Madrid is a feast for the soul. Some of the comments I read about Madrid stayed with me during the trip and I just don’t get what’s not to love about this city. It’s a pretty city with an abundance of amazing and important art work, precious artifacts, gorgeous fountains, parks and gardens. The people are lovely, so kind and helpful to us, never once did we feel unwelcome. And everyone dresses so nicely—we felt a little self conscious in our tourista clothes. ComfyShoes noted in his trip report that the women dress more feminine in Spain than they do in the States which I totally agree with. It was refreshing to be in this city, to walk the streets, admire the architecture, the bakeries, shops. Seeing elderly couples strolling arm in arm in their best Sunday clothes Monday through Friday makes us smile. The lack of Black Berries and cell phones is refreshing, the people here are present and seem to enjoy being where they are. I could gush on and on… We would love to go back and just take it all in all over again—we have never before felt so comfortable in such a big city.

For those of you just tuning in… DH lived in Madrid between the ages of 8-11 when his father was in the Air Force. I’ve seen the family pictures, heard the stories, long admired the gorgeous paintings of Spanish women and landscapes as well as furniture acquired during their time in Spain. Sadly, most of it was destroyed during Hurricane Andrew. The seed of want to visit Madrid was planted long ago and when the day finally comes for departure I find myself in the midst of a full blown panic attack. During our layover in Atlanta I want to turn around and go home. Not really sure the reason…. maybe the anticipation built on 25 years.

We board the plane for Madrid about the time it is scheduled for departure. Once everyone is settled the captain apologizes for the delay stating he was at home on the sofa with his wife watching Oprah when the call came through that the scheduled captain for this flight was MIA. Is that all? So long as we’re not diverted to JFK again. Then I wonder what was so good on Oprah that the pilot was watching it with his wife—things that make you go hmmmmm. We enjoy what feels like a quick 8.5 hour flight to Madrid arriving nearly on schedule without the original captain or customs forms. Immigration becomes a contest area to see who can fill out their forms the fastest. We win.

A circuitous route indeed…. as we make our way to the taxi rank the words “circuitous route”, taken from Maribel’s Guide, circles round and round in my head…it’s become my morning mantra…. “circuitous route, circuitous route”… so much so that in all likely hood I channeled the most circuitous driver in Madrid. After collecting our luggage, we make our way to the taxi rank and inch our way up the line as a guard points and directs passengers to awaiting taxis. Second in line, a driver points to us telling the guard, “I want them”. She ignores him, I’m thinking thankfully, and instead offers him the people waiting before us handing us off to a young sapling of a driver.

DH speaks Spanish well enough and he and the driver hit it off chatting away as though they are the very best of friends. It’s a quick trip into the city but once inside city center it seems to be taking longer than I think it should. The great thing is, we’re seeing all the major sights along the way and I’m struck at how pretty this city is. Flower lined streets, beautiful architecture, public art, fountains, sculpture, courteous drivers—what a promising first impression this is.

After awhile, though, I wonder what’s taking so long to reach our hotel. More than anything, we get the sense our driver doesn’t know where he’s going and is stressing over the situation as he begins to scratch his head in an irritated fashion and begins to curse the “stupid” GPS on his dashboard. Having studied the area maps I know that by the time we’re passing Atocha on the left we’re on the dreaded circuitous route. When DH inquires as to how much further we’re told 15 minutes….we know now that would be on foot. He seemed like such a nice kid that we choose to give him the benefit of the doubt. (Yes, I know, and thank you but we have enough stock in the Brooklyn Bridge.)

Finally, we’re dropped off at a pedestrian square and told the hotel is on a pedestrian walkway he can’t drive on, straight ahead. With maps packed in the suitcase we head in the direction he tells us to go which turns out to be wrong. We ask and ask for direction until finally we reach the hotel. We’re greeted at the hotel with looks of “with such big suitcases why didn’t you take a taxi?” To this day I don’t know where it was he dropped us off. The drive from the airport to the drop off location took nearly an hour and cost 39 euro. Along the way, we did receive a terrific overview / tour of the city and now know where everything is. The Madrid Vision Tour is no longer needed…. a savings of 19 euro. In the end, I think we came out ahead.

