Monday, 19 May
Today’s breakfast was a bit of a disappointment. The same food as yesterday but no where to sit, tables with dirty dishes and not wiped off. Dolora and I waited and ended up at a table that had been emptied but not cleaned. Had to try to find silverware. At least the food and coffee was good.
It was off to the Royal Palace of Madrid about a twenty minute walk. We arrived early and were treated to an elaborate military ceremony with soldiers, horses and a band. The building functions as a ceremonial palace used for official events. The royal family lives in a mansion outside of town. There are over one thousand rooms. The two hour tour took us through about thirty rooms. This was a good number to show some of the main features and not be overwhelming.
Dolora and I decided on a quick stop for hot chocolate and churros so I could continue my comparisons before heading to Retiro Park. The churros from Valor were better than yesterday but still not as good as in Barcelona. We had our first rain drops of the trip when we left deciding to head back to the hotel until the rain stopped. It stopped before the five minute walk back so we decided to walk Gran Via to the park. Gran Via is the main drag in Madrid with all the top name stores and beautiful buildings from the 1930s forward. Temperatures have been perfect, sixty to seventy five with sunshine. Today were our first rain drops.
We did a short lap around the lake in the middle of the park. The weather was changing from warm and sunny to cloudy and breezy and back and forth. To get our steps in so I can continue to have chocolate and churros, we walked back to the hotel for our siesta before dinner. Madrid, being a little progressive, has some walk signs that show same sex couples holding hands. We came across a few of those.
After checking a few menus on one of the tapas row streets, it was Taberna El Schotis for dinner tapas. Meatballs and potatoes for Dolora with octopus and pardon peppers for me. This turned out to be a great place and was really filling up as we left. Tomorrow we are off to Granada.