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Published: November 8th 2011
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Madrid at Night
Street performers playing hammered dulcimers 30 OCTOBER - MADRID
Landed in Madrid from Dublin on Sunday. Glad to see a bit of sunshine. Due to our amount of luggage, had to take a taxi to our hotel. After arriving, discovered that there was no lift (elevator). UGH!! So, up we went, 3 floors. In Europe they consider the ground floor as 0, and we were on the 2nd floor. Checked in and waited for Wolfi to arrive. He was one of the exchange students (from Germany) who lived with us in PA. He had arrived Saturday and was quite energized by the city. I can see why. He was very happy to show us around a bit as we walked around and got our bearings. Went out for tapas and drinks to plan what we would do. The Spanish do love their jamon! There was a restaurant/deli down the street from us called Paraiso Jamon. (ham paradise) Went out the next day to the Palacio Real (King's Palace). Quite a place. It was built over a castle built by Mohammed I in the 9th century. The Spanish palace was begun around 1434. It is used for State ceremony, as the current King and his family don't
Palacio Real
The Kings's Palace, Madrid live there. Each room is more spectacular than the previous. Check it out online. Take particular note of where the kings had lunch. Next door is the Cathedral of Almudena, just as decorated as the palace. Tuesday we went to the Prado. You cannot expect to see the whole museum in one day. Just like other large art museums of the world, pick a specific exhibit or artist and see those works. The place is huge, and we took advantage of an audio tour to get more insight about some the artwork.
Took a delightful walk in one of Madrid's park and then had an early dinner with Wolfi, as he had to catch a plane to return home. Had a great visit with him.
Wednesday we took a 30-minute ride out to Toledo on a high speed train. Walked around the old town, which is a UNESCO site. Stopped at Santa Tome' for their famous marzipan (LUNCH!). Chose to skip the Alcazar, as it is a military museum. We did go to El Greco's home to learn about him and his artwork. Funny, he never lived in the restored home that houses his work. He did live in the
neighborhood. Had a great dinner at a place recommended by the ticket seller at the El Greco museum and headed back to the train to return to Madrid. OOPS! We had requested a 7:30pm return ride, but the ticket agent issued tickets for a 5:30 return. (NOTE: Remember to check your tickets before leaving the counter!) So we had to buy an additional ticket. After returning to Madrid we had to find the renfe (Spanish train) customer service desk and request a refund of the missed connection. We will know in about a month.
Thursday came way too quickly, and we had to get back out to the airport to pick up our rental car and head to Valencia.
It was not too bad getting out of the airport and finding the right highway toward Valencia. The countryside is quite hilly and we were treated to rain showers on and off. Temps turned colder and windy, too. Saw lots of olive groves and vineyards.
Stopped at a filling station along the highway and bought a map of Valencia. Restaurant there looked kind of grim, so we went across the road and had an expensive but delicious bowl of soup.
Madrid at Night
People strolling on a Sunday night 3 NOVEMBER - VALENCIA
Probably the best money spent was for that map of the city. Was able to see our route to the Hotel on the map and follow the printed directions along with it. Room was clean, but not ensuite (no private bath). But, we were in the center of town and very close to the old town. Found an underground parking lot and left the car for our stay in Valencia. Friday we went to the City of Arts and Sciences. Museum was interesting, kind of like the Science & Industry in Chicago, interactive. About 25% of the interactives were not working. They have an IMAX Theater in the next building over (Hemispheric) and saw a film called "Born to Be Wild". It was about orphaned baby elephants in Africa and orangutans in Borneo, and how these 2 scientists were preparing these animals to return to the wild. After dinner, we stopped at "El Valor" for dessert. Chocolate ice cream like I've never had--almost black and not as sweet. YUMMY! Then we saw someone dipping churros into hot chocolate. Well, I should say someone dipping churros into melted chocolate. We are definitely returning for breakfast.
Saturday morning
City of Arts & Sciences
Museum of Science in Valencia we were on the hunt to find a laundry, as the clean clothes supply was getting low. Laundries are difficult to find, if they exist at all. This one did not open until 2PM, so we hauled the laundry back to the room. But we did make a stop to have those churros and chocolate. OH WOW!! Any frustration about the laundry melted into those cups. Talk about a sugar overload! We had plans to see the Oceanographic museum. They had a great dolphin show and exhibits of several ocean habitats from around the world.
Returned to the laundry at 8 pm to find out that we could only wash, not dry our clothes, as the sole employee had all the dryers tied up with drop-off customers. Lots of folks have washers, but take laundry to be dried. UGH! X 2!!
The night was not a total loss, though. We found a great jazz club and spent the next couple of hours listening to some killer jazz. Very tired, we returned to the room and did not set the alarm, even though we had to depart for Granada next morning.
Valencia does not have a metro, but a great bus
system and the taxis are plentiful and inexpensive.
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