Home away from home…. for the next six nights. After months of agonizing I decide on Hotel Preciados, Calle de Preciados, 37. It is exactly what I expect to the point that as we’re unpacking I feel a little de ja vu. This is the perfect hotel for us—we love the spacious room and bathroom, the terrace overlooking the rooftops of Madrid, the sky light in the bathroom, free minibar, free internet access. It’s clean, quiet (thanks to double paned doors), there’s more than enough storage and the staff is extremely helpful and courteous. Also, we love the location—it’s not as refined as the area near the Prado but neither are we and we enjoy being in the thick of things, amongst the daily comings and goings of the people in the area. The pedestrian portion of Calle de Preciados really comes to life at night with street performers and musicians—we enjoy taking in the scene each night we return to the hotel.

Headed south in a northerly direction… once we’re unpacked we put together our day bag and head out to visit Palacio Real. Functioning on three hours sleep, little food, and an upside down map we head out confidently in the wrong direction and end up on the Gran Via. Por favor, donde esta Puerto del Sol? Donde esta Calle Mayor?? To the kind, patient people of Madrid we thank you for setting us right once again.

We walk everywhere. Everything we choose to see on this trip is accessible by foot and it’s so pretty here we’re not interested in being under ground. On the way to Palacio Real we stop in at Plaza Mayor. There’s a huge white tent set up in the middle of the square—some type of stamp, sellos, gathering is up and coming. We’ll see for ourselves on Sunday.

But today is Tuesday and finally we reach Palacio Real, still used today for state affairs, and take the self guided tour. We’re there for several hours admiring the artwork, furniture and those stunning chandeliers! Most exciting to see are the Stradivarius. I notice on the violin and viola there is only one fine tuner—were they not used? Are they missing? The craftsmanship is exquisite. There’s also an exhibit of exceptional tapestries that we long admire. Most everywhere we go DH is disappointed to learn indoor photos are forbidden—he thinks it’s a ploy to get us to buy the books and if that’s the case it’s working because we came home with about 20 pounds of books.

From the Palace we head next door to Iglesia de San Nicolas. Here, we are able to take photos without flash—some of which you’ll find in the photo link I posted. This is Madrid’s oldest church. The painted ceilings are stunning, unlike anything we’ve seen before. We linger a long time here admiring the structure, paint work, stained glass, art work. Beautiful.

Finally, after nearly 48 hours of being up, we’re tiring and begin to make our way back to the hotel stopping in one of the gorgeous bakeries along the way to pick up something for breakfast. It’s nearly 7:30P as we continue on and make our way up Calle Mayor when what do we see ahead but the Museo de Jambon. Samantha Brown did a piece on Madrid—one of the places she visited was Museo de Jambon and now so tired and hungry are we, we think we’ll pop in and get some ham and cheese to take back with us to the room and discover they have a dining room upstairs. We order calamares, Spanish omelette, and croquettes, cervesa and rioja—we enjoy the food along with the Spaniards who surround us—the place is packed. After dinner, we order some slices of queso manchega to take with us back to the room.

There are three different types or levels of manchega—I don’t know the words to describe it but equate it to a mild, medium and sharp. To play it safe, we order the medio. Manchega must not ship well because never before have we delighted is such a gorgeous hunk of this buttery cheese. During the remains of our stay we will stop, almost daily, at a bakery to pick up a loaf of bread, some of the best we’ve enjoyed anywhere, and as good as DH remembers, to go along with the manchega. Delicious.

I'm impressed you went to Palacio Real on the day of arrival, <i>and</i> remembered what you saw! I'm usually in such a daze/fog after a trans-atlantic flight that I always need a nap before my brain can somewhat function.

AnnMarie, I checked out your Hotel and it looked very nice. Great report so far. I got a little turned around near the Plaza Mayor and couldn't find the #10 bus stop to take me back to my Hotel and had to ask a Policeman for help. He was directing traffic, stopped, pulled out his directory, then walked me two blocks to the stop. People were great. Keep going!

Hi yk, we're always so excited to go somewhere that I think that more than anything is what drives us but as you read it's not without incident!

Hi John, glad you're enjoying the report. More than anything I think the people of Madrid are so patient, we were really impressed by this.


Wednesday morning we awaken to what feels like 7 a.m.. It’s 9:30. Our plan today is to visit Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.

One of the things we love about Madrid is the museums, for the most part, are open until late, 7-8P. Another thing we love is the sun is still shining high in the sky at this time but is that late afternoon sun hot. Really hot. South Texas hot. I did not expect this in April. How must it feel in summer? We leave each morning under wrap only to lose the heaviest of layers on the slow walk home.

