March 17
Madrid
The symbol of Madrid is a Bear eating strawberries (or something like strawberries) from a tree
The first night of jet lag means a fitful sleep. We were prepared for that mentally, if not physically. We awoke at regular time, close to 7 AM. The breakfast is included, and so we availed ourselves of the omelet station, smoked salmon, good yogurt, Jamon, and Churros!
Paul wondered why the statue of Jesus de Medinaceli was famous and so a quick search on the internet revealed the story. Apparently on the first Friday of March, a substantial queue forms to kiss the feet of the statue. Once done, three wishes will come true. Alas, we arrived nine days after the first Friday of March. Had we known …
After Breakfast we met Sara our guide in the lobby of the Hotel. She recalled us and there were hugs of reunion and recounting stories of last-minute passport scrambles. We were layered up against a 35 degree morning with mist in the air. By the time we reached corner of the Palace of Communications building, Paul bought a knit hat, and Shirley bought a pair of gloves from a street kiosk.
Sara kept a running dialogue about everything Madrid. We learned so much today about architecture, art, the history of the city, the different personalities of some of the more important people who shaped Madrid and about Sara and her family and her history. We got along like old friends. Really, it was like having a good friend telling you interesting tidbits about whatever was in the field of vision. It was delightful. Having a personal guide is worth the cost and having one as personable as Sara is worth double the cost.
We walked and stopped, listened and asked many questions. Our route took us past the bank of Spain and toward the old town down the Grand Via. The architecture in Madrid is quite unique. There are bits of French influence, Moorish and homegrown styles, Art Deco and classical examples as well.
Example of Madrid architecture
We rode an elevator up on of the taller buildings with a giant statue of Athena on top. If we had clear weather, we could have seen snowcapped Mountains, hills and valleys, and various districts of Madrid. As it was we could barely make out the tall buildings of the financial center. From this vantage point we did get a sense of where we were and where was are going.
Shirley and Sara on top of the Athena building
The Athena building from the street
View from the top of the Athena building
We mentioned to Sara that Jenny had requested a fancy festival dress, and she knew just exactly where to take us. Maya’s the store with everything for the dancer. They specialized in Flamenco outfits.
After Maya’s we wound our way back in History to the older parts of the city. The streets got narrower, the building older, the pedestrian zones more frequent. We popped in a few old Churches to marvel at the ornateness and past glory of Spanish Catholicism. As usual we stopped and prayed for our friends and family.
Sara pointed out several places we might consider going back to for dinner or just checking out.
We got to our destination around 1:30, the Plaza Mayor – or the main plaza. It was quite crowded considering the weather, which had made it into the 40’s by now and the misty rain had stopped.
Another errand we undertook, aside from Hazel, Jenny, and Anders, was to retrieve a book of stamps from a numismatica’s shop at 28 Plaza Mayor for our friend Karl. We were very glad to have Sara along as she translated Daniel’s Spanish and let us know that he had not completed the order, but we were to come back in a day or two and it would be ready. Sara took a group picture of us, and we were off to lunch.
Along the Cava Baja, the street that used to be a moat surrounding the original walls of Madrid we ate at the Taberna de los Lucro. This was and maybe still is one of this political meeting places where “things’ get done. The food was quite good and reasonable. It was getting on 2 PM and Sara bade us ciao until tomorrow. We made our way, thanks to Google Maps to the Pikalino store near the iconic Schweppe’s sign, where we stocked up. Then back to the Hotel for a siesta.
At 5:30 we went downstairs for a libation and some people watching. This is one of the most entertaining activities we do on these trips. Everyone has a story, everyone is in a situation and it is fun and quite harmless to invent tales of intrigue around some couples. Like at lunch we saw a couple just like us in the way they swapped food according to the taste of one or the other and the wife paid the bill. (Shirley and Paul have this deal where Paul buys the Hotel and Shirley buys the food.) Int eh cocktail bar there were a few couples who were far from like us.
In the Spanish tradition we struck out for dinner close to 8. We were early as the natives emerge closer to 9. But, by going at 8, the restaurants were not crowded. We walked to the Plaza de Sana Ana and ate some really tasty tapas at a place called … wait for it … Tapas Tapas. We then strolled back to the Hotel to call it a day and maybe blog a bit. 17,412 steps or 6.85 miles registered on the iPhone.
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