We chose to fly to Madrid as our entry point to Spain because Enrique had visited the city but once while on business and I had never been. Of course, I'd never been to Spain at all so Madrid sounded like a good idea. At some point I'd like to return to Spain to visit Toledo, Barcelona and Seville but perhaps that's for a time when I will be more content to drive and stroll rather than trek.
Madrid is located in somewhat the center of Spain with Castilla Y Leon to the north and Castilla-La Mancha to the south. The flight from there to Pamplona in Navarra was less than an hour. The flight back from Aviles in Asturias was even shorter. I think our flight from Dallas was around ten hours.
We arrived in Madrid mid-morning on October 5 (Sunday) to give ourselves a day to adjust our internal clocks a bit before heading on to Pamplona on Monday afternoon for the start of our adventure on the Camino on Monday evening with the 2-hour walking tour of that city.
I'd reviewed Rick Steves' book (Spain 2014) and suggested to Enrique that we take the Expres Aeropuerto bus to Atocha Station. Rick Steves had also suggested the moderately priced Hotel Lope de Vega (among others) that was a few short blocks north of the station off of Paseo del Prado. It appeared to be a relatively easy walk.
After navigating the modern Madrid airport (Enrique shared at dinner during our Camino walk, when we were talking about getting credencia stamps, that we earned a stamp that day just walking what seemed like forever and ever to get to the entry and from there to the bus - a remark met with understanding laughter by several of our traveling companions who'd also arrived in Madrid) we found the bus stop and boarded the coach to Atocha Station for 5 euros each and an approximately 40 minute ride. Very convenient, we thought. Atocha Station is quite large and before walking I needed to find a restroom and for the first time in a very long time, I also needed to pay to use it. Fortunately we had brought euros with us from the States and even more fortunately there was an attendant who could give me change.
Here's a great interactive map of Madrid.
And here's the street map we were given at the Tourist Information Center at Atocha Station (it's off center; I'll fix it later as I'm tired):
We buzzed right by the long line of taxis at the station and made our way literally up the street (incline) passing the Museo Nacional de Arte Reina Sofia, the Real Jardin Botanico, and the Museo del Prado. The Paseo del Prado was closed that morning to vehicular traffic for a cycling event so as we walked we were passed by men, women and children out for a ride on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. By the time we reached our hotel pulling along our roller duffels, we agreed that a taxis might have been better from the station (or even from the airport but at 30 euros) but we also agreed that getting to the hotel might have been a round-about adventure rather than a straight shot up the street.
Our room was very nice and clean, just perfect for a one night visit. The hotel offers a morning breakfast which was plentiful and very good. We had already reserved a room at this hotel again for two nights on our return before heading back to the States and took advantage of the breakfast both those days, too. There are a couple of places nearby that offered breakfast, as well.
After settling in, we ventured out for a long stroll around the Prado and on nearby streets to get a feel for the layout of the city. We made a couple of loops taking us by the Iglesia de los Jeronimos and finally settled on a little place with an outside patio that offered a fairly large "snack" of paella (dinnertime coming much later) but were disappointed. But at least we had gotten the lay of the land and would feel more comfortable when we returned in a couple of weeks. We must've been pretty jet-lagged because I cannot find many photos. I still need to document many of the photos to identify what they are but as usual this post and the others are a work in progress with (probably) more photos to come or replace.
The next afternoon we took a taxi to the airport and flew out of a different terminal at the Madrid Airport to Pamplona.
We returned to Madrid on Thursday, October 16, just before 3 pm.
Rick Steves suggests a self-guided walk that's about a mile loop that takes in the Puerta del Sol (center of the city), the Plaza Mayor, the Palacio Real de Madrid and the Catedral de Nuestra Senora de La Almudena on the same square - Plaza de la Armeria - before heading back past the Opera, the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando and back towards the Prado via the Calle de Alcala, around the east side of a huge park - Parque del Buen Retiro - before turning west again towards our hotel. This was a wonderful walk and we took several photos (see below). We did not go inside any of the buildings. Having been warned by Steves and several people, we also were wary of pickpockets and behaved accordingly. Following our stroll we decided to take supper at another place recommended by Steves - VIPS. It was a great choice, reasonably priced with very good food - salads, sandwiches and entrees. And, most importantly, early. Next door, by the way, is a Starbucks for those of you who might pine for one (opened in 2001). Both are a very short walking distance from the Lope de Vega Hotel.
