Back to Madrid and another Cathedral!

Today was basically a travel day with a little bit of sight seeing thrown in. It is a two and a half hour train ride from Seville to Madrid. By the time that I got to the hotel in Madrid and had checked in and relaxed a bit it was already 2:30. I was okay just relaxing today because I've been to Madrid and seen the highlights mostly but I did go sightseeing and saw quite a bit after a leisurely lunch.

The Puerta del Sol is the center of Madrid. My metro stop for the hotel is here (or Ópera depending on which you prefer) so it was easy to get some looks around here. The statue in the center of the square with the fountain is iconic of Madrid.

Next I headed over to the Plaza Mayor. This is the area with the outdoor cafés and a lot of eating places are around there. It is very pretty (even with the work being down on restoration). I took the advice of the concierge at the hotel and walked a bit away from the plaza to get out of the touristy section and found a smaller place to eat.

After that I walked down to the Cathedral of Saint Mary the Royal of Almudena (Santa María la Real de La Almudena). I got to go in here for the first time because the last time I was here with my family we didn't go into the Cathedral, just the crypt. The Cathedral is very nice and I'm glad that I decided to head down this way despite the fact I had been to the crypts and the Royal Palace. I even got a good photo of stained glass! (The photo at the top is the Cathedral from the side next to the palace).

Speaking of the crypts, I went there again and checked them out again. They are very peaceful and beautiful.

The Royal Palace of Madrid is an absolute eye opener and I totally recommend if anyone visits Madrid they should go see the place. I saw it the last time I was here so I wasn't planning on going in again (which is good because they were closed by the time I got there) but it is totally amazing. I did take a couple photos of the outside though and because they were closed I got to take a picture of the courtyard without people in it.

After this I headed back up past the Puerta del Sol and passed by the area with the Cybele Palace and the Cybele fountain. I also passed by Puerta de Alcalá on the way to the Parque del Buen Retiro.

The Parque del Buen Retiro is a really amazing park. It is very large and is home to some impressive buildings. Particularly impressive is the Monument to King Alphonso II. Surrounded by water and trees, the monument dominates the vista. The Crystal Palace is worth a visit as well.

After that I swung back up the Paseo del Prado. I didn't go into the Prado because last time I was here I went through the entire museum. They are doing work on the Prado so there is scaffolding on parts but the area is very pretty.

That is it for Madrid. Tomorrow I fly to Marseille to spend three nights in my old hometown of Aix-en-Provence. It will be exciting to go back again. My time in Spain was amazing though. Next post will be from France!