Spain - Travel and Day 1- Madrid

I was living in San Diego at the age of 12 and entering 7th grade.  Whoa, time check.  That was 48 years ago.  Michael, are you reading this?  Forty-eight years.  At any rate, I signed up for French class and said I would go there someday.  I have been many places in the world, but this week, that plan made oh so long ago is happening and my sweetheart is taking me to Spain and France for our joint birthday trip.  The AirBNB's for the first and last stops are booked and a rail pass is in hand.  We have a rough outline of where we want to go and as long as the rail strike doesn't get in our way too much, flexibility is the main objective.  We have shopped and read and shopped and read for the past two weeks almost non-stop, then packed up our backpacks (yep, no checked bags) and can now say, "We are ready."  Let's go.



The house is shut down and the bus has arrived to pick us up for our first train ride of many this week.  Off we go and are at the airport within the hour.  The forces of nature all align and we are soon boarded.  It's a direct flight to Madrid, although overnight.  Neither of us do well at sleeping on planes and we are getting older --- we'll see how it all goes.

What do you think of the light on this new plane.  We're just not sure.  It's a nice plane, but the seats are rather uncomfortable compared to the older planes.  There is a bit of concern as to how they will feel in 9 hours.  Oh well, it's up, up, and away.

As soon as we are leveled off, the flight attendants start in with dinner.  No, the lighting does not change - witness the picture of our food.  It's not terrible for airplane food and I am full so I guess that's good.  Beer and wine are complimentary resulting in a couple of VooDoo IPA's.  Now, what movie shall we watch?  We settle on Victoria and Abdul to watch together and then follow it up with some Big Bang Theory episodes that are new to us.  Trying to grab a few minutes of sleep now and then barely works.  Ugh.  I will survive and be nice -- I will survive and be nice.  If I repeat it often enough, perhaps it will actually happen.

Somehow time passes and the sunrise starts to show her beauty.

That means more food coming our way.  At least it's a break and something to do.  I have to laugh at the lady sitting next to my sweet Mister as she gave him a lot of her dinner last night (the crackers and brownies were stowed for "whenever") and is now trying to force this on him too.  Between the two meals, carbs have reigned supreme for people that are trapped and unable to move much.  Hmmmm, perhaps I should apply at American to work on this.

The sun is up.  Barely.  It's so hard to get decent pictures through dirty airplane windows.  Ya know what I mean?

Within the hour, we get our first looks at Spain.  Woohoo.  It will all be worth it.

Once on the ground, it's an easy entry into the country -- walk through lanes with no lines (because there were about 25 open), a quick glance at our passport, and a stamp.  That's it.  Check out this airport.

Our first order of business is to find the metro and head into the city.  We have made arrangements to drop our bags at the house and then wander the rest of the day.

Above ground at the Piramides stop.  It is just a short walk (less than 15 minutes we've been told) to our lodging.  Off we go and promptly get lost.  I find a couple to ask directions and we are once again on our way.  And . . . . we once again get lost.  Thanks to a helpful florist in a cute little shop, we are soon on the right path and although it will take us another 15 minutes to get to the house, we have it down now.

Several great monuments are around and we even find why it is named the Piramides stop.  (There are two of these.)

We cross a the Puente de Toledo, a historic foot bridge over the Manzanares River.  It's simply beautiful and comes complete with wonderful arch statues.

At the other end a beautiful walkway leads into another part of the city.  This is the San Isidro area and it is bustling with all the vibrancy I expect of a walking city.

At the end of the walkway, before reaching the main road, this little lady grabs our attention.

A quick check-in to the apartment, drop our bags, and we are off and on our way to explore Madrid.  (Pictures of the place to be taken later.)  Our first order of business is to find food.  It is now almost noon in Madrid (5 a.m. back home and we have been going for 22 hours at this point).  The cameras are out and we are grabbing memories as we look for a bite to eat.  Their main eating hours here are from 2-4 so we are a bit early, but manage to locate a place where we are the "crazy tourists eating at this hour" and the only people in the place, although there are others eating at the tables outside.  We order an item that we are assured will feed two.  Two what?  Dinosaurs?  Oh my goodness, what a lot of food - and so meat centric.  Mister tells me that he read that vegetarians don't do very well in Spain.  I can understand why.  Well, alrighty then --- let's live like locals.

