Departure Day!

Last minute prep - weeks of reading stuff about Madrid and planning various adventures while there - brain in sizzle mode at the moment. Checked in and got our boarding passes on our phones - onlyBaca lagi
Charlotte airport

Smooth sailing down 52/85 to Lot 1 at the airport. Waze GPS Made it easy. Left home at 2:30 - through the TSA lines by 4:30. Even got a pat down in the TSA line! Think a Kleenex in my pocket was theBaca lagi
Munich airport

Landed 20 minutes early. About a 3 hr layover before taking off for Madrid. About 4:50 am N Carolina time. Yawn!
Didn’t take us long to find the good stuff though! Weißwurst und Weißbier
Our Air BnB

Made the connection from Munich - Madrid - hold to circle Madrid for about 20 minutes due to heavy inbound air traffic, but otherwise both flights were smooth as silk. Weather was cloudy/sunny inBaca lagi
Late Night Walk - first night in Madrid

After a short nap, decided to go for a walk around town. Stopped at Temple de Bod , which was lit up at night. Some nice views from the park looking at tthe Royal Palace. Started thinking about foodBaca lagi
Back at AirBnB - Heading out for Tapas

Spent the day roaming Madrid. Had breakfast and then embarked on a Sandeman’s Walking tour, which was outstanding. Led by a young lady from Manchester, England with a degree in Spanish Studies, sheBaca lagi
Tapas Time!

Thought I’d add an extra footprint here so that I could include a few more pics (they only allow you 10 pics at a time per footprint , so....). We started off the night at Place de la Ville whereBaca lagi
Flea Markets, Cave eating, and Wandering

Actually slept in a bit this morning - amazing. Still exhausted, but off to the subway (wanted nothing to eat this morning after last night’s carnage!). Headed for the flea market - now that was anBaca lagi
Royal Palace and Catedral de la Almudena

After our big meal at Botin’s , we decided we’d better walk it off - headed over to see the Royal Palace - discovered it was close due to a State Affair - we’ll probably do the tour nextBaca lagi
Prado, Retiro Park and Crystal Palace

Got a bit of a late start this morning but knew the Prado didn’t open till 10. Found a neat little breakfast spot called Matilda (https://www.facebook.com/matildacafecantina/ ) Had about 8 tables -Baca lagi
San Lorenzo el escorial

Took the bus this morning some 30 minutes NW of Madrid to see This famous monastery. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Escorial
Bus was running half hour late so didn’t make it here till 11.Baca lagi
Dinner al La Sucursal

Whoa baby! Tasty stuff here! Just a few blocks from the AirBnB
EatWith.com and Paella

Woke up late (around 9am). Had some coffee,cereal and then hit the metro to take us to Juan’s place where we are going to be heading to the market to buy fresh produce and seafood to make Paella atBaca lagi
Toledo

A day in Toledo! Woke up early because we had to meet Alfonso some 20 minutes away. He had sent us the address, so it was a matter of using Google maps (which I’ve been using for all my transitBaca lagi
Cerralbo museum

Awesome museum in a rather plain building. This guy accumulated an incredible collection of art
La Bola - lunch

Eating - Cocido Madrilenńo. Wonderful! cash only. Going to be close! - Whew - we had 66 Euros and the meal came to 53. The waiter even helped me put on my jacket as I left - probably hoping we’dBaca lagi
Thyssen Museum

Another museum! Feet are starting to woof. Portraits and landscapes - not bad, although this was a period of rather dark (literally) paintings, so not the most exciting stuff I’ve seen - got betterBaca lagi
Church of the Black Madonna

Janet always has to visit a church that has a Black Madonna, patron saint of Poland, so off we trekked some 20 minutes from the Thyssen to check this out.
Federal Cafe - breakfast

Eating tasty breakfast before heading out for last day
Palacio Real de Madrid

Awesome. Incredible display of armor from the mid 1590’s here. Pictures to follow.
Departure Day

Got up at 4 this morning. AirBnB Host had ordered us s taxi for 0500. Got about 4 hrs sleep. Driver was 5 minutes early. Had us at the airport by 0515 Flat 30 Euros for taxi rides to the airport.Baca lagi
Munich airport

Cold and rainy as we touch down at 0935. Through passport control - finally! Lesson - choose your line carefully.
2 hrs before departure - too tired to be hungry. Strange looking cheese omelette onBaca lagi
Charlotte airport

Arrived to mid 40’s temps and rainy. Took about 30 minutes to pass through customs check - that’s always fun. Do you have any food that you are bringing in? Uh, yes, we have a 10 lb Iberian hamBaca lagi