2010 Spain Day 6 - Madrid

Setting an alarm, we were up and moving very early. I made a run to Starbucks while Sharon and Jack got ready. We had breakfast again in the Plaza Mayor; Jack loved the belgium waffles.

The morning was spent at the Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace). One of the guidebooks says that it is Europe's third greatest palace, after Versailles and Vienna's Schonbrunn. We took an audio tour of the 24 rooms of the palace plus the pharmacy and the armory. The pharmacy was particularly unusual.

Although it has been 25 years ago, Sharon has been to Versialles and Schonbrunn. She noted that the Madrid Palace does not have the extensive gardens that the other two have.

From there, we wandered through the Cathedral de Almudena. Sharon and I both noted that there are few churchs in the guidebooks for Madrid.

We had lite lunch in a small square about halfway between the palace and the Opera metro stop at Los Austrias Cafe and then took the metro back to a stop near the hotel.

The plan for the afternoon was for Sharon to go to a Bikram Yoga class and for Jack and I to hang out at the pool.

Wandering to dinner, Sharon did some shopping. We ended up wandering north of the Plaza Major into an area that we have not been. We had a drink on Plaza Puerta Cerrada and then a great dinner at Posada de la Villa just up the block. Sharon and I split roast lamb while Jack had rabbit with rice.

Sharon had a long conversation with a woman from Washington state whose family was sitting next to us. They are spending three weeks exploring Spain and North Africa.

By the time that we got to bed and asleep, it was again after midnight...