Madrid in September – Art, Culture and Energy

Five days in Madrid is hardly enough time to experience all the city has to offer, and this blog post will not do those five days justice, however, I will attempt to document our experience before any more time slips by. So, here we go …

Madrid is known as a city that “pulses with life” and I believe that we, unknowingly, reserved a hotel room in the heart of that pulsating city — Puerta del Sol. This busy, crowded plaza is often referred to as the Times Square of Madrid, and I believe it! People never sleep in that city … probably because of all the coffee they drink! Nevertheless, it was a great location for all of the plans we had made for our days in Madrid.

Here’s a sample of 24-7 sounds from below our window.

Sunday, September 22: We started our first full day with breakfast at the restaurant on the first floor of our hotel, the Europa Hotel. We sat at a table situated on the busy street just below our third-floor room. Breakfast in Spain is nothing to write home about, so I’ll not bother describing it. The coffee is good though.

A walking tour was our main plan for the day. I downloaded a VoiceMap audio tour to my phone called Multicultural Madrid Walking Tour: from Plaza Mayor to Lavapiés. Dale and I shared my Airpods and listened as a host guided us through the city describing sights along the way. We enjoy these types of tours because it’s private and flexible. We can start or stop any time we want.

The tour started in Plaza Mayor and took us through neighborhoods, markets, churches and more.

Monday, September 23: We walked to the Prado Museum, home to masterpieces by Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco. It was very enjoyable. I got yelled at for taking some video. Oops! After soaking up culture for several hours, we grabbed some dinner and made our way back to our plaza and people watched.

Tuesday, September 24: Rick Steve’s walking tour was first on our list. It’s a really informative and thorough tour, and the best part .. it’s free! One stop on the tour is the Royal Palace. We had purchased tickets in advance so we could see the inside and it didn’t disappoint. I’ve never seen such much gold-covered furniture and painted ceilings. I think it’s a bit much. Ha! The king and his family doesn’t actually live there.

We also visited Retiro Park, where we rested our tired feet and enjoyed watching people and the view of boats on the lake. A man was playing some good tunes on a cornet as well. It was very charming. From there we took the subway back to Puerta del Sol.

Later that evening we experienced a small taste of Madrid’s legendary nightlife by attending a Flamenco show. It was riveting. Friends from Round Rock, who were also in Madrid that week, attended with us.

Enjoy the sounds of Flamenco!

Wednesday, September 25: This was another full day. We embarked on another tour, History with a side of Tapas: A local’s Madrid, also from Voicemap. It took us through the historical district of Madrid, starting in the 1700’s and working our way to the oldest 1500’s quarter. We stopped by several popular tapas bars and finished of the day with some delicious paella, shown below in a cast iron skillet.

A note about tapas. Tapas are small snacks or appetizers, and one of the most common and popular tapas is jamón, which is ham in Spanish. But it’s not any ordinary ham like you find in your local HEB, it’s ham from special pigs that is cured in a special way that makes it especially expensive! You can see the thin sliced ham in one of the photos above. We enjoyed this meal on Plaza Mayor. Honestly, I prefer some mesquite-smoked deli ham slices!

Thursday, September 26: We booked a day trip outside of Madrid to a charming town called Toledo. The excursion included transportation, a guided tour and plenty of time for our own sightseeing. Toledo is located in a bend of the Tagus River. It is known as the “City of the Three Cultures” for the cultural influences of Christians, Muslims, and Jews throughout its history. It was the capital of Spain from 542 to 725 AD. We enjoyed walking the old streets and enjoying lunch at a local restaurant.

Friday, September 27: This is the day we met up with our mission team from the U.S. at the Madrid Airport. We all boarded a flight bound for Santiago de Compostela, northwest of Madrid, where we would spend the next week serving pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. You can read about that here!