Madrid Day Four

We started today wandering through more unfamiliar streets to take us to The Basilica de San Francisco El Grande. It was open but only for guided tours. We went in any way and joined a Spanish speaking tour - but it was worth it. If we had bottled out we would have missed an amazing church and would not have been taken behind the scenes.

 Above: the main alter.      Below: the Sacristy normally closed to prying eyes.

 Above: more behind closed doors.     Below: part of the church's art collection.

 We both loved the dragon making up part of the chapel gates.

 Below: to give some indication as to the size of the dome. There are between 6 and 8 side chapels around it.

 Below: the Dome. It measures 33m across.

 The outside doesn't prepare you for what you see inside.....and it is still a working church.

After that we went to the Palacio Real. We were only allowed to take pictures outside so here is one of the inner courtyard.

 And here are a couple of visitors!

 

The palace was fantastic - full of magnificent chandeliers, sculptures and clocks. We took the audio guide; had a snack and still needed three and a half hours. For more details check out their website.

After that we walked past the Parque del Oeste where the cable car was and headed to part of the university where we went to the costume museum. Another great visit; no photos allowed! It was interesting to see how different much of the Spanish costumes were; and the how suddenly all of Europe began to dress in a similar way.

When we had finished there we walked a new route back stopping off at a little Spanish bar for burger and beer. Lovely - and we were the only non locals there. Very authentic (in a Wetherspoons kind of way!). We had had enough by now and took ourselves off to bed.

Madrid Day Three

We started today back on the buses...Route 1 extended trip. Quite interesting but much of it spoilt by the open top bus not being very open!! As time went on we decided that we needed to get off and actually go INTO some of the places we had seen.
As we walked past, we caught the tail end of the changing of the guard - the soldiers are very smart but so short!

Our first proper stop was the temple (outside pics see earlier blog). It was amazing seeing real life old Egyptian stone work right in front of you in Spain. The temple was covered for 60 years or so by the water from the Aswan Dam so the Egyptians dug it up and sent to Spain to restore! Like the logic!

  

Then the cable car ride. We love these trips! Only a few minutes but gives a different view of the city...not to mention the snowy mountains that are so close.

Here we are inside the Palacio de Comumnicaciones (though I am sure I called it something else in a previous blog!). It is the large white symmetrical princess palace that I was so impressed with ...so now be equally amazed by the inside. It has exhibitions, cafes, viewing towers and offices; very complex.

And from the viewing platform, here are the snowy hills I mentioned earlier!

At the end of the day we went back to the Plaza Mayor for a meal. We had planned to see the city in the dark ( a final go on the buses) but were prevented by a trilogy of reasons.

1. There was a military band entertaining us with lovely music.
2. It still wasn't dark when we finally got back to the hotel....and
3. It was raining and the bus driver wasn't sure where he would finish - what a wimp!!

Madrid Day Two

After breakfast, we went to Puerto del Sol where we bought a 2 day Open Top bus ticket. The man at the desk explained everything in Spanish but because we knew what he was trying to tell us and he pointed to the leaflet, it all made sense!!

The first three pictures are examples of some of our favourite architecture. We had to really cut down on what we could blog – we took about 140 photos today alone!

We found an amazing market for lunch and had a plate of tapas between us for the price of one portion in a restaurant. It was very good and worth it even if we had to stand. I would be happy to eat there every day.

  

Our main stop off point in between a few wanderings was the Parque de El Retiro. It has over 2,000 acres and was beautiful. There were monuments, fountains, gardens, palaces and birds. The first photo is part of an interesting selection of art in one of the palaces. The last of these 4 is the Palacio de Cristal (clue is in the name!). We took loads of this building and every one was magical as the sun reflected so well on the walls and the water.

After that we walked and bused slowly back to the hotel visiting the train station (Estacion de Atocha) and the Inglesia de los Jeronimos, a fab example of Gothic architecture that is a little at odds with the rest of the city.

At the end of the day we sat outside at a restaurant in Plaza Mayor and had paella and beer and wine. A great end to a great day – and off to bed!