We enjoy a leisurely walk to the museum. After getting so lost that first day we never have an issue again with map reading. Being the official map reader I find the MapEasy Guidemap to Madrid to be most useful. The map the hotel gave us is also helpful but a little difficult for my aging eyes to read—it’s a busy map, small print but does come in handy for finding some of the more obscure places not found on the MapEasy.

Starting with the special Modigliani exhibit at the Thyssen we spend the better part of our day in this gorgeous museum. From the religious icons on the top floor to the magnificent Swaying Dancer painting by Degas, we’re in art heaven. Half way through we stop for lunch at the museum caf&eacute;. The menu del dia is a real bargain. Three starters, a main course, dessert and large bottle of water for 13 euro. The food here is really good and we enjoy the open, bright room, green apples floating in clear vessels filled with water. A stark contrast to the heavy atmosphere we’ll later find at the Reina-Sofia.

It does my heart good to see young school aged children, sitting on the floor, gathered around a painting engaged in answering questions about the piece before them. Not a wandering eye amongst them, they are truly enjoying the experience.

From the museum we head up to Parque del Retiro and find an array of sculpted shrubs and trees, flowers, fountains, tree lined paths, statues… oh to live here and have this to enjoy every day. The park is a delight. We’re a little tired after a long day and don’t fully explore the park at this time but do make our way back to the Monument of Alfonso XII which is the gorgeous structure facing the lake. We sit down on the steps and take in the scene. Oh, to live here and have all of this to enjoy every day—have I mentioned that?? And it appears that people do and it’s a happy site to take in. If only I could convince DH to row me about on the lake…

After resting awhile we head back, stopping in one of the tabernas along the way for food and drink. It’s about 8P. We’re not foodies and don’t make the point to seek out restaurants. We eat where we land and generally walk away happy. I don’t remember where it was we stopped this night but the food from here on out is exceptional. The very best calamares we ever enjoyed were in Bermuda…until we landed in Madrid. The calamares are thick and fork tender. What’s their secret? Not a fan of sangria we decide we should try it while we’re here—delicious. And the olives! Every night we try something new, something familiar and always walk away happy. There is food everywhere we turn, we will not leave here hungry.

I really don't think the taxi driver wanted to scam you...he just was lost. Probably a newbie on the job... LOL

You both are brave ! After such a long flight the last thing you did a lot of things on your first day, I'm almost dead after a two hours flight to London !

By the way , the cheese is Manchego My favourite is the stronger one (&quot;curado&quot but then I know it is not for everyone's taste ! (My dad says it smells like feet !)

Sooorry , my quick hitting the Enter key again..this should read :

&quot;After such a long flight you did a lot of things on your first day, I'm almost dead after a two hours flight to London &quot;

Great report, it's bringing back the feeling of Madrid, a city I really enjoyed.

Thank you, kenderina, I knew I had it wrong, manchego... queso manchego. Wish we had tried the curado-I rather like strong smelling cheese, particularly raclette--wooooeeee, has your dad had a whiff of that?

LOL, it's a popular expression. &quot;This cheese smells like feet&quot; or &quot;these feet smell like cheese&quot; .
In very informal Spanish, feet are also named &quot;quesos&quot;. We are rather..politically incorrect , hahahaha.

lol, kenderina, well so am I! Good to know I'm in such fine company.


I fall asleep Wednesday night with the sage advice running through my head of arriving at the Prado just before it opens to avoid the long lines. Not wanting to hear the sound of an alarm unless there's a train to catch we awaken about the time the museum opens.

It’s another gorgeous morning, and another beautiful walk, this day to the Prado. We arrive just before 10:30A and find ourselves, thankfully, in a relatively short line—around 8-10 back. Where to begin, the museum is daunting at first but after awhile, about half way through, we get the feel for it. I really don’t have the words to properly explain how amazing the art work here is, we wander around in awe, sometimes our mouths literally agape. What a collection, a feast for the eyes.

As we walk into one of the galleries we’re greeted by an old friend from home, Velazquez’s The Feast of Bacchus, or, as we’ve referred to it over the years, Los Borrachos. When DH’s family lived in Madrid they bought a lot of art work, re-productions. One of the paintings we inherited, so to speak, is a reproduction of this piece—to see the drinkers staring back at us from across the room puts a big smile on our face. We cross the room to become better acquainted with the original work. What a fun find that was.

One of the things we like about the museum is outside most galleries, for one euro, you can buy a small book on the artist and his work featured in the room. We loaded up.

