by Velazquez, Goya, El Greco, Rembrandt and several others. The painting Las Meninas by Velazquez is on display here and is said to possibly be "the world's finest painting".

For dinner we went to Taberna El Arco and had a salad to start and a mixed meat paella for the main course. It was very good. 22,760 steps and 11 floors climbed today. We head back home tomorrow.

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