That night we reviewed what we'd seen in the Steves book and planned our Friday. I had hoped to take an early walk in the Botanical Garden but it does not open until 10 a.m. Instead, we planned a breakfast, a short stroll, and then the Prado (as much as possible and especially the masterpieces), followed by the Reina Sofia (particularly Picasso's Guernica) and finally, as a special perk for Enrique that I had noticed on the map the evening before, the Naval Museum (Museo Naval).
So, off we went to the Prado. Here's a secure link to the Prado accompanied by all sorts of information and links to the works of art. Enrique plotted our course from start to finish with a break in the cafeteria for a delicious light lunch (the soup was wonderful) and a brief look at the gift shop. We spent five hours walking the Prado, spent time with all the highlighted masterpieces, avoided the tour guides and their followers, and viewed an amazing collection. I think as I've gotten older I've come to appreciate even more the ability of the artist to fill a canvass and to strategize its layout. We truly walked ourselves "out" but also enjoyed our experience very much.
From there we enjoyed the fresh air walk down to the Reina Sofia which was Madrid's first public hospital and has been transformed into an outstanding museum of modern art. My goal was to see Picasso's Guernica and the accompanying documentation (sketches, etc.) of the development of this amazing [quoting Steves] "...single most impressive piece of art in Spain....The monumental canvas - one of Europe's must-see sights - is not only a piece of art but a piece of history, capturing the horror of modern war in a modern style." We simply stood there for what seemed a very long time taking in all that was presented and what it seemed to represent. Enrique said he was very glad that I had put this on our itinerary. Here's a link to a PBS discussion about Guernica as well as the sequence of events that prompted him to complete the work and the events that followed its presentation to the world. The horror of war. Here's another link that includes a detailed discussion. We discovered that the two rooms devoted to this mural include photos of the evolution of his work as well as studies he envisioned to include. We spent a bit of time taking in Salvador Dali's surrealism, something that I've not quite figured out how to appreciate. It was a most astonishing visit.
We finally headed back up past the Prado via the Paseo de Recoletos to the Museo Naval. This museum [quoting Steves] "...tells the story of Spain's navy, from the Armada to today..." mostly literally in the shape of splendid large models. We did not know what to expect given the paucity of information and were pleasantly surprised and entertained by what we found including maps, paintings, early to modern navigation instruments, and even guns, old mast sails, and figures from the prows of ships. Here are some photos to give you an idea:
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| Enrique at the entrance to the Naval Museum |
And one of my favorite rooms, from prows of ships:
By the time we walked out, we were quite hungry so made our way across the park to VIPS again for an early supper and then to our room to refresh and make ourselves ready for an evening on the town with Enrique's cousin Jose Ramon and his wife, Maria Luisa. They arrived I believe about 8:30 pm and off we went joining hundreds of people including families with small children taking the same stroll towards and in the Plaza Mayor and some of the route we had taken the day before. We stopped at two very unusual highly recommended restaurants that housed small-ish dining rooms upstairs with a bar on the ground floor. We ended up being seated at an open air patio of a restaurant in the Plaza Mayor around 10 p.m. or so for wine and tapas including delicious ham, ubiquitous in Spain, accompanied by fresh bread and other eats. I really do miss the bread we had in Spain and the olive oil.......
The next morning we quickly put things together, checked out, and caught a taxi to the airport. Fortunately we had a better sense of the layout of the airport terminal so checked in easily and then made our (long) way to the train transport to the international terminal and to our flight. I think we went through three if not four security (thorough) check points before reaching our gate.
Our flight back to Dallas was uneventful. Customs was surprisingly simple for those of us who are citizens and an automated Q&A terminal! Our bags were pulled to go through customs and then rechecked on to our flight to Tucson where we arrived just after 8 p.m. I had napped off and on on the flight to Dallas and slept soundly to Tucson so elected to drive us home from the airport.
What a trip! and how wonderful it was to get back in our own bed.
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