SPAIN 2026

Sunday

Madrid

This morning we took the train to Madrid, we had to sit apart as the train was full, apparently everyone wants to go to Madrid. They say it mainly rains on the plains in Spain, but it was raining hard when we left Cuenca, and stopped when we arrived in Madrid.

Our abode for the next while would be the Plaza Mayor Suites & Apartments, full kitchen, short walk to the main plaza, and most importantly, they had a washing machine so we could do some laundry. It didn't include a breakfast, but after the last place, that was something we could take care of ourselves.

The view from one of our two little balconies

With a load in the wash, we wandered over to Plaza Mayor for a bite and some sightseeing.

The Mercado de San Miguel was hopping, it was suggested as a great place to eat, but was so packed we couldn't do it..

Walking past the Teatro Real takes you to a nice garden full of statues leading up to the royal palace.

The Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace of Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family and is used primarily for state ceremonies. With over 135,000 m2 (1,450,000 sq ft) of floor space and 3,418 rooms, the Royal Palace of Madrid is the largest palace in Western Europe, the largest royal palace in Europe, and among the largest palaces in the world.

On the side of the palace is the Jardines de Sabitini. The Sabatini Gardens follow the symmetrical French design and work began in 1933, under the Republican government. Although they were designed by Zaragozan architect Fernando García Mercadal, they were named for Francesco Sabatini who designed the royal stables that previously occupied this site.

From the palace grounds, it's a short walk to our next destination.

The Monument to Miguel de Cervantes is dedicated to the man who is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language. The monument incorporates a stone monolith with Cervantes, and a bronze sculpture of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

The Temple of Debod is an ancient Nubian temple, it was originally erected in the early 2nd century BC 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Aswan, Egypt. The Egyptian government donated the temple to Spain in 1968 as a sign of gratitude for their participation in the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia. It was taken apart, transported, and rebuilt in the Parque de la Montaña in 1970–1972. It is one of the few works of ancient Egyptian architecture relocated outside Egypt and the only one of its kind in Spain.

We discovered that you have to book online to see inside the temple, so being the smart guy I am, I jumped on their website while others are scrambling to figure out what the lineup is for. The next available viewing is a week away. At least we had good views of the palace and cathedral from here.

In various locations around Madrid are the remains of the old Muslim walls. The first wall of Madrid was built during the emirate of Muhammad ben Abd al Rahmman between 850 and 866.

The Cathedral of Saint Mary the Royal of the Almudena, commonly known as the Almudena Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral which began construction in 1883 and was finished over a century later, when it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1993. The cathedral seems to have been built on the site of a medieval mosque that was destroyed in 1083 when Alfonso VI reconquered Madrid.

Tucked around the corner, and below the Almudena Cathedral is this beautiful Romanesque Crypt church with over 400 columns.

The Monumento de Victoria Eugenia y Alfonso XIII in Madrid, Spain, is a tribute to the 29 bystanders killed and over 100 injured during the 1906 royal wedding procession. On May 31, 1906, anarchist Mateo Morral threw a bomb hidden in a bouquet of flowers from a balcony, intending to assassinate King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia. The bomb bounced off a cable and exploded in the crowd. Behind the monument is the Iglesia Catedral de las Fuerzas Armadas, or The Cathedral Church of the Armed Forces

Heading back to our hotel to rest our feet and finish our laundry, we found a nice little park and square to take a break in.

Following our trend of eating dinner in caves, we ended up at Restaurante DCorazon, located right beneath Plaza Mayor, inside a 16th-century cave. The service was slow, but the food was very good.

After finally getting our dessert our waiter disappeared, so we ended up just walking upstairs and paying the bill at the door. It was a short walk back to our hotel, to put up our feet and watch some Spanish language television.

Monday

Our second day in Madrid would be a long day, walking the streets, strolling in the parks, meandering a museum, and capping it all off with a fantastic Flamenco show.

We started by walking along the Gran Via, Madrid's most famous street. Every main square you arrive at is some giant weird costumed character, bears, gorillas... they must be dying inside those suits.

El Oso y el Madroño (The Statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree) is a sculpture from 1967. It represents the coat of arms of Madrid, a story dating back to the 13th century.

So many unique and decorative doorways and buildings along this route.

