On to Madrid

Tuesday

Tuesday arrived and at 5.30 I was up, finishing loading pictures to Flickr and by 7.45 we had showered, dressed and checked out of the hotel. At 8.00 we were catching the Metro to Barcelona Sants ready for the train to Madrid. We stopped in a cafe for our usual breakfast - Bocadillo de Jamón, Croissant de chocolate, Zumo de Naranja and coffee.

We had decided to book first class on the AVE, the journey was over three hours (just). This meant we had extremely comfortable seats, which could lounge back a long way, as Drew demonstrates on the right.

The train was comfortable, cool and travelled between 250 and 300 km an hour for most of the journey.



We were also well cared for on the journey. Between Barcelona and Camp de Tarragona we were served a coffee (with a biscuit) and a choice of drinks (Aqua con gas for us).



Between Tarragona and Lleida-Pirineus we had a hot towel, then coffee and drinks. Then between Lleida-Pirineus and Zaragoza Delicias we had the cafe and drinks and the option of a light meal, which I turned down but Drew took up.

We then travelled via Guadalajara – Yebes on to Madrid Atocha station. At Atocha we caught the Metro to the Anton Martin station. From there the hotel we were due to stay at, the Hotel Villa Real, was a 450 meters. We had also noticed when searching the area that a self-service lavenderia was nearby, and in fact we passed this while walking to the hotel.

We arrived at the Hotel Villa Real to discover that it is immediately across the road from the Congress of Deputies, Spain’s Parliament. However there was very little activity when we arrived, after about 5 minutes a guy appeared to explain that due to building work further down the road, we had passed it, the electricity of the hotel had been cut-off and they were not able to accommodate us. However their sister hotel, the Hotel Urban, was able to accommodate us for the two nights. He then walked with us and our luggage to the hotel Urban which was 200 meters away.

The Hotel Urban is a class higher than the Villa Real (five star Grand Lux), and it shows. The quality of everything in the hotel is remarkable, and the room provided not only a bed but a settee. The bathroom, not only had a large bath, but a separate room for the toilet. So we weren’t complaining about the move. The room even had its own Budda, slightly surprising in the middle of this catholic city, but other Buddhas appeared elsewhere in the hotel (see right).

We had arrived in Atocha at 1.10, by 2.00 p.m. we were on the street heading to the lavenderia. Anyone keeping count would know that we would have enough clothes until out first day in Paris, but we felt washing what was dirty now would be useful as that would see us through until we get home on Sunday. The lavenderia was the cheapest of the holiday, 4 euro to wash, 2 to dry and the powder and conditioner get thrown in for free.

While the washing was in the machine we walked across the road to a little local bar called Cervecería Mery-Cruz, this was run by two young guys who were very pleasant, it became our ‘local’ for the next few days. There we ordered two bottles of water each and had a tapa each, the tapas were albóndigas for Drew, three nice large meatballs and some chips. I had callos y morcilla, a beautifully spicy tripe with lovely bit of black pudding in it – a real delight, very different from the Basque callos I had the other night.

Our washing having finished it was back to the Hotel Urban to hang up our clothes. Though it was now 3.00 p.m. as we had had a quiet morning on the train, we decided to get out and explore Madrid. What struck us straight away is that though the temperature was the same as it had been in Barcelona, 33 Celsius, the humidity which made walking an effort in Barcelona was absent from Madrid, the sun was still very hot, but the lack of humidity meant a lack in sweaty rivers down our backs. Drew who suffers worse from humidity than me was very grateful.

Madrid is a city built by the Habsburgs in grand style. They ruled Spain for a couple of centuries and Philip the Second made Madrid Spain’s and the Empire’s (Spain was then ruling huge swathes of South and Central America) capital city. This Hapsburg Madrid starts includes the area in which our hotel is located and took us through Plaza Canalegas to Puerta del Sol, the zero kilometre point for all Spain’s roads. These are spectacular places with great views.

From the Puerta del Sol the Calle Mayor led us to Mercardo de San Miquel – this market was full of fresh fish, meat, vegetables and fruit as well as places to sit and eat and drink. It was lively and engaging.

The Mercado de San Miquel is right next door to the Plaza Mayor. When I learnt Spanish all the language around asking for directions and trying to find somewhere were focussed on the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, now we could say: Estamos en la Plaza Mayor. The Plaza Mayor was begun in 1617 and became a great gathering place for the artists and musicians who came to the court of the Royal Family.

We moved on the Cathedral de Nuestra Señora de la Almudena which was spectacular, both in its size, and in its mix of old and new stained glass. It also had chapels dedicated to many Spanish saints and blesseds, most I had not heard of, and one to Blessed John Paul the Second who visited the Church during his pontificate.

Opposite the Cathedral is the Paláis Real built in the 18^th century on the land where the ancient Moorish palace, the Alcázar, had stood from the 10^th century until it burnt down in 1734.

Around the Palace are two lovely gardens, the Plaza de Oriente and the Jardines de Sabatini, the latter being prepared for a Ballet on Ice show tonight. We wandered these enjoying the shade, the colours of the plants and the water features (all of which you can see more of on Flickr) for a few hours.

Coming back from the Palace and its gardens we walked along another street that runs into the Puerte del Sol called the Arenal, this then lead onto the banking district with its outstanding facades, of which the photo to the right is one example.

Tuesday Evening

We got back to the hotel at 7.30, tired, but nowhere near as tired as we would have been if we had done a similar walk in Rome, Naples or Barcelona. We were greeted by six chocolates and a bottle of Champagne to welcome us (though the Champagne got left) and a Rose. After a shower we headed back out at about 8.15 and looked to see where we might eat. We walked through another pretty square called Plaza Santa Ana.

We then found a lovely local restaurant called El Larcon. I was really pleased that having spent four days in Spain, my Spanish was kicking in, we managed all our dealings in this restaurant through the medium of Spanish, though on reflection this had been true at lunch time too as there was no option to speak anything else. We began with Pan con tomate as we looked at the menu, and I translated for Drew where he couldn’t remember a word.

Drew then opted for croquetas la casares, there were six of these and they were quite large, probably to much for Drew as a starter, but he finished them all with a little help. I had Gazpacho Andaluz, I criticised the gazpacho I had in Monte Carlo, well this one made up for it. Lovely tomato flavour and crunchy vegetables to drop into the soup, as it should be.

For mains Drew had chuletas de cordero lechal and those lovely lamp chops were cooked perfectly. Drew enjoyed eating the meat off the bone. I opted for the house special: Lacón con Gratas, Chorizo y Cachelos. The Lacon was nice enough, but the large chorizo beside it made for a hearty meal. The potatoes and spinach were a good accompaniment to the meat and balanced the dish.

For dessert I had Piña Natural, which wasn’t on the menu, but which they arranged with no problem. A piña can helados was on the menu, so it was easy for them to lose the ice cream. Drew has cesta de helados, a wafer bowl with ice cream, the ice cream, the bowl and the sauce all disappeared with speed.

So the end of our first day in Madrid, I am loving the City. Yes there are some tourist areas, but the back streets have authentic Spanish places that charge village not City prices. Unlike Barcelona where the tendency for restaurants is to try English first and default to Spanish if they do not respond, Madrid is clearly a Spanish city where the tourists are as likely to be Spaniards visiting the capital as they are to be people from elsewhere.