Madrid is the capitol of Spain, the third largest city in Europe and the financial center of Southern Europe. As with many other places in Spain it was initially a Roman city that fell to the Visigoths, the Moors then was ultimately incorporated into Christian Castille in 1085.
We are staying at the Hostal Oriente; a lovely spot in the center of the city. We awoke at 5:30 the first morning to Shakira and the smell of baking bread. Off to see the sunrise!
Artistic street signs
As a tourist there are many places to visit.
- Palacio Real, the royal palace for hundreds of years; still used for state functions.
Courtyard
Almudena Cathedral
Entrance to the palace.
- The Buen Retiro Park , founded in 1631, belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th century.
The Crystal Palace
Promenade to the Prado Museum.
Monument to Alfonso the 12th
Full view
Walkway through the middle of the park.
- There are three large museums located on the Paseo del Prado: Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum, (a museum of modern art), and the Thyssen-Bornemisza.
The Prado
Rebuilt church housing sculpture.
A copy of the Mona Lisa being copied again.
Entrance
- Almudena Cathedral is just opposite the Royal Palace.
The interior
The cathedral at night.
- Madrid is incredibly pedestrian friendly. Many streets are closed to traffic and everywhere there are parks.
The sidewalk is well segregated from traffic.
This street is just open to pedestrians for most of the day.
Cool! Here we have Mizzle – too much for mist too little for drizzle…
It has its own moist beauty – I could do without washing the mud off the dog.
So – never mind the churches – I am looking at the blue sky behind them.
I get up too early – I reach the weekend like the end of a long run – and then it goes on ferrying kids about & hopping about myself.
But: as soon as I have a minute I plan how to fill it w yet more hopping – it is delicious!
And there is still book time – we are half through the Goblet of Fire.
Another 2 yrs max and the twins won’t want this…
Fancy coming over?
We DO have a spare room with a garden view…
Anytime…
We all love the HP books! We’d love to visit but still not sure final plans.