Tucked amongst the other buildings on this street is the Church of the Calatravas, which belongs to the nuns of the Order of Calatrava and, to a lesser extent, to its knights. It is the only remaining part of the former Convent of the Royal Conception. It's privileged location, combined with the patronage of royalty and important personalities, made the convent one of the most important in the capital, following its establishment there in the 17th century, which is why the current church preserves a rich artistic heritage.

Also nestled amongst all these grand buildings is the Parroquia de San Jose (The Church of Saint Joseph). Completed in 1748, it was the headquarters of the Brotherhood of the Little Donkey, whatever that is.

The Bank of Spain building

A main intersection in Madrid is the Plaza de Cibeles, a beautiful fountain at the center, and surrounded by four prominent buildings: the Bank of Spain Building (above), the Palacio de Buenavista, the Palacio de Linares and the Palacio de Cibeles.

The first stone of Palacio de Cibeles (Cybeles Palace) was laid in 1907. The building was officially opened in 1919 and began operating as a modern distribution centre for post, telegraphs and telephones.

Gate to the Palacio de Buenavista Palace of Linares

The Puerta de Alcalá is one of the five ancient royal gates that provided access to the city of Madrid. Originally built in the 16th century, it was replaced in 1778.

The Retiro Park, popularly known as El Retiro, is a historic garden and public park considered one of the city's main tourist attractions, it features architectural and landscape elements from the 17th to the 21st centuries.

The Monument to Alfonso XII is situated on the east edge of an artificial lake near the center of the park, full of paddle boats, ducks, fish and turtles.

Currently under restoration, the Crystal Palace was built in 1887 for the General Exhibition of the Philippine Islands and is a prime example of glass and iron architecture in Madrid. At least it would be if it wasn't all covered up.

Also closed today was the Palacio de Velázquez, originally known as the Palacio de la Minería, it was built in 1881-3 for the Exposición Nacional de Minería. It functions as an arts and crafts gallery and is listed as a Bien de Interés Cultural. The building's interior is viewable on Google Street View and it is part of the Google Art Project, so I guess we can just look at it there. I checked, it's not that interesting, so I guess we didn't miss anything.

One thing that did surprise us, was the beautiful Rose Garden, The Rosaleda is an early 20th-century feature inspired by the Bagatelle rose garden in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.

Such a beautiful park, but it must have some plumbing issues, because these two Italian plumbers were here.

The Museo del Prado is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on the former Spanish royal collection, and the single best collection of Spanish art. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture in 1819, it contains numerous works by Francisco Goya, the single most extensively represented artist here. The collection currently comprises around 8,200 drawings, 7,600 paintings, 4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures, in addition to many other works of art and historic documents.

I would have loved to show you some of my favourites, but I was informed by a non-friendly man in a blue suit that there is no pictures allowed. There were people in blue suits in every room... watching me.

Tucked behind the Prado museum is Iglesia de San Jeronimo el Real. At the end of the 15th century, the Catholic Monarchs ordered the construction in Madrid of a Hieronymite monastery to serve as lodgings for the royal family during their stays in the city. During the Napoleonic invasion of 1808 ( War of Independence ), it was severely damaged by the invading army. As a result, and in an effort to preserve what remained, Ferdinand VII converted the monastery into an artillery barracks.

Our feet were pretty sore by this time, so we jumped on a Hop on Hop off bus to get a look around other areas of the city.

Oooh look, it's where the Madrid football team plays... this was a very important stop for a lot of people. We stayed on the bus.

We passed through some of the same areas we walked, but we got to see them all from a higher perspective.

Our entertainment for the evening was Tablao Flamenco, a dinner and Flamenco show at Las Carboneras. A short walk from our hotel, dinner consisted of a tapas style assortment of local specialties.

We learned a lot about Flamenco that night, it was genuinely moving, so much emotion in each performance. There were three separate dancers accompanied by a guitarist and 2 singers. What was fascinating to see was the power of their steps (you think they would break through the floor), and the fact that each performance was completely improv. The guitarist was constantly watching the dancer, and then adjusting his song to match their movements and emotions. The singers (pretty sure one was drunk), the other dancers clapping and stomping along, it was all done as the dance went. such a great experience.