With full bellies (no, not all, but a heck of a lot was eaten) it's time to strike out and find the main plaza.  Back to the metro and up into Puerta del Sol, which is packed and so much is going on.  Finding some barriers to stand inside, I glance around and just take in the whole scene.  The square is named for a long-gone medieval gate which had the sun carved into it.

The Tio Pepe sign atop one of the buildings, advertises a famous sherry and has been in that location for more than 100 years.  It is the only such sign allowed on the square --- no other billboards.

The statue of King Charles III sits center in the square and pays homage to a very beloved "mayor".

Across the plaza is the Bear and Tree Strawberry Monument.  Yes, I have questions.  Apparently it is here because the bears used to live in the royal hunting grounds outside of Madrid.  The madrono (you got it, strawberry is a weird translation) tree produces a berry that makes the tradition madrono liqueur.  As I watch, everyone lines up to rub his foot -- apparently producing some good luck to each one who does.

One side of the square, Casa de Correos, contains the old post office.  It is red and white with a cool bell tower and built in the 1760's.  It now houses the office of the President of the Community of Madrid.  Directly in front of it is a marker that is "kilometer zero," the very center of Spain.

As we head down Calle Mayor, a sweet treat shop comes into view.  It is La Mallorquina and I cannot believe how many people are in this shop.  I hold out zero hope of buying a treat, but do manage a few pictures as does Mister.  In this one below, you can see me in the upper right corner attempting to get a shot of the coffee bar.

I did say attempting.  It's really not the best picture, but still shows some of the craziness.  Behind me, I have a clear view behind the counter where all appears to be calm.  I have no idea how, but they are just taking it all in stride.

Continuing on our way, the streets are just bustling with locals, tourists, and many in town for a what appears to have been an important soccer game.  I'm thinking the red team won as they are certainly living it up.  We stop for a few minutes to get a quick video and walk away shaking our heads and laughing.  They are just so fun.

Half is sideways -- I can't help it.  I'm just not smart enough to hold the phone in one direction.

Continuing our walk, we come to the entry to Plaza Mayor but the entry is loaded with "souvenir" shops.  We usually just pass these by but the one with the colorful dresses catches my eye for a brief moment.  It would be fun to get these for all the girls but I have one carry-on bag and I really can't add much to the weight of it.  Off to the archway we go.

Upon entering the square, the first thing I see is paella being served.  It looks great and Mister has it on his list of things to savor while here.

Now to focus on the square.  I LOVE the color.  This square has been here since 1619.  Think about that for just a second.  Four hundred years.  Wow.  Each side is uniform and once upon a time the city's theater was right here.  It also hosts a variety of other historical moments and not all were grand.  Bullfights, fires, royal pageants, events of the Inquisition.  The wonderful burgundy of the square is the result of a citywide vote.

A quick peek into Torre del Oro Bar Andalu gives us the nod to the bull that is pictured above.  It's just a quick look as this sport really doesn't interest me at all.

As we continue the walk, we come to the Mercado and before entering for a quick peek, a bottle of water at the local market is required.  We should buy a dozen here as they are only .6E - that's by far the cheapest we have seen.  The Mercado reminds us of some of the upscale markets we have seen in Portland and Atlanta.  Someday Dallas will have one too.

Now, what's next?  Our lovely little list says that around the corner is the church of Corpus Christi.  Our sources say that if we locate the big brown door on the left we will find a sign: Venta de Dulces (sweets for sale) and we can buy goodies.  We locate the door but are dismayed to see a sign that tells us they are out for today.  So sad.

 I'll tell you what was supposed to happen ---- there is a buzzer and if you press it, the cloistered nuns will answer over the intercom.  One says "Dulces" and you are let in.  When the lock buzzes, push the door open and follow the sign to the lazy Susan that lets the sisters sell their baked goods without being seen.  Drat it anyway.

As we wander through the nearby streets, interesting doorways pop up all around.  This door belongs to the Real Sociedad Economica building and is considered the oldest door in town on Madrid's oldest building - inhabited since 1480.

The next square has City Hall and a wonderful small garden.  The statue is of Don Alvaro de Bazan, the leader in a battle with the Turks in 1571.  This particular square was the heart of medieval Madrid.

