We Visit the King and I Get on TV

The sun rises quite late here at this time of the year. At 8 am in the morning it is still quite dark and the air is fresh and cool. This makes the early morning the best time of day to do your exploration.

We had already decided that today we would head off towards the Plaza Mayor and then continue to the Royal Palace and the nearby Madrid Cathedral. After another lovely breakfast we donned our walking gear and headed off into the city. It was amazing how quickly we were beginning to feel at home in this place and we were beginning to feel more confident in wandering the central part of the city without losing our bearings completely.

At 10 am the large Plaza Mayor was almost deserted, apart from a few young tourists posing for their selfies. Allan and I decided to sneak into the background and photobomb one couple's carefully staged picture. We both put on our most stupid looking faces and looked over their shoulders into their camera. Surprisingly we did not get a punch in the face from the guy as they both seemed to think it was quite funny.

Continuing on past the plaza we soon came upon the distinctive white buildings that are a feature of the palace precinct. Our first glimpse of the imposing Royal Palace reminded me a little of the Palace of Versailles. The area outside the place was still largely empty, although a few eager tourists were beginning to form a queue outside the ticket office. Since none of us had any real desire to pay money to view the inside of the palace, we decided to walk around the corner to have a look inside the huge Cathedral of Santa Maria instead. At least the entrance was free.

Our journey then took us past the Egyptian Temple of Debod. In case you were wondering whether the Egyptians actually made it all the way to Spain - they didn't. Apparently the temple was dismantled stone by stone and then reassembled in this unlikely location. Another example of the theft of Egyptian artefacts and monuments by the wealthy European countries.

Our final stop was the lovely Parque del Oeste (Park of the East). The shady trees provided some relief from the heat that was rapidly building up and we indulged ourselves in some people watching. By this time our tummies were telling us that it was time for lunch and we eventually found a lovely little outside cafe where we enjoyed a delicious lunch. They even gave us a plate of free paella. A pity about the jackhammers that were relentlessly pounding away at the street pavement a few metres away.

After lunch we wandered back to the hotel (our bladders could not last out all day). After a brief rest I ventured out again on a short walk and it did not take long before I found a well dressed guy with a microphone in his hand. He was standing next to a very mature lady with MUCH too much make up on her ageing face. This looked interesting I thought. As the camera man manoeuvred about trying to get the best angle, I also managed to work my way around to behind the couple. After all I now considered myself an expert in the abstract art of photobombing.

As the interview started I managed to walk back and forth in the background. It's not everyday you get the chance to star on Spanish TV and I had nothing better to do with my time. I thus felt that I had made maximum use of my brief stay in Madrid. Tomorrow afternoon we take the train to Bilbao where we will meet up with the rest of our team.

I can honestly say that we have really enjoyed our all too brief time in this city.Read more