Madrid

I arrived in Madrid from Oslo (quite tired as I had an early morning flight) and stopped in at the tourist information desk to get directions to my hostal. Armed with three maps, I got on the metro towards Sol. The metro here is quite extensive and I had to change subway lines three times before I was on the subway line that would bring me to the hostal. I found our hostal easily and A was already in the room as she had arrived from Canada earlier that day.

You might remember A from my travels here and here. We’ll be spending the next five weeks together traveling through Spain and then Morocco (woohoo!).

Madrid is BIG and there’s a lot to do here as far as Plazas, Historic Sights and Museums. We only had three days and wanted to do a mix of everything so we decided to go to the Prado Museum, take in a Real Madrid Soccer game, see the Palace Real, relax in Bueno Retiro Park and do a historic walking tour of Madrid (based on a walking tour found in Lonely Planet). All of these activities filled our days and boy were our feet tired of walking!!

Real Madrid was quite the experience. We found the stadium quite easily as it’s basically the first thing you see when you step outside of the metro stop. The area was all closed off with do not cross tape and there were hundreds of officers patrolling the area, as well as cruisers and ambulance ready and waiting. Little stands were set-up all around the stadium and they were full of munchies (nuts, sunflower seeds, popcorn, candy, soft drinks, etc) as well as Real Madrid merchandise. It turns out, you can bring your own food and drinks into the stadium. The game was fun, the crowd was going wild, singing and chanting and Real Madrid beat Amsterdam Ajax 3-0. We had a great night and a fun experience!

We also visited Plaza de Toros, the bull-fighting stadium in Madrid. It’s really a beautiful stadium, with red brick, colourful tiles and beautiful arches. We could have gone to see a bull-fight while here, however I didn’t want to. I think bull-fighting is barbaric and I don’t have the heart to watch a man kill an already battered and abused bull (who really has no chance of survival anyways). I understand it’s part of Spain’s history and culture, this doesn’t mean I need to support it.

Madrid was nice; however we were definitely ready to move on to Seville and Cordoba (post coming soon).

A and I in front of Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (where Real Madrid play):

In the Stadium with our tickets, waiting for the game to start!

Real Madrid vs. Amsterdam Ajax:

Fountain in Cibeles Square:

Almudena Cathedral (adjacent to Palacio Real):

Prado Museum:

I love the streets signs here!

Plaza de Villa:

Knocking on doors in Plaza de Villa:

Beautiful building covered in murals in Plaza de Mayor:

Close-up of the murals on the building above in Plaza de Mayor:

Hot chocolate dipped churros:

Palacio Real de Madrid:

Statues in Plaza de Oriente:

Some funky tile steps we found on our walk:

Sangria in Plaza de Mayor:

Love this newstand!

Madrid Bear and the Strawberry Tree in Puerta del Sol:

Pablo at Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas (Bull Fighting Stadium):

Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas:

Parque del Bueno Retiro: