Back to Madrid...zip!
Granada back to Madrid--to a different hotel near the Royal Palace. It is called the Hotel Room Mate Mario and it is a darn cool hotel (I have been to lots). It was modern, edgy, free breakfast, and the staff was nice and helpful. Onto room 121!
Dreaming psychedelic...
No time to dilly-dally as just a block away is the Royal Palace.
This was breakfast :)
No time to dilly-dally as just a block away is the Royal Palace.
This was breakfast :)
The palace was closed but the cathedral by it was not. So we walked in for a gander.
We had no idea how modern the decor was. The colors were so vivid and au courant!
On our walk, I found a Madrileno's wallet. We turned it in to the Policia. Good deed done for the day!
Can you guess what is wrong with this picture?
Plaza Mayor
The Bear and tree--symbol of Madrid. Beb is at the bustling Puerta del Sol area of town. Tons of tourists all over enjoying the warmer temps albeit most of the shops were closed this Sunday.
Beb did spot a gelateria so onto some cones! Beb on the Gran Via as we walked our way across town to the Buen Retiro Park past the Prado Museo.
This is my zone.
Parque de Buen Retiro--filled to the brim with people enjoying the late hours of sun and warmth.
This was what Beb felt after going through the crowds of dancing and drum circles. Seems everybody had the idea of spending some time with all of their friends drinking and smoking and dancing and playing music at the park. So we sauntered to a quieter end...
We walked back to the hotel but saw this Indian restaurant we passed a few times before when we first got into Madrid. It was great food but more interestingly were the waiters who chatted in their native tongue and then taking our order in Spanish. We had our meal on "medium" heat and it was plenty spicy! We both noticed that all the madrilenos who came in order "not" spicy (or wussy spicy). The chutneys and onion pakora were exceptionally tasty.
On our last leg home, of course the night would not be complete without a picture of the Museo de Jamon.
Junjunjumps!The next day was to the Palacio Real!
Amazing grand staircase to the Palace interiors...
The palace was opulent and decadent. You can't help imagine the wealth of the times (and the amount of slave labor involved) when looking at this grand monument.
Time for the Changing of the Guard yet?Off to the Armory and Apothecary....
The suits of armor were astounding--the sheer number and level of detail not found in any other collection in the world.
They also had their drug pushers then :)
Angel Corella was/is a principal dancer with the famous American Ballet Theatre. He has a shop nearby filled with ballet accoutrements--unfortunately none for guys which was weird!
Zipped down to Madrid's Plaza de Espana near the Salamanca district. We sat down to have some sandwiches and empanadita while watching the Chinese tourists risk their lives getting up to the statue of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.
Monumento de Debod
Back in Salamanca, we went to recommended tapas bar-- La Colonial de Goya. We had their house special with a couple copas of house white. Yummy! Cheap too at less than 20 bucks!On the way back to the hotel, Beb saw this chocolateria sign amidst the hubbub of bustling tourists. We decided to bust through the throng of folks to queue up for an amazing experience...
For six euros, we both got the hot chocolate with churros. They were soooo busy that all the staff were frazzled! The Madrilenos made sure that they got their stuff and were sooooo helpful (this woman and another man) that they told the staff that we were needed to be served and that we were from out of town (this was all in Spanish mind you!). We got out with our lives and luvin' heaps of yum-yum.
Hot churros!
Churro fondue!
Toast and....
...bottoms up!
Back at the hotel....
We got hungry and jonesing for some more Spain experiences, we walked out into the rain to get some kebaps and last views of the Palacio Real.
What an amazing trip. It was short but it was packed with food, fun, and unforgettable experiences. We say farewell to our dear Spain and hope to be back again soon. Adios!
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 8:33 PM.
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Dma, you and Kyle sure like man-holes. You should get together sometime and compare each other's. Oops, I meant man-hole covers, of course! :-)
LOL. That sure is one Dennism. You should start liking man-holes too and we can form an anonymous group :)
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