Walking through here is one interesting bit of architecture and history after another.  I can't even keep up with it all.

At the end of Calle Mayor, we come to Calle de Bailen.  Look at the colorful buildings here.

Across the street is the Cathdral of Almudena - built 1883-1993.  That's right - over a hundred years in process.  We use a side entrance and I am stunned by the doors.  They show a relief of the cathdral's 1993 consecration by the Pope.

Let's go in.

Oh my wonders.  It is magnificent.  My eyes can't take it all in at once and I absolutely know that the pictures will not do justice.

I am stunned.  It is truly beautiful.  The attention to detail is incredible and I want to just sit and look forever.

One of the alcoves holds the Gothic Chest of Saint Isidro.  This is a 12th century coffin (empty, painted leather on wood) of Madrid's patron saint, Isidro.  The story is told that he was a humble farmer and able to get angels to do teh plowing for him while he prayed.  Forty years after he died, his coffin was opened and his body was found to be miraculously preserved.  This convinced the Pope to canonize his as the patron saint of Madrid and of farmers.  May 15 is his upcoming feast day.

The sun is moving lower in the sky and has penetrated some of the stained glass windows, leaving beautiful colors on the pillars.

As we exit, I manage to look back and grab a picture of the cathedral before rounding the corner to see the front.

It's absolutely beautiful and faces the Royal Palace.  I really want to see the palace as it is supposed to be the 3rd grandest in Europe.  After resting on the cathedral steps for a bit, we walk towards the palace only to discover that it is not open today.  I am so sad as this is due to a special event.  It will reopen tomorrow at 10.  Perhaps we can try then.

Now what?  A quick glace at our list and we are soon off to find a metro and head to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia.  This is one of the two museums we have selected for this leg of our journey.  The focus is on Spanish Artists and I'm hoping to see a few Picasso's along with some others.  Perhaps I will learn a bit more about art -- I'm always so jealous of my sweethearts knowledge in this area.

The museum sits a a nice square and upon our arrival, we discover that the museum is free if we wait for a little over half an hour.  No worries. I'm off to find water.

While I am gone, Mister finds a spot to lay where he can get his legs up a bit.  He wound up with a mild case of deep vein thrombosis from sitting so long on the plane.  His right leg is puffy and red and HOT.

After giving him some water, I take a spot in the line until the museum opens and we are off to explore once again.

As we ride the open elevator, I can look down and see how many are still in line.

In the center of the museum is a beautiful courtyard --- everything is just so very green.

Now for the art.  There are just so many wonders here, but I'll share a few that really struck me.  I love the palette here.

Both of these really speak to my.  Perhaps my love of geometric figures is coming out in art appreciation now too.  These are by Juan Gris (1913) and are representing violins and guitars.

I can see doing things like this with quilts and am quite fascinated.

Nearby a Picasso hangs regally and I am drawn in.  There are many Picasso works that are not appealing to me, but this one is for some reason.  It is entitled "Woman's Head" and was created in 1909-1910.

In another room, we are treated to the original Guernica by Picasso.  This particular work has such an interesting past.  Mister had seen it years ago in New York, during the Franco years while it was exiled from Spain, but for me, seeing these masterpieces is quite mesmerizing.  They don't allow pictures in that room but trust me, it's really interesting to view and they also have a wall of sketches showing the progress of this great work.  After Franco's death in 1975, it was allowed to return home and finally returned in 1981.  Very cool and this is where is does indeed belong.  So many wonderful works by Picasso, Dali, Miro, and Gris.  Continuing on . . .

After a few hours, we are finished.  All around.  It's now going on 31 hours since we woke and our bodies are rebelling.  Back to the apartment we go.  Now, you can see our lovely abode - and all for the amazing price of $69.00 per night.  It also has two more bedrooms and another bath, plus a full kitchen.

The windows open completely and we can hear families enjoying the evening at the park below.

As I'm hanging out the window taking pictures, Mister calls my name from the dining area window.

Yes, we should be going to bed but the little pub right below us has appeal too.  A quick beer, time to recap the day, and discover how much we walked: 21, 672 steps and 8.9 miles.  I am feeling everyone one of them at this point.  We are now relaxed enough to sleep so it's good night to Madrid.  See ya tomorrow.