Madrid

 Madrid: Halfway point of my monthlong trip. 

Didn’t do much in Madrid. Busy capital city bustling with people. It is exhausting to walk through the Puerta de Sol (plaza) where the bear statue is the precise center of all of Spain. 

People gather around the statue for pictures and many others will jump to touch for bear’s behind. If they miss, there is always the foot they can grab on the way down.  You can see the shiny spots on Mr. Bear. 



I chanced getting into the Prada Museum when it was free admission, but the line was so long that I went to the Botanical Gardens next door. 

                   The line to the Prada.  Skipped it and went to the Royal Botanical Gardens below.
                                                                   Bonzai--100 years old. 


I spent 1 Euro to get in at the gardens--Good to be a senior.  About ½ hour before the museum closed, I did try to enter but they said no, too late. Oh well.  I did see other gardens I liked even better for free.  Here is the rose garden I found. 

I gently strolled back to the hotel, stopping for dinner at what looked like a French café.  Had a very good crispy shrimp taco, which, was really a tostada with three shrimp and a cardboard tortilla.  It was pretty good and even better with the beer.  My other meals were non-descript. I ended up at KFC and took it back to the hotel. Tonight, I stopped at Taco Bell (all other places don’t really open until later). But I was able to get a cerveza with my meal (better than coke with caffeine!) 

I don’t want to make anybody jealous, but I did stop for a Pastel de Nata, and it was creamy deliciousness. 



The next day had a late breakfast after sleeping until 930. I have barely seen anybody from the tour.  I truly feel I am on my own.  We have one more night in Madrid.  I did some laundry at the local laundromat.  I ended up walking, walking, and walking but not really seeing too much exciting stuff.  

I woke up the next day with a sore throat.  Man, I am catching a cold in Spain! It seems I only get sick in Spain. (I had covid last time we were here).  Although, it is not too bad, head colds sap your energy.  I don’t want to be around a whole lot of people, so I will stay to myself and try not to talk. 

Three days in Madrid is way too long for me.  


        If you can, look closely at the messages in the windows.  I am not a doll.  Message of the dept. store. 

                                              This is the closest I got to a bull.  Look on the wall.  
Churches have gotten smart.  Why spend money on real candles--when you could use electric ones.  Does it send the same message to God?
                                                                                City. 
Okay, this picture would have been better but the light was too bright and the rotten rose jump into the shot. 
This is what we live for on the Rick Steves' tours.  Our guide, Rich, lets us know what to expect for the day. 
                            This is our bus for the 16 of us.  That is counting Rich and the Driver, David. 

Next stop is Granada. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Get ready for another adventure-my friends

 Hello gentle folk,  Well, I am at it again.  I will be making my way to France, Spain with a short stop in Andorra before landing back in the US in Boston.  I took some of my frustrations from last year and will see if I can mitigate the problems I experienced and apply to a brand new adventure.  The first problem from last year was the weather.  It rained alllll the time while in London and northern parts of my trip.  This year, I will start in the southern portion where perhaps the rain will clear up faster but still not be too hot.  Last year, transportation problems gave me a big headache.  This year, I will not be so ambitious about getting to the out-of-way places by train.  I have decided to do two very different tours but with both there will be plenty of free time to explore. I will fly into the city where the tour starts and have my own apartment.  No roommates. The only transportation I need to arrange is air and a small...
Read more

Made. It. To. Barcelona. Yay!

Image
  Made. It. To. Barcelona. Yay! The backside of the Pyrenees: on the way to Barcelona: (I had three hours of driving time---what else did you expect but pictures--all drive-bys) Here we go... Today is the first day of the Rick Steves Tour.  We will meet at 5pm for orientation.  It is now around noon at the bus station. It only took the bus about three hours.  I just need to figure out if I am going to take city transportation-metro, bus, or train--to get close to the hotel NH Collection. So, I sit, eat lunch looking out the window.  The weather was supposed to hold rain but earlier in the morning.  It looks like it is sprinkling. People are walking with umbrellas.  Hmm, made my decision--TAXI.  I saw them when I came in, so I know where to go.  Settled into room.  It will do.  There is an elevator, and I am on the third floor, which translates into the first floor in hotel speak.  ...
Read more

My apartment in Toulouse

Image
My Apartment. After climbing the 82 stairs, I am in the “Attic” apartment or what I imagined would have been in the late 17 th century.  There are two apartments in this attic area; apartment numbers 7 and 8. Funny there are only six mailboxes, so I am wondering if both these apartments are vacation rentals.  The apartment I inhabit is smallllllll but has almost everything needed. It lacks a good chair with a back.  When checking it out I spot a sign on the washing machine as “Do not use”.   Oh, my gawd, the reason I picked this apartment was because it had a washer.  I don’t know if I am going to put up with four flights of stairs numbering 82 and NOT have a washer!!! When I reached out to the property manager, they took care of it and five days later I had a new washer installed.  YAY.    I am putting up with stairs. My routine is as such on a weekday: leave by 8:15am to get to language class, have lunch out/or at t...
Read more