It's been a whirlwind four days in Madrid (one of which was a day-trip to nearby Toledo). We've done soooo much walking. Both Madrid and Toledo are riddled with cobblestone alleyways that are actually streets. We learned fast to look before crossing anything! The maps.me app has been super helpful because all those alleyways intersect at odd angles and twist and because the buildings are tall you can't see any landmarks. We definitely got a bit lost more than once by taking streets we thought were heading in the right direction. In Toledo we managed a neat circle back to our starting point when we first arrived.
The Hotel Intur Palacio was wonderful. Aside from going to museums we didn't really leave our neighborhood much. There was a supermarket nearby and many cafes. We ate out some but also brought in cheese, bread, jamon and wine twice for dinner. We had a snack one day of churros dipped in hot chocolate which was delicious. Breakfast is included at the hotel and the buffet choices were amazing: 4-6 types of fresh fruit, at least 6 lunch meats and 3 cheeses, 3 breads (rolls, white sliced and fresh loaves), green salad, tomato salsa, 2 cereals and yogurt. The final buffet area was awash in pastries - croissant, waffles, french toast, chocolate cake, cheesecake, chocolate croissant and several others we didn't try and couldn't immediately identify. Beverages included coffee, tea, milk, a couple of juices, water and cava (we shared a glass of that one morning). They also offered fresh-cooked eggs, sausage and bacon but we never asked for that.
The hotel is close to the royal palace museum and the cathedral but far from all the art museums. Mostly we walked but there was a Metro station 2 blocks away (one way for both of us was 3 euros).
Our first day we arrived early and set out to see the palace (and promptly got lost which helped us see two of the plazas in our vicinity (Sol and Major). The palace had a nice audio tour and was beautiful. Next door the cathedral was very impressive. We also went downstairs to see the crypt which was also beautiful. Judging by dates we saw, people are still being interred there. However there was no pamphlet to explain anything we were seeing so I can't say more than that.
On day two we walked to Paseo del Prado and spent the morning in the Museo Reina Sofia. This museum is the home of Picasso's famous Guernica. In addition at this time there was a temporary exhibit about his preparation and the history of the time that led to the final piece. By far this area of the museum was the most crowded and they allowed people in only once. We explored other areas of the museum and enjoyed it. Afterwards we wandered in the parklands along the Paseo del Prado and through Parque del Retiro. We're trying to spend a fair bit of each day outside to facilitate adjusting to this time zone. Walked home on the Gran Via.
For day three we went straight to the Prado Museum and got there right about opening time. It is an enormous building. They particularly advertise several "masterpieces" and we sought out a few. The Hieronymous Bosch were very impressive and it was especially cool to see so many (Serena had seen a reproduction of one or two previously). He had a definite morality message and was consistent in sharing it. Their copy of the Mona Lisa was not highlighted so it was surprising to suddenly see her there knowing that she lives in the Louvre. This was one example of many showing how a master artist often had a workshop and apprentice artists copying the master. This copy of the Mona Lisa was apparently copied immediately alongside the master's because even the brush strokes and edits were replicated. There were some amazing marble sculpture works and a vault room in the basement filled with delicate cut glass, gold, and semi-precious vases, platters and similar items. Serena most enjoyed the marble sculptures and a table inlaid with stones showing a floral scene (photos not allowed). Jeff explored the painted artworks more exhaustively than Serena. Overall we were at the Prado about 5 hours. There is a history museum we would have enjoyed but it closed early today which we did not remember but discovered after we had walked there. Yay! more walking.
Monday we caught a train to Toledo. We explored the subway yesterday morning so we knew how to get to the train station and now we know also how we'll have to go when we leave Madrid by train tomorrow. In Toledo we caught the tourist hop-on/hop-off bus around and into town. It was more expensive than a taxi but a good way to get some nice views of the town from across the river gorge. The Tagus wraps around the town on three sides and the other side is walled. Our first goal is the cathedral but first we spent twenty minutes walking to end up back where we started. For our second try we used maps.me a bit and found our way. At the cathedral we got pleasantly waylaid by Rodrigo (friendly guy outside the cathedral who spoke a bit of English). He lured us to a nearby workshop where we could observe some men doing the final embellishments on some local metal medallions. Very fine and detailed work and of course we bought a small souvenir (which is probably how Rodrigo makes a living since he declined the 2 euros Jeff offered him). Along the way Rodrigo popped into the tourist information office and grabbed us a better map than the one provided by the tourist bus.
At this point we were downhill from the cathedral so we took a little roundabout walk back which showed off more of the town. The cathedral of Toledo is superlative. I can't recall the exact superlatives but possibly the largest or 2nd largest and something else. It is certainly more elaborate than the one in Madrid (but Serena liked Madrid's better). It's a major tourist destination so unlike Madrid where there was an optional donation of 1-2 euros, this cathedral has a 10 euro admission and an audio tour in at least a dozen languages. It was thronged with tourists. Two hours later and we are ready for lunch. We easily found our way back to the main plaza which is near both our bus stop and next museum. The plaza has several options for lunch but was loud and crowded. A quick couple of turns away from the main plaza and we found a pleasant place with shaded seating.
We went to the Museo de Santa Cruz (El Greco paintings) rather than the Alcazar (military museum) but wished we had done the other. Caught our bus back to the train station and train back to Madrid. Tomorrow we head to Granada so tonight we got luggage ready to go again.
Other miscellaneous observations:
- lots of red poppies in bloom in the fields we've passed on the train
- there are books for sale everywhere in Madrid
(several bookstores as well as sidewalk vendors)
- between Jeff's Spanish and the limited English speakers we've found we are managing
- there are LOTS of police in Madrid and some have rifles in addition to handguns
- trains run on time
- There are lots of Starbucks and a few McDonalds.
We also saw a Five Guys, a Taco Bell, and a couple of KFC.
I love hearing about your adventures! Thanks for including me. I'm also glad to know you love the churros con chocolate as much as I do! Serena, I got a message yesterday from a former RA at College Nine who just donated his bone marrow, during his 2nd year of med school (studying oncology no less!) in Chicago. He attributes his donation to the inspiring work we did to educate students about the process. Made me think of you and wanted to spread the good news. Keep enjoying your trip!
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