Madrid Day 1

Landed in Madrid and took the Cercanias into Nuevos Ministerios. I have an AirBNB in Chamberi. Big delay getting through Chamartin, lots of construction going on. Managed to navigate to my digs without a local sim. Then the quest was on to find the Vodafone shop. Walked down Ponzano, just around the corner, now being written about in the foodie blogs for tapas. Found the Vodafone shop, but no prepaid sims. So , I didn’t intend going into central Madrid, but I know there is a very good Vodafone shop in Sol. No metro, more construction, but managed to understand the metro lady when she told me to take the bus, out of the station and to the left. Got off the bus at Cibeles and walked up to Sol. And the Vodafone shop at Sol delivered. Great service, 50Gb for 30 days for 10 euro. No excuse for getting lost now.
So, a balmy warm evening in Madrid, I started walking. Down to the Plaza Mayor, stopped in at the church at Plaza Santiago, down to the Palace and Temple de Bod. All this walking and didn’t have to cross one road. All pedestrianised. I love this city.
Now, Temple de Bod looks like an Egyptian temple, and sure enough, it is. The Egyptians gave it to the Spanish to thank them for helping out with constructing a dam and moving the temple. Although what lies underneath is equally as interesting, imo. This was the site of the Montana Barracks. A tragic and bloody siege took place at the beginning of the Civil War. You military types and history nerds can read more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_the_Mont…
The bit about the rifle bolts is instructive.
From there, more walking through parks on a balmy evening. With my phone battery at 10%, thought it best to get the bus back to Chamberi before I got lost.
So nice to be back in one of my favourite cities.Read more