Whirlwind Visit to Madrid

The post below details Fri, Aug 29: 

Today is our only full day in Madrid.  We decided on a hop-on/hop-off bus tour to get a good, quick overview of the city.  The concierge was very helpful, pointing out many great lunch options, key attractions and even sold the bus tour tickets. 

The start of both routes was directly across a round-about from our hotel, so we made a quick stop at Starbucks so I could get a muffin, then on to the bus.

A bus was leaving almost immediately and we got the front seats on the upper level of the bus.  Route 1 that we took had about 20 stops and lasted about 1.5 hours.  This tour thoroughly covered the key attractions and historic areas of the city.  Included along the way:

- Puerta del Sol

- Plaza Mayor

- Iglesia de San Genis

- Teatro Real

- Museo del Prado

- Royal Palace

- Catedral Nuestra Senora la Almudena

- Parque del Retiro

- Gran Via

Puerto del Sol:

Plaza Mayor:

Museo del Prado:

Several other cool buildings along the route:

Our hotel - Westin Palace:

Still on my lamp-post theme:

Overall a great tour of the city and interesting historical facts.  During our entire time in France, whenever we mentioned that we were going to Madrid it was met with indifference at best but usually with a sour-face reaction.  With the feedback we had received we had discussed even changing the trip to extend our time in France and eliminate Madrid.  However, we found the city to be beautiful!  The people of Madrid were extremely friendly, we didn't have to deal with the crowds that were in Paris, it was extremely clean and so welcoming.  Unfortunately it was also very hot...I can't image how hot it would be in the middle of July.

After the first tour ended, we agreed to take the second route - and it was included in our ticket.  The second route was not as enjoyable as the first.  It traveled north in the city and was not as scenic or historic.  The few buildings of note were mostly hidden by large trees.  The best sight along the second route was probably the soccer stadium for Real Madrid.  It was surprising that the stadium was in the middle of the city center, completely land locked.  We didn't even notice any parking at the stadium.  A German family of 5 in front of us provided great entainment - the mother took pictures non-stop, talked non-stop, making sure the kids and her husband noticed everything.  The husband was reading a guide book almost the entire time.  The two teen-age sisters took about 50 selfies, with me in the background of each of them - I tried to smile for most of them.  Perhaps Facebook will have facial recognition of me and I'll be tagged in their selfies!  The younger brother changed seats every other block.

Real Madrid Soccer Stadium:

We exited the second tour a few stops early when it traveled near Plaza Mayor.  This is the largest square in Madrid and has many small cafes, shops, etc.  We decided to have an outdoor lunch on the Plaza.

Service at the café was very slow.  We had to wave down the server, ask different servers and remind our server many times.

The a la cart menu prices were quite high, so we both decided on the multi-course plate of the day which had multiple choices.  I started with mushrooms with ham for my starter - and it was just that - lots of mushrooms cut into smaller pieces and less than 5 VERY small pieces of ham.  For the main entree I had a veal ragout that came with a side of fries - a rather odd combination.  Finally I had carmel flan. All this for 11 euros and included a glass of wine too.

The restful time at the cafe, in the shade was quite nice...and even better that the umbrellas had misters - I felt like I was back in Scottsdale.

After lunch we explored more of the Plaza Mayor, even taking my picture behind a Matador costume.  It was after taking the photo that we learned that there was a charge - luckily just 1 euro.

From the Plaza, we headed to Mercado de San Miguel.  This market reminded me of Pike's Peak in Seattle or South Street Market in Philadelphia.  This would have been a great lunch option if we had only found it earlier.  It was fun to walk the entire market, seeing tons of interesting food and taking pictures.

Mercado:

Lots of ham:

Some being sliced directly from the pig's leg:

And olives:

After leaving the market, we hopped on the bus to go to the Centro Arte Reina Sofia.  This is the modern art museum in Madrid and Bridget had read that the museum had several pieces of one of her favorite artists.  The museum was a little difficult to find and we had to ask several locals on the sidewalks how to get there.  We got our tickets and immediately found a guide to ask the location of the Arranz-Bravo pieces.  The guide got a very confused look, so that wasn't a good sign.  Bridget worked the guide for about 15 minutes - searching Google to show multiple sources indicating his work was displayed at this museum, but then searching their entire collection and his name didn't even appear.  Ultimately the museum employees were very gracious and even gave us a refund.

From the museum, we headed back towards the hotel.  We had noticed several interesting shops and street vendors near that hotel that we wanted to explore for souvenirs.  I got multiple post cards, a few key chains to make Christmas ornaments (in over three weeks of travel, only Paris has had even one true Christmas ornament) and a great Spanish tile for my desk at home.

We returned to the hotel around 6:30 and were both exhausted.  The heat of the day was so draining!  We both collapsed in the living room (not sure if I mentioned yesterday that we were upgraded to a fantastic suite, but doesn't have a view at all - looks to an inner courtyard of the hotel).  

We decided we would go out together for dinner and then would split up for the rest of the evening.  We both showered, dressed up a bit (the first time we have dressed up for dinner!) and headed out for Cava Baja - a street near Plaza Mayor that is lined with tapas restaurants.  

From the taxi, we walked up and down Cava Baja once to look at the menus for each of the tapas restaurants.  Some were very traditional looking, some were more modern, some were very crowded and loud, some were standing only - quite a bit of variation.  We had agreed on 3 or 4 key tapas that we wanted, so our final selection had to have all of them, plus have chairs!

We were pleased with our selection - was much more traditional than some of the other options.  We had shrimp with garlic, ham croquettes, calamari and meatballs.  The portions were much larger than we were expecting...especially considering they were tapas!  Bridget had sangria and I had  Tempranillo.  

After dinner, I walked Bridget part of the way to Plaza Mayor for the concert she wanted to attend; however, many folks were walking the opposite direction and it was about 11:15, so very likely that the concert had ended (I later learned that it had ended).

I headed for the subway - and it was a little longer than I expected based on the map.  I figured out my route and the ticket price, but encountered a little problem when trying to buy the ticket.  It wasn't clear where you inserted your credit card for payment and I almost lost my credit card to some mysterious slot.  Luckily I was able to push away enough of the rubber surrounding the slot to get a small hold on my card...after a few minutes, I worked it all the way out.  I then went immediately to the cash only machine!

The trains in Madrid are not as frequent as Paris and I had to wait over 10 minutes for the train.  Clean train, everyone behaving appropriately, but no entertainers.

I arrived at my stop in about 12 minutes.  The exit lead directly on to a big square with lots of small cafes.  At 11:45 PM, the square was packed.  I explored a little.  I never found the places that I had marked on the map, but I'm not sure if I ever figured out exactly where I was on the map.  I finally found the main street of the area and stayed with that.

I walked past several bars and clubs that were not even open yet.  Several more were open, but didn't look busy.  I ended up at a small local bar.  I ordered a Vino Tinto - nope, no wine.  How about a vodka tonic - nope, no vodka.  It was a very limited selection!

After checking out a few places, I headed back towards the subway around 1:30 AM.  I wasn't sure if it would be open, but decided to give it a try.  It was still open, but I would have to transfer trains to get near the hotel.  I had to wait about 5 minutes at each station.  I was surprised by the number of people out and about at this time of night/morning.  It was still about a 10 minute walk to the hotel from the train station.  

Another short night of sleep ahead!