Madrid
A brief report and some pictures
Beer and tapas at a tapas bar just off Tirso de Molina
We move to Oviedo tomorrow.
Madrid
The Habsburg influence is clear in Madrid but apparently all the Austrians who maintain things have gone back to Austria. The city is picturesque in that particular Habsburg way but it needs a good pressure washing and they need some (Austrian) maintenance technicians to get everything working again.
On particular disappointment is that most (can’t say all since I didn’t check them all) of the cathedrals are closed most or all of the time. In Vienna (at least the last time I was there, all the cathedrals are open basically all the time).
The Moncloa observation tower was closed due to “technical difficulties” and it looked as though it would remain closed for awhile.
The Plaza Mayor has been the de facto geographic center of the sites we have seen. It looked a lot fresher on the Rick Steves video which is about a decade old. Pressure washing and painting would improve it.
Madrid is very walkable. The food is very good and very reasonably priced, especially for a major tourist destination. We are staying in a hostel (2060 The Newton Hostel) which is clean, fun, cheap, and convenient. It’s a good mix of young and old travelers. The sleep pods are clean and quiet.
Overall, I would recommend Madrid but for only a couple of days. Here are some pictures:
Madrid Arch of Triumph (with the not open for “technical problems” Moncloa observation tower in the background)
Temple of Debod (The Spanish moved this from Egypt to here and reassembled it - your guess is as good as mine as to why)
Formal gardens near the Royal Palace - quite beautiful.
The Royal Palace - several THOUSAND people were waiting in line to get in when we got there so we were not able to go in.,
Have fun in Madrid Keith!