A Week in Madrid

March 15 – 22, 2025

We originally scheduled this Delta Vacation to Madrid in 2021, but an opportunity arose, and we rescheduled to London, but then another opportunity arose and we rescheduled to Florence, but then during our trip to Iberia in 2024 we liked Madrid so much that we rescheduled back to Madrid. And this trip almost didn’t happen because of a passport renewal delay. Finally with all obstacles overcome, we are packing to leave on Paul’s Birthday.

We have contracted with Sara Sanchez-Andujar to help us learn Madrid inside and out.  Sara was part of a team of local guides that shepherded our group around Madrid last November.  We were so impressed by her enthusiasm and knowledge (and Passion for the Prado) that we kept in contact with her and negotiated a fun week.

Here’s the plan:

Day

Date

Activity

Saturday

3/15

Leave Chattanooga

Flight DL0108 leaves at 18:15

Fly to Madrid

Sunday

3/16

Arrive Madrid 0800

Transfer to the Westin Palace

Mass

Explore

Monday

3/17

AM – with Sara in Old Town

PM – Open

Tuesday

3/18

AM – with Sara Thyssen Museum

PM – Open

Wednesday

3/19

AM – with Sara at the Prado

PM – Open

Thursday

3/20

All day – with Sara in Toledo

Friday

3/21

AM – with Sara at the Royal Collection

PM - Open

Saturday

3/22

Leave Hotel early

Flight DL 0109 leaves at 10 AM

Flight arrives ATL at 15:10

Sunday

3/23

Unpack and recover

 

We started our Novena to St. Christopher and our packing lists on March 6, when the passport issue was resolved.  The weather in Madrid appears to be about the same as Chattanooga – 50’s and spotty rain. Although the weather forecast gives us a rough idea of how to pack, we have learned to expect the unexpected and to be flexible.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Saturday March 15 Atlanta We left home around 11 made it to the OK cafe for lunch and then sat in Atlanta traffic for some 20 minutes but eventually got to the airport. The hourly lot was full, so we had to park in the park and ride lot. With 98 spaces left we eventually found a place to park on the roof.  We took the shuttle, got checked in and through security by 3. The plane left on time, wheels up at 7PM. We missed waiting in the first-class lounge, but we soldiered on. Concourse E is very long, so we managed some 6500 steps. Sunday March 16 We had a nice Comfort Plus seat, ate a mediocre dinner and settled in. Shirley had a good book and Paul watched the Conclave, which was very good. We managed to get a few hours’ sleep although it wasn't as comfortable as the pods in first class, but we managed somehow. The 767-400 landed 15 minutes early. We were through passport control, baggage claim and met our transfer driver by 9:00. Then, we made a no traffic ride to the hotel an...
Read more
Image
  March 19 Madrid The queue to enter the Thyssen Museum Museums are very popular here. Groups of students from the very young to the teen age years are regular visitors.  The group pictured was from France and they each had a sheet of paper with opportunities to write answers and impressions about the collection inside. Shirley and Paul had Sara and did not require a study guide or a test. The King, the Queen and Shirley The Thyssen-Bornemisza museum is one of the “Big Three” in the art district of Madrid.  The other two are the Reina-Sofia and the Prado. Each has their specialty. The Thyssen boasts very old to very modern and that is where we went today.  Sara took us on a trip of Art History from early Italian to the very modern. The way she explained the journey was through representative artists and works. The explanation The tour took almost 3 hours, and we relaxed with a coffee after we saw what we needed to see. We then set out toward the massiv...
Read more