It’s interesting to us to find artists throughout the galleries painting reproductions from original works of art—we’ve never seen this done before. Is that how our painting was created? Or by one of the street artists? We'll never know but will always wonder.

About mid-way through we stop for lunch at the cafeteria—there’s a lot to choose from including a menu del dia which DH enjoys but I forgo in favor of a plate of cheeses, greens, etc. The food is good, hits the spot, but those singular plates of food I selected added up.

After the Prado we visit the church just up the hill from the museum, Iglesia de San Jeronimo el Real, Madrid’s royal church. To be honest, after spending the day inside the Prado I don’t remember much about this church, I'm sorry to say. I believe there were music stands carved in the shape of a bird which I had never before seen which intrigued me, otherwise….

Amazingly, the sun is still up so from the church we wander over to Real Jardin Botanico which features plants from around the world. The most glorious of them all at this time are the tulips in full colored bloom. Also on special display further back is an array of bonsai plants. There’s also an herb and what looks to be a small vegetable garden. How I would love to see the arbor in full bloom during summer.

There’s an admission fee of 2 euro. With the abundance of parks we find throughout the city it’s really not necessary to pay to enjoy a park here but this place really is a treat, especially after the long day we enjoyed at the Prado. It feels good to walk peacefully through the beautiful gardens which were designed in 1781 by Gomez Ortega and Juan de Villanueva, the Prado architect.

The sun is setting and I’m about to fall over. Our schedule is beginning to catch up with me and will be the reason behind our foggy headed error tomorrow. All part of the experience. We head back in the direction of our hotel stopping for food and drink along the way. Another beautiful day in Madrid behind us.

AnnMarie, I'm saving your entire trip report for a full read later today but the words Modigliani jumped out at me. Do you happen to remember how long the exhibit will be at the museum?? Loved your pictures and so impressed how quickly you've produced a trip report. Deborah

Hi Deborah,

According to the brochure we picked up, exhibit dates are 5 February through 18 May--you sound so interested, I hope you have the opportunity to see it.

I too like those &euro; 1 gallery guides. What I didn't like is they don't sell them at the regular museum store. I wanted one on the Flemish Primitives/Bosch, and I thought I could get it from the bookstore. Noooooo! I had to walk back to the gallery to buy it (but that gave me an excuse to admire the paintings again)!

Also, those machines only take coins. I put in my &euro; 1, and pushed the button... and NOTHING happened! I was so mad. Of course, it was my last euro coin. I pushed the button another 10 times, plus the return change button 100 times. NOTHING happened. Finally a guard saw me (attacking the machine) and she came over to see what's going on. She doesn't speak much if any English, but indicated to me that I had to put 1 euro in to get a guide. I explained to her that I HAD put in my money already. In the end, she called her back-up, her boss I suppose, on her walkie-talkie. After about 5 minutes, her supervisor came and opened up the machine and handed me a guide. At least 20 visitors in the gallery were staring at me the whole time!

AnnMarie, I'm very much enjoying your report. I love Madrid too and even lived there for a few months in the early 90's.
And I agree, Manchego cheese is one of the best in the world. Hope you had lots of jamon serrano to go with it!

AnnMarie, thanks, I had my hopes up for a short time but we arrive in Madrid on May 14th and immediately drive to Burgos. We won't return to Madrid for our 5 day stay until May 31. Thank you for the quick response even if my hopes were dashed Deborah

AnnMarie,
I have a few pictures of Madrid at www.flickr.com/photos/johnthedorf if you want a few different views. None are as good as yours but different. Most are of San Sebastian but you can pass on them.

yk, you're not going to believe this but when we were at the Prado those 1 euro books were for sale in the shop! Perhaps your little incident was the impetus, lol!!!

Kristina, yes, we did! Lucky you having the opportunity to live in Madrid.

Deborah, ever the optimist am I, perhaps they'll hold over the show--it's very popular.

John, you under estimate your talent, your photos are gorgeous--thank you so much for posting them. Feel free to share more, you have a terrific eye.


It’s Friday. Originally, I had reserved this day to visit El Escorial. DH thinks we should wait until Saturday so as not to interfere with commuters. My thought is to visit El Escorial on Friday, Segovia on Sunday so as to avoid back to back day trips. We did that once before in England and it proved to be too much. I thought breaking up the day trips would ensure they would happen and with less room for incident. Recalling our crammed sessions on the tube we decide to wait.

We decide to visit the Reina Sofia instead on this day. Since we’ll walk right by it I think it a good idea to stop at Atocha to pick up our train tickets for Toledo which I had reserved about a month in advance using the Renfe website.

