Exploring Madrid After a Late Wake Up

We had no watch to keep time on our trip because mine had broken a few weeks before and I ran out of chances to buy a cheap one before we left. Consequently, we had no idea what time it was when we awoke on our first full day 'in country.' We got out of bed and asked the hotel clerk and were quite surprised to find that it was noon. We had probably slept about 12 hours... and I needed it!

We headed out so as not to waste more of the day and found our way back to the pedestrian walking mall area. We needed to find an Internet café so that Jeanette could notify work about her Blackberry and so that we could buy a watch! The Internet cafe was no problem... I believe we ended up in an Easy Internet Café (a British company that has everything from Easy Café's to Easy Cruises... all with a signature orange color). After sending some emails and then browsing through a few trinket stores for a watch, we ended up at the El Corte Ingles where we checked out the decent selection of pastries and wines in their supermarket, and then went upstairs to try the café based on Rick Steves' recommendation. We should have passed on the recommendation. The food was so-so and definitely not memorable.

Before leaving the store, we did find a watch so we could at least try to get on the local schedule. Jeanette made sure to pick out something trendy that doesn't even have any Spanish on it!

We left the department store and headed toward the palace and cathedral area. We found our way easily enough and strolled around the pretty city streets before arriving at the palace. Unfortunately, it turned out that the palace was closed for an official function, but we were able to enter the cathedral. The cathedral is beautiful with an interesting combination of austerity and colorful extravagance. The walls and pillars are gray/white limestone, but the ceiling is a colorful pattern of greens, reds, and golds that actually reminded me of some New Zealand Maori designs. The altar and organ also offer large splashes of gold at either end of the great church. We strolled around and took some photos along with many other tourists who were there to see the cathedral.

We left and took a meandering path back through the city. We stopped at a bakery on what I would describe as their 'embassy row' and had a delicious Napoleon on the hoof. The pizzas in the bakery looked great as well, but we held back on eating too much. The scents and flavors of what we did try lead me to believe in retrospect that we were in one of the tastier places in Spain.

We walked back toward the large Plaza Mayor, an open air square surrounded by hotels, apartments, and restaurants, where we sat and had a beer in the sun while listening to guitar music. There were several painting and craft vendors around the plaza and we browsed through them, eventually purchasing some bull fighter and dancing paintings from, of all people, a Mexican artist who lived in Seville and traveled around Spain to sell his wares.

We headed back to the hotel to rest a bit and freshen up. On the way, we stopped by the supermarket in El Corte Ingles and picked up some sardines, crackers, cheese and bread for the next day. They had a great selection of Spanish cheeses and I believe I also picked up some cured salami to try. Jeanette even took the opportunity to try her Spanish and order some typical cheese from the region.

Back at the hotel, I napped a little before we headed out late to find someplace to eat. We strolled quite a way to the northwest before taking the metro back south and heading toward the Plaza de Santa Ana district based upon some descriptions in the guide books. We found a quaint local restaurant where you could get anything fried that you desired. We shared a salad, some, bread, and a mixed fried seafood plate that had sardines, squid, and all manner of other fried fruit of the sea. That pretty much ended our night. We thought about trying to find some clubs or late night bars on the way back, but as I was still feeling pretty low, I nixed that idea in favor of getting some sleep and a good start in the morning.