Espana 2015 Madrid Toldeo Valencia Barcelona

We got this flight from Montreal to Madrid with transit in Philadelphia on United Airlines. Hum..we were not really enthusiastic about the whole thing but to our surprise, this was a very good experience. Our plane was half empty and the service was just great in a brand new aircraft! Food and wine were fresh and very good...

We landed one full hour ahead of schedule at Madrid Barajas airport; outside is still dark...7h30 in the morning, and cold, 7C. We were surprised by the efficiency and the functionality of the airport: within an hour, we were down town. Wandering around on Gran Via and then heading to Plaza Mayor where we enjoyed our first churros con cafe! sitting on a terrasse and feeling the excitement of this new Spanish adventure about to begin!

Our apartment was located in the old town close to Plaza de Espana and soon after we disposed of our luggage, we went to the Dia supermarket to buy supplies (wine! olives! jamon!) for our week long stay in Madrid. Life cannot get any better!


Later that day, we enjoyed the sun setting on "our neighbourhood"...

And we discovered the Mercado San Miguel. And a discovery it was...a gourmet paradise that we were to visit every day of our stay in Madrid!

Yes, it was a touristy place and ovepriced but how could we resist???? The vermut on tap was delicious, their olives out of this world!  It was so packed that it was difficult to take pictures...

 But attractive food offerings were everywhere in Madrid, not only at the  Mercado San Miguel!

We were positively surprised to be able to walk Madrid..no need to take the subway. And walking, we did: from Plaza de Espana to Plaza Mayor, the district of Lavapies, the area of the Reina Sofia Art centre and the handsome Atocha train station, Paseo Prado up to Plaza Colon and Alfredo Martinez! In all, we were charmed by the architecture and the harmony of its streetscape.

We enjoyed Parque del Retiro and joined the locals for a stroll, admiring the fountains, but also the park's 2 palaces, Palacio Velasquez and Palacio de Cristal. amidst the fall colours.

Closer to us, the Palacio real, the Madrid Catedral and the romantic grounds of Campo del Moro and Jardines Sabatini enchanted the end of some afternoons and our evenings.

Here on Campo del Moro with a beautiful view of the western face of Palacio Real.
There were beautiful structures, dating back to the Habsburgs, English -style gardens, all very charming.

When the capital of Spain was transferred from Toledo to Madrid in 1561, the seat of the Church in Spain remained in Toledo and the new capital had no cathedral. Plans to build a cathedral in Madrid dedicated to the Virgin_of_Almudena". Its construction only began in 1879. The cathedral is believed to have been built on the site of a medieval mosque.  


We really enjoyed our nightly walks around Palacio real..especially with moonshine!

Our visit at the Prado Museum was amazing: we viewed all Goyas,  El Grecos, Velasquez and other great chefs-d'oeuvre of Spanish and European paintings. There was an interesting collection of El Bosco (Hyeronymus Bosch) and Flemisch paintings. We wish we could take "weekly" art bites instead of spending 6 hours in one shot! But such is today's tourist reality!!!