Madrid has 3 million inhabitants and possibly the same amount of tourists! It is a city is full of life during the day but particularly in the evening when people come out to eat tapas, drink sangria and socialize till the wee hours...(see pic us @ the market at 11pm)
Our Hotel is in a great position, opposite the Prado which we visited. The Prado itself is a gorgeous neo classical building with room upon room of 12-19th century paintings, Valazquez, Goya...in truth it was exhausting...though we learnt some Spanish history...
Madrid is easy to get around by foot or by Metro and particularly with Bern navigating...she seems to have an inbuilt GPS. Steve & Smithy also have an uncanny sense of direction and can find a good bar anywhere, anytime!
The highlight was a 3 hour bike ride seeing the sights...the Crystal Palace, the French gardens, Egyptian temple and places to eat. Mind you helmets optional, no bike lanes but fortunately wised up pedestrians, tolerant drivers and obliging policemen.
Interesting fact: Plaza Sol is the 'point zero' and street numbers from this point begin at 1,2,3 etc until the end of the given street, this pattern is repeated with all streets. So in theory if you were lost, you could walk to the end of the street (toward1),then the end of the street until you returned to zero...very good town planning!
We went to a very nice restaurant on our last night in Madrid where we had a combination of tapas and some lovely wine. The floor was glass and you could see the 15th century tunnels which was their cellar.
On the train to San Sebastián or Donostia as the Basque folk call it ready for a great time in the region. We are there for 5 days and have booked two top ten restaurants (12 months ago!) to try so it should be a lot of fun. We have really enjoyed Madrid and the lifestyles of the locals. They really know how to live..
Temperature: 31C
KIlometers travelled: 27 Kms on the push bike & 15 Kms by foot in one day.
Kcal consumed: far exceeded our Kcals burned+++
On our bike ride through the streets of Madrid
Janine very happy with life
Steve & Bern ready to ride
The palace
Outside the market at 10pm on a Tuesday night...
Well I'm enjoying reading this blog and seeing your pictures of where you are. Makes for a great distraction and respite from what's going on here. Janine is a great travel writer - really captures the essence and energy of your experiences. You all look so happy and well - great to see. Enjoy your play time in San Sebastian.
ReplyDeleteHola guys! Great to hear of your travels so far -- it sounds and looks like great fun. We're looking forward to hearing about your 'top 10' restaurant experiences, and seeing pics of the plates (if its not too bogen to take pics of the food there!) Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHey Jit, great to see you can't spell BOGAN. I think it means you're definitely not a Bogan. Bogen is a lovely town in Germany so I believe.
ReplyDeleteActually, come to think of it, would a bogan even know how to spell bogan? Okay, now I'm worried......tee hee
ReplyDeleteJit and I regularly laugh at graffiti written in Ballina - "Abbott is an IDOIT"
Bloody bogan!