We went to Madrid to see the king

But he didn't invite us to tea....

Today's plan was a trip into the city to do a walk around the old parts of the city. Unfortunately a late start caused by the standard vomit from Nathan and the not so standard vomit from dad meant we only got into town around 11 (late for us, early for Madrid). As fate would have it we also left the map of where we wanted to walk behind. So we just winged it.

The taxi dropped us off just outside the palace and the first thing we saw was a missive carousel that had two floors and went around to Coldplay. Obviously Kirsten had to go on. Somehow she got on without a ticket and almost made it to the top floor before mom caught up with her. Three Euros later and Kirsten was a legal occupant of the carousel and the happiest kid on the ride. I know this because none of the other kids shouted "hello daddy" while waving vigorously every time they did a loop.

From the carousel we passed the main entrance to the palace and investigated the small Plaza de Oriente. As the plaza has a statue of a horse and a fountain we were here for quite a while. I did notice that there was ice in the ground at 11:30 and decided that this was my limit for winter experiences. We've been watching some winter sports taking place in Winterburg on TV and it looks absolutely appocolyptic (a frozen over hell is a worse scenario if you ask me).

From the Plaza, we made our way back to the square and down to the cathedral. It was big and looked suitably old. To prove they were proper Catholics they even had a service that started at 12 on the dot. Kirsten didn't appreciate the organ and decided we should leave so someone else could listen to it.

Further down for the cathedral were the old Arab walls of the 9th century fortress (not really visible from the road) and a viaduct giving great views to the west of Madrid. By then however Kirsten was hungry, Nathan was hungry, mom was hungry and dad was hungry. So up Calle Mayor we went to find somewhere to eat. First decent spot was just outside Plaza Mayor where a lunch of beer, eggs, potatoes and bacon just made sense. Well, for me anyway.

By then it was time to go and after avoiding a protest march against Coca-Cola we caught a taxi and headed home. All in all another fun day exploring.Read more