Another wonder of Madrid is Atocha. The tropical paradise that greets us upon entry is incredible. I had read about it, saw the pictures but had no idea the magnitude of this tropical oasis. What a lush back drop for a train station, we love it!

We’re directed to the kiosks on the top floor, enter our reservation code and voila out pour our tickets. We’re good to go.

Please learn from our mistake, minor though it was…. Since we’re at the station, having successfully retrieved our Toledo tickets, why not go ahead and get our tickets today for El Escorial tomorrow. Those of you in the know are shaking your heads right now, I can feel it! ;-)

We, ever so mistakenly, enter the Renfe ticket office, acquire a number and wait…..and wait…..and wait….. no worries, we’re getting tickets. When our number is called the very kind lady behind the desk tells us we’re in the wrong place to buy tickets to El Escorial, re-directs us and apologizes for us having to wait—it was our mistake to make but I thought it so kind of her. We head over to the Cercanias window, stand in line and try again. Tickets are for same day of travel only. Surely I read this somewhere, it’s ringing a bell, but is buried in grey mass.

I had read, and noted, that we will take the Cercanias train C8A to El Escorial but did not know or think there is a separate machine / window from which to buy tickets. My focus was on Renfe and figured everything fell under one umbrella. Renfe is Renfe...except that it's not.

Thankfully, Atocha is incredibly user friendly and well laid out, tomorrow we'll better know what we're doing and where we're going. The employees at the station have been incredibly friendly and helpful, so the only thing we lost here was time…. The good news is we gained a valuable lesson for the future and hopefully someone will learn from our mistake.

From the station it’s a short walk to the Reina Sofia. We first visit the vast Piccasso exhibit. Here we find ourselves at yet another exciting museum, this with an extensive, varied display of work. There’s a pretty courtyard in the center of the museum which we enjoy when we need a break. The miniature white benches scattered throughout the lawn are quite whimsical as are the chess pieces that infest some of the interior walls. I really love and enjoy contemporary art. Has anyone else been to the Reina recently? There’s a B&amp;W silent film playing, from the 1930’s I believe, that debuted in Paris and caused quite a stir at the time. It’s a kick.

About mid-way through we stop for lunch at the adjoining restaurant. The menu del dia is not displayed so we ask for it. Did I read somewhere that by law restaurants in Madrid are required to offer a menu del dia? If so, I wonder why that is. The food here is excellent—I ordered hake which I had never before heard of--I read mention of it in James Michner's book Iberia, but that's the extent of my knowledge. It was absolutely delicious…that the fish came out on the plate whole didn’t surprise me but the tail in its mouth did. I find it funny and break out the camera. In my original photo link post I mistakenly omitted the photo but have since added it if you’re curious at all.

After our visit to the museum we tour more of the city. The beautiful, in full bloom, Plaza de Espana, Plaza de Oriente, as well as the gorgeous Jardines Sabatini which we missed during our visit to Palacio Real. The gardens here are just a delight and it’s a pleasure to see so many people enjoying them. What a refreshing respite these parks and gardens must be during summer.

It’s dusk as we make our way back. I don’t know where we stopped for dinner this night but in my notes I make mention of an elderly couple sipping a lemon colored liquor, poured over ice—the drink makes me think of Galliano although this is lighter in color. We make an inquiry and our waitress pours us each a drink, Licorde Hierbas—is that right? It has a light taste of anisette. It’s light and refreshing, very smooth. As we’re enjoying our drinks the elderly couple sees us and raises their glasses to us. We return the sentiment.

Well I loved Madrid. I agree it is a feast for the soul. My wife and I spent a week in Spain last year and I wish we had just stayed in Madrid.

OK, I am glad we went south to the Alhambra, but outside of that Madrid had all we needed.

Great trip report, I decided not to wait until the end of the day to start reading. The big problem is I can't wait to read more and I'm reading it faster than you are posting, AnnMarie Deborah

Perhaps those &euro;1 gallery guides were in the bookstore? Honestly, I walked around the bookstore 3 times and didn't see them. (This is the one next to the cafeteria.) I thought about asking the staff, but they were so busy with customers I just gave up.

The museum guards/security probably had a meeting after my visit, &quot;Some stupid American tourist didn't know how to use the gallery guide machines! Maybe we should sell them in the bookstore.&quot;

BTW, I forgot to say that your photos of the tulips are just incredible!