As we roll our bags on the bike path (it is smoother than the tiles on the sidewalk) we say a sad goodbye to a very relaxing beach stop. On the train we meet a young couple - Ishmel and Alicia from a small town in Spain called Badajoz. They are good friends from the same high school and worked a summer job at a restaurant run by chef Martin Berasategui. They even shared the same (bunk bed). Accommodations were provided by the restaurant. They were given not much money and very little food and both ended up in the hospital from exhaustion. We are told the same thing happened to many kids. The one thing they did receive was expired cases of beer to drink. Too bad, Alicia doesn't like beer. Gin and tonics are their thing. They both worked a hard 60 hours a week sometimes 17 hours straight. They tells us it was hard but it made them tough. They laugh a lot when times are tough. They both agree any job they do will be easy in comparison. Alicia wants to be a chef and Ishmel is not sure what he will do. They both have time to decide. We talk for hours. A boring train ride is a lot more fun when you meet new people.
In Madrid, we exit the train and are hit in the face with 38C or about 100F temperatures. Even the wind blows hot. We decide to eat something at the station to ready us for the adventure into the city. We locate the metro by going out of the station and down the escalators to the underground tunnels. We buy the 10 trip ticket that can be shared and look for the train. We have trouble finding the right train. Monique has an app but it doesn't jibe with the lines we see. Dave uses the paper map and asks a young woman for help. She informs us that one whole line is down for repair. The one we need. She shows us an alternate way to go. Take the #10 from Chamartin six stops to Alonso Martinez. Change to the #5 with the end stop called Casa de Campo. Get off at Opera and walk up Arenal street and find #2. We look for any shade available as we walk but sweat our way to the hotel. It is really hot.
After check in we decide we can take in the Palacio Real (palace) because it is open until 20:00 and it is close to our hotel. We buy the tickets at the hotel desk to save wait time in line. We are told to go to an office on the way to pick up the tickets. We get there and learn the palace is closed for the next two days for a special event. We change plans and begin to explore a street that looks interesting. It is really hot so we don't get far before we duck into a small bar and order a cold beer. They even throw in a pintxo of potato and cheese, nice. Out again where the heat radiates off the pavement as we wander some more, do some window shopping and finally decide to stop at an outdoor cafe that has water misters which make an attempt at keeping you cool. We order a small pitcher of refreshing sangria and share a kebab with fries. We are in the perfect people watching spot. There is even a flash mob that shows up and does a dance performance right on the square in front of us. Monique goes over to record the event.
Everyone is coming out now after the heat has reduced by maybe 5 degrees. After 9pm people come to eat and drink. It is fun to watch. We work our way back to the hotel stopping at stores along the way. We need time to book hotels for our next stop - Greece. And let's not forget the blog postings. We will be getting up early and venture out to see two museums in one day. For us that is not a problem we have done it before. You need to start early and take a break in between for lunch.
The final stretch - our hotel (Hotel Moderno) is on the left - right as Sol Plaza opens up. This was an amazing location. It was within walking distance to everything we wanted to do.
It’s cool what you discover just wandering around. He missed a couple spots :)
La Casa De Las Torrijas - a really great break from the blasting heat - it was cooler inside and the beer was really cold.
The Plaza Mayor was built during Philip III's reign and is a central plaza in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is located only a few Spanish blocks away from another famous plaza, the Puerta del Sol - where our hotel is.