A Visit to the Royal Court

May 15, 2016

Today was an 18 hour day: up early and then down to breakfast by 8:00 (this hotel has one of THE NICEST breakfast buffets I have ever seen in Europe....eggs and smoothies made to order and a plethora (love this word) of fruit, cheeses, meats, breads and pastry items). We were out the door by 9:00 and on our way to the Royal Palace and its adjacent Cathedral. On our way there we passed through the Puerta del Sol, Madrid's historic center; visited a favorite local hangout, the La Mallorquina confectionary; saw Madrid's 17th century square called the Plaza Mayor (teeming with people already in line for a concert later tonight); gawked our way through the Mercado de San Miguel filled with fresh produce, gourmet foods, wines, and tapas; and discovered that the traditional symbol of Madrid is a bear pawing a madrona tree for its berries.

Sidewalk Art of the Bear and the Madrona Tree

Nearly 2 hours later, we finally arrived at the Almudena Cathedral, an imposing gray-and-white structure which took 100 years to build and was only recently completed in 1993. After touring the church, we had lunch and then headed back to the Royal Palace to wait in line to buy tickets (we had originally planned to be at the palace by 10:00 in order to beat the crowds, but obviously didn't stick too well to our schedule). Madrid's Royal Palace is almost as large and opulent as the French palace at Versailles or the Schonbrunn palace in Vienna, reminding one that in the 15th and 16th centuries Spain was a force to be reckoned with.

Almudena Cathedral

Royal Palace

The Intrepid Travelers

We got back to our hotel in time for tapas and drinks and used this time to plan where to have dinner tonight and where/how we were going to spend our day tomorrow. The Spainsh typically don't eat dinner until 8:30 or 9:00, and tonight we followed in the Spanish tradition. Starting one's dinner in this way and at this hour means that one doesn't finish dinner until @ 10:30. Yikes! Our heads didn't hit our pillows until midnight.