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Published: October 24th 2011
Alcala Gate
We drove by this gate several times. Got some good angles...Madrid. October 24, 2011. It’s lovely. It’s raining.
Last night, we went and checked out a couple of bars near where the hotel is. The Eagle and Bear’s Bar. The Eagle is a bar with some “extras”, which I will not detail here. Bear’s Bar was a small place that was friendly and cozy. It was Sunday night, so the places were pretty mellow.
After some drinks last night, we got a few hours of sleep before grabbing breakfast in the hotel, re-packed our bags, and got on the bus for a tour of Madrid with the other fourteen people who were now a part of our group (the biggest part of our tour group was en route to Madrid). We stopped at the big bull-fighting ring and got some pictures there, but we only took about ten minutes to stop and stare – we didn’t go inside and we didn’t see a fight. Apparently a well-loved matador just died, so there were lines to get in and see the body.
We continued on to see the monument to Cervantes, who wrote Don Quixote. The monument is quite large, with several sculptures and statues, including Don Quixote and
Detail Plaza de Toro
This is some detail from the building where the bull fighting happens. I'll pop in a few pix of statues, as well. Sancho Panza on their mounts. There was a bust of a woman (not sure who she was…) and someone had climbed up to put a scarf on her. I guess they thought she was cold.
Next, we stopped at the old Royal Palace for a look-around. It was beautiful, but it was pouring rain. The cathedral right next to it was also beautiful and we would have liked to see the inside – if for no other reason than to get out of the rain – but the cathedral was closed.
Next we headed to Plaza Mayor, where we got a brief layout and were left to our own devices for two hours, in which time we were to grab lunch. One of the restaurants in this area was Restaurante Botin, which (according to the Guinness Book of World Records) is the oldest restaurant in the world, having been continuously open since 1725. They didn’t open for the day until 1pm and we were there at noon. So Daniel and I found our way to a bar called Cafeeke that offered Belgian beers. We contemplated checking it out, but one of the citizens of the bar came to
Matador
Just a cool statue... greet us and she convinced us to come in and scratch her chin. And her head. Her name is Duvel and she is a very cute French Bulldog. Since we got such an insistent greeting, we decided to grab a beer at this lovely establishment. They served a tapa of gouda cheese cubes sprinkled with celery salt. It was really delicious. When 1pm came around, we decided to try Restaurante Botin. It was pricey, but kinda neat to check out and the food was quite good. If you make it, I strongly suggest the croquettes. Daniel had the filet mignon and I had the chicken fricassee, and while Daniel’s was good, mine was better. I went downstairs to the area that is still in shape from the 1500’s, when the building was first built.
After lunch, we headed to Madrid Barajas Airport to gather the rest of our flock who FINALLY made it to Spain. There were cheers sent up for each member of our tour to now get on the bus, singer and non-singer alike. Except for a few that will join us closer to the date of the competition, we now have our entire group. HALLELUJAH! These
Matadores
This one has a whole lot going on. Never seen a statue like this one. folks even created a special video for Daniel, which was a spoof of a song that we did four years ago called “War Song” and they changed the words to fit the grief they experienced trying to leave SFO. It was pretty damned funny, if a little bit of an inside joke…
We got everyone aboard, minus some key equipment for our sound guy, which will have to be couriered to us by Lufthansa. The bus got on the road for Salamanca. I took a small nap on the bus until we were very close to Salamanca. When you get close to Salamanca, you can’t help but notice the cathedral, which rises above Salamanca like a mother watching lovingly over her children. The cathedral is stunningly beautiful. My pictures just don’t do it justice.
We got to Hotel Abba Fonseca, which is a nice hotel with a lovely contemporary vibe, nice toiletries (after shave and cologne, in addition to other stuff), and a nice bathroom, but we have to pay for WiFi (boo!). Not sure about trying the bidet. I’ve never before been so intimidated by an appliance… Luckily, they offer TP, as well.
This evening, I
Bulls
A bull herd? went strolling with Rick, Wil, Dan, Brendan, and Max to find a place to eat. We ended-up at an unassuming place called "El Pato Rojo" (The Red Duck). They offered a three-course meal with drink for ten euros. The first course was good (best tomatoes I've ever tasted!), the second course was EXCELLENT (I had pork chops), and the third course was dessert. Dessert was prepackaged, but it was tasty. After eating, we took a slightly scenic route back to the hotel, we walked through a little park, strolled some streets... had a nice little moment wandering.
Tomorrow, we have a walking tour, a rehearsal, and a concert. Since we had to miss out on singing at El Escorial, tomorrow’s concert will be our first concert in Spain.
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Maria Hughes
non-member comment
Appliance intimidation?
Don't let it happen! The bidet is wonderful for soaking your aching feet after you have walked miles on cobble stones sightseeing those lovely, old European cities.