My dear friend and unofficial European “big sister,” Gertrud Humily, has been leaning on us for years to do a multi-week tour to Spain. She earned her PhD in Madrid and worked as a tour guide during the summers. She has many fond memories, and wanted to share them with us and Peter.
I agreed to 10 days and she put together a trip starting in Madrid and travelling through many historic sites shifting every day, but at the beginning is in Madrid and at the terminus in Barcelona. Another thing she wanted to do was stay in Paradores. Here are some cool places to visit (link1 link2)
Paradores de Turismo de España is a chain of Spanish luxury hotels. It was founded by Alfonso XIII of Spain as a means to promote tourism in Spain, with the first opening in Gredos, Ávila, in 1928. A profitable state-run enterprise, the hotels are often in castles, palaces, fortresses, convents, monasteries and other historic buildings. (Wiki Link)
Tues Aug 25
We depart White Salmon and check-in to the Hilton Garden Inn next to PDX airport. We have arranged for Heidi Adams (our housekeeper and pet sitter) to come and pick up our car so as to avoid large parking fees or leaving unattended in hotel parking lot for 2 weeks.
Wed Sept 26
We get up early and depart hotel at 4AM to catch our 5:20AM USAir flight. We check our bags through to Madrid and fly First/Business Class from PDX to PHX to PHL to Madrid. Nancy liked the cocoon seating from PHL to Madrid and even gets some sleep. We joked that I ended up with a 3 cheese omelette with peppers on all 3 flights.
Thurs Aug 27
Madrid – Day 1
We arrive at 8AM on Thursday. Gertrud and Peter arrived the day before and scoped out the area. The hotel that Gertrud arranged was the Petit Palace Savoy at Alfonso XII. We found the hotel to be very comfortable, affordable, and convenient. We get to the hotel and Nancy takes a quick nap. We arrange to meet Gertrud and Peter in front of the Prada Museum.
We had noted that there was a Starbucks nearby so Nancy tries her chai concoction there but discovers that flavors are too different (and her US card doesn’t work). So it looks like finding Starbucks in Spain will not be a priority and she will need to go through withdrawal “cold turkey.”
We start by viewing the Prado Art Museum. It’s quite a large collection and reminds me of the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. It really specializes in Velázquez and Goya. It certainly has some nice Ruebens, Monets, El Grecos, and others. It was a nice environment. We used the walkabout headphones in 3 different languages.
We then proceeded to walk to the Thyssen Art Museum which has an interesting set of international paintings in a beautiful building. It was very comfortable, but Nancy and I were hitting the wall from the jet lag. So we walked back to the hotel and crashed until dinner.
We rendezvoused for dinner and took a taxi to the old town area. We walked around the various plazas, the Royal Palace of Madrid, the opera house known as the Real, and the Plaza Mayor. We ultimately found a nice place for tapas and drinks sitting outside.
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Friday Aug 28
Madrid – Day 2
We rendezvoused at 8:30AM and headed to the park in front of the Prado Museum to start our Madrid City tour. There were 2 different routes. We started with Route 1 and viewed the old town. At this point we are starting to learn the downtown area better and better.
What Nancy and I found particularly amazing was that during the tour they really bragged about their architecture for their residential, commercial, and government buildings, even giving top billing to their architects. They would point out a building at such and such an address, tell the architect, what style was used, what awards were won, which architects updated the design, and etc. This might even be for a store or a residence with attractive façades.
In general, we remarked how clean the city was compared to many other large cities. Clearly people invested in keeping their city streets, sidewalks, and most importantly their buildings maintained. We saw many projects underway.
We stopped about ¾ the way through Route 1 and walked around in the shopping district. We first stopped for some breakfast and then did some shopping. Nancy got a top and a beautiful tablecloth set for the large table in Arizona at an excellent price. I found a utility bag that I think might work well for keeping my stuff convenient and safe (from thieves) without resorting to a full-fledged “murse.”
We enjoyed finding the Madrid Apple Store in the Plaza de la Puerto del Sol, the center of probably the most prominent shopping area. Nancy heard that it might be the largest Apple Store in Europe. It certainly was nice. Incidentally, it was right across the street from the 0 Kilometer marker, from which all distances are measured in Spain.
We continued the Route 1 tour to the beginning and then switched to the Route 2 tour for the newer part of Madrid. There was some overlap but we valued seeing other parts as well.
We walked back toward he hotel, stopped for some refreshments, and then took a long siesta. Nancy got in a couple of hours of sleep, but I mostly got some work done.
We rendezvoused at 8:30PM and took a taxi to the Plaza Mayor. We had casual refreshments on the Plaza watching everyone go by. We convinced the restaurant to give us an early reservation, by normal Spaniard standards of 10PM. We ate at Sobrino de Botîn just off the plaza. It claims the Guiness Book of Records for the oldest restaurant. Goya worked as a waiter there and it’s mentioned in Hemmingway’s the Sun Also Rises. Nancy had the cochinillo asano specialty and we were also serenaded by some college students. It was a very pleasant meal and we got back to the hotel before 1AM. So we accomplished our mission.
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