According to the travel guides Madrid is home to one of the best Zoo's in Europe. So we decided to take a look on Sunday.
We were not disappointed!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Saturday exploring
Saturday was another lovely day in Madrid.
We headed off on the Metro to go to the Prado. What is a trip to Europe without visiting a big famous museum????
The art collection is amazing. It was pretty cool to see in person some of the paintings in my art history books.
Next to the Prado is the botanical gardens. A beautiful and peaceful place to explore.
Not far from the Prado is a huge park called Parque del Retiro. We were not aware at the time but there was a huge rally planned on Saturday to protest changes the government wants to make in abortion laws. Up to a million people were expected to be around central Madrid. It was CRAZY. But we still enjoyed the park.
We jumped on the Metro and packed in like sardines to head to a different part of the city. I don't know that I have ever been so compacted with a group of people ever before. It was very cozy to say the least.
What ended up being an unexpected advantage was in preparation for a million people the police closed off all the streets in and around central Madrid. So walking around was actually a breeze.
We went back to Plaza Mayor and watched dancers perform from several different countries. They were performing traditional native dances.
Because we knew the closest Metro station was in the heart of the rally we wandered down some beautiful streets of Madrid to a different Metro station. We found it! But then discovered that all of the Metro trains were packed full of people. And the number of people cramming onto the train got more and more jammed. But then at one stop everyone got off. We unknowingly picked the Metro line that goes to the stadium. And there was a Football game about to start. (Soccer)
Finally we got back to our neighborhood and had dinner at the big entertainment complex near the train station. All the tv's were tuned to the football game and beer flowed freely. It was a lot of fun. And there was so much energy in the crowds. We only wished we had realized at the time that it was a football match. We would have hopped off with the crowds and tried to get tickets.
Oh well..........it was still a fun day!
We headed off on the Metro to go to the Prado. What is a trip to Europe without visiting a big famous museum????
The art collection is amazing. It was pretty cool to see in person some of the paintings in my art history books.
Next to the Prado is the botanical gardens. A beautiful and peaceful place to explore.
Not far from the Prado is a huge park called Parque del Retiro. We were not aware at the time but there was a huge rally planned on Saturday to protest changes the government wants to make in abortion laws. Up to a million people were expected to be around central Madrid. It was CRAZY. But we still enjoyed the park.
We jumped on the Metro and packed in like sardines to head to a different part of the city. I don't know that I have ever been so compacted with a group of people ever before. It was very cozy to say the least.
What ended up being an unexpected advantage was in preparation for a million people the police closed off all the streets in and around central Madrid. So walking around was actually a breeze.
We went back to Plaza Mayor and watched dancers perform from several different countries. They were performing traditional native dances.
Because we knew the closest Metro station was in the heart of the rally we wandered down some beautiful streets of Madrid to a different Metro station. We found it! But then discovered that all of the Metro trains were packed full of people. And the number of people cramming onto the train got more and more jammed. But then at one stop everyone got off. We unknowingly picked the Metro line that goes to the stadium. And there was a Football game about to start. (Soccer)
Finally we got back to our neighborhood and had dinner at the big entertainment complex near the train station. All the tv's were tuned to the football game and beer flowed freely. It was a lot of fun. And there was so much energy in the crowds. We only wished we had realized at the time that it was a football match. We would have hopped off with the crowds and tried to get tickets.
Oh well..........it was still a fun day!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Beautiful Madrid
***UPDATED***
Now with MORE pictures!
Where can 22,000 steps take you?
Hotel to Metro Station
Plaza de Espana
Palacio Real
Plaza de Oriente
Catedreal de la Almudena
Plaza de San Miguel
Plaza Mayor
Plaza de la Puerta Del Sol
Metro to Hotel
The weather has been perfect. The food is wonderful. The people are amazing. Spanish men and women are very beautiful. They seem to embrace life with happiness and pleasure.
It has been easy to get around the city. The metro is clean, efficient, and very easy to learn to navigate. Knock on wood, we haven't gotten lost yet.
All in all the only way I can describe our two days of wandering tourist is perfecto!
Now with MORE pictures!
