Madrid

While Ronan and Regal settle into their new surroundings of the boatyard, Ruby, Colm and I take the train to Madrid.
We arrive into the city centre station after dark and do our best to soak up the big city atmosphere while we walk the 20 minutes to our accommodation carrying our bags.
Our apartment is in the centre of the old town and we start off the next morning, luggage free, on walking route suggested in ‘The Rough guide to Spain’. It brings us to different churches and plazas and we find the convent it mentions that sells biscuits. The biscuits are dry and a bit of a rip off at 10 euros but the experience is worth it. The nuns in the Convento de los Carboneras are an enclosed order and so we do the whole transaction through a rotating wooden shelf and never catch a glimpse of them. This mystery instills in us a momentary religious fervor and we spend the next 20 minutes in Religious shop. The shopkeeper is surprised at our interest in the Priests vestments, church statutes and mass paraphernalia and very kindly shows us the contents of several tiny portable mass kits.
We continue ramble through Madrid and arrive at the enormous Palacio Real. Once inside we decide to go straight to the Armoury which is incredible - the Armour they have on display is more elaborate than anything we have seen or read about in fact or fiction. It is hard to imagine people moving in the suits not to mind doing battle in them.
We continue into the main palace and are blown away by one amazing room after another - So many chandeliers, ceramics, gold, silk covered walls, tapestries, carpets, woodwork and plasterwork. Some of the rooms took years to complete. Photography is prohibited which turns out to be a blessing as I would have taken hundreds of pictures.
We have a lovely Chinese meal and go to a Chinese jewellery making shop before returning to the apartment- we have more touristy things to do later this evening so we watch a few episodes of Brooklyn 99 and have a few chalky convent biscuits to renew our sightseeing strength.Read more