Where can 22,000 steps take you?
Hotel to Metro Station
Plaza de Espana
Palacio Real
Plaza de Oriente
Catedreal de la Almudena
Plaza de San Miguel
Plaza Mayor
Plaza de la Puerta Del Sol
Metro to Hotel
The weather has been perfect. The food is wonderful. The people are amazing. Spanish men and women are very beautiful. They seem to embrace life with happiness and pleasure.
It has been easy to get around the city. The metro is clean, efficient, and very easy to learn to navigate. Knock on wood, we haven't gotten lost yet.
All in all the only way I can describe our two days of wandering tourist is perfecto!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Living La Vida Insomne
Living the Sleepless Life in Madrid has its advantages. Dinner is a very late affair in this wonderful country. We have been sitting down to eat around 9:30 each night. By the time we get back to the hotel is is usually after 11. By the time I snuggle down with a book it is around 12:30 or 1. Sleep doesn't come till after 2.
But so far I don't mind. I get in a full work day and then go out with co-workers exploring.
We spent almost two hours in a super mercado last night. The store was a Target, a grocery store, a Best Buy, and a Macy's all rolled into one. We had a blast. I was able to get a carton of Kinder Surprise eggs.
We had dinner in Plaza Norte (HUGE mall) at a wonderful Italian place. I had their Tres Pastas Especial with Blanco Parmegano sauce. My co-workers had pizzas which they really enjoyed.
Here are a few more pictures:
But so far I don't mind. I get in a full work day and then go out with co-workers exploring.
We spent almost two hours in a super mercado last night. The store was a Target, a grocery store, a Best Buy, and a Macy's all rolled into one. We had a blast. I was able to get a carton of Kinder Surprise eggs.
We had dinner in Plaza Norte (HUGE mall) at a wonderful Italian place. I had their Tres Pastas Especial with Blanco Parmegano sauce. My co-workers had pizzas which they really enjoyed.
Here are a few more pictures:
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Around the office
The office is located in a part of Madrid called Alcobendas. We took a walk today to go to a convenience store to stock up on water and snacks. Our mini bar water is 4.50 Euros while it is only 1.24 Euros in the store. We are also in search of something else in our mini-bar, chocolate covered corn. We hope to find it cheaper somewhere else but if we don't we will probably break down and open one of the cans and try it.
Here are some of the pictures of the area around the office. There are lots of round abouts on the streets of Madrid.
Here are some of the pictures of the area around the office. There are lots of round abouts on the streets of Madrid.
In the beginning...........
October 12th I woke to a great deal of snow.
Checking my flight information showed the flight still on time so off I went to the airport.
The taxi driver got me to the airport in plenty of time. He complimented me on how little luggage I had for such a long trip. Please take note of that as I bet a lot of people thought I would need a suitcase just for my shoes :-)
Anyway, I was there in plenty of time because the flight was delayed by an hour due to weather both in Minnesota and in Atlanta my first destination city.
As it turned out we left the runway over two hours late. We only had a 3 hour total window before our flight to Madrid. We were a little panicked to say the least. I was traveling with a co-worker who thankfully had been to the Madrid office before. He was kind enough to schedule his trip to match mine so I didn't have to try to figure it out all for myself.
Arriving in Atlanta we had a long way to go to get to our Madrid gate. We landed in concourse A and had to get ourselves to one of the last gates in E. (Of course)
About 4 gates from where we needed to be the announcement came that they were doing a last and final boarding call for Madrid. According to our watch the flight wasn't supposed to leave for another 25 minutes. Let the running begin.................................
I have never been more thankful for a family complete with Grandmother, HUGE baby stroller and lots of bags blocking the gate entrance. Baby's passport was not to be found so they were holding up the doors being closed to the plane.
Deep sigh of relief we were on our plane!
And we were off. It was a fantastic flight. No turbulence (yay!) Excellent chicken dish served for dinner. Really, honestly, the dinner they served to us was yummy.
I didn't sleep on the plane but I did enjoy watching Star Trek (the newest movie) and a little of Transformers 2. I also scored a three seater all to myself so I was able to at least lay down and close my eyes for a while.
Morning came too quickly and we made a smooth landing in Madrid.
My first impression of the country was that I had actually stepped off in Southern California. Industry, big freeways, lots of cement, and graffiti. Brown hills, cactus, and flowering plants exactly like in California had me a little confused. But all we saw was the area between the airport and a north eastern suburb that is heavily industrial. We have not gotten anywhere near the beautiful heart of Madrid. That will happen this weekend.
The hotel we are at is just beautiful. And the office we are working in is equally as beautiful. The people are wonderfully kind and accommodating. And the coffee is to die for.
Two other co-workers arrived Monday so there are four of us here.
For our first night out we headed to a beautiful shopping center about a mile from our hotel. We enjoyed a nice dinner, a dessert to rival the food of the gods, and then the requisite window drooling at the shoes.
After a lovely walk back I headed up to my room. I had been awake a full 35+ hours and I was looking forward to curling up with a good book and falling asleep as soon as possible. Eventually sleep did come and it was a wonderful restful and deep sleep.
Morning light comes very late in Madrid. We all met for breakfast at 7:30 and headed for the office at 8. We walked in the dark.
Here are a few pictures of my hotel room. I have not yet taken photographs of the area around the office and hotel. Those are coming soon:
 |
| From October Morning |
Checking my flight information showed the flight still on time so off I went to the airport.
The taxi driver got me to the airport in plenty of time. He complimented me on how little luggage I had for such a long trip. Please take note of that as I bet a lot of people thought I would need a suitcase just for my shoes :-)
Anyway, I was there in plenty of time because the flight was delayed by an hour due to weather both in Minnesota and in Atlanta my first destination city.
As it turned out we left the runway over two hours late. We only had a 3 hour total window before our flight to Madrid. We were a little panicked to say the least. I was traveling with a co-worker who thankfully had been to the Madrid office before. He was kind enough to schedule his trip to match mine so I didn't have to try to figure it out all for myself.
Arriving in Atlanta we had a long way to go to get to our Madrid gate. We landed in concourse A and had to get ourselves to one of the last gates in E. (Of course)
About 4 gates from where we needed to be the announcement came that they were doing a last and final boarding call for Madrid. According to our watch the flight wasn't supposed to leave for another 25 minutes. Let the running begin.................................
I have never been more thankful for a family complete with Grandmother, HUGE baby stroller and lots of bags blocking the gate entrance. Baby's passport was not to be found so they were holding up the doors being closed to the plane.
Deep sigh of relief we were on our plane!
And we were off. It was a fantastic flight. No turbulence (yay!) Excellent chicken dish served for dinner. Really, honestly, the dinner they served to us was yummy.
I didn't sleep on the plane but I did enjoy watching Star Trek (the newest movie) and a little of Transformers 2. I also scored a three seater all to myself so I was able to at least lay down and close my eyes for a while.
Morning came too quickly and we made a smooth landing in Madrid.
My first impression of the country was that I had actually stepped off in Southern California. Industry, big freeways, lots of cement, and graffiti. Brown hills, cactus, and flowering plants exactly like in California had me a little confused. But all we saw was the area between the airport and a north eastern suburb that is heavily industrial. We have not gotten anywhere near the beautiful heart of Madrid. That will happen this weekend.
The hotel we are at is just beautiful. And the office we are working in is equally as beautiful. The people are wonderfully kind and accommodating. And the coffee is to die for.
Two other co-workers arrived Monday so there are four of us here.
For our first night out we headed to a beautiful shopping center about a mile from our hotel. We enjoyed a nice dinner, a dessert to rival the food of the gods, and then the requisite window drooling at the shoes.
After a lovely walk back I headed up to my room. I had been awake a full 35+ hours and I was looking forward to curling up with a good book and falling asleep as soon as possible. Eventually sleep did come and it was a wonderful restful and deep sleep.
Morning light comes very late in Madrid. We all met for breakfast at 7:30 and headed for the office at 8. We walked in the dark.
Here are a few pictures of my hotel room. I have not yet taken photographs of the area around the office and hotel. Those are coming soon:
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