May 6 - 7, 2010 -- Madrid

On Thursday we reluctantly left our monastery at Segovia. That wonderful hotel was exceptional in every way, including price, 83 euros ($110 Canadian) per night, which included parking (often this is 20 euros extra) and a superb buffet breakfast (not usually included).

We drove from Segovia to Madrid where we returned the rental car to the airport and took the Metro to our downtown hotel. Although we had two transfers, we managed without a hitch as the underground is well signed and easy to navigate.

After checking into our hotel we decided that a walking tour of nearby Plaza Mayor, Peurta de Sol and Gran Via area was a necessary first step.

Madrid is a large, vibrant city and a mecca for tourists, mostly from Spain. We window shopped on a pedestrianized street, people watched at the Puerta de Sol, strolled to the Plaza Santa Ana for tapas and returned to the hotel. Again and again we noticed young women out with their mothers, shopping or just walking and enjoying themselves.

Today, Friday, we had a light breakfast in the hotel and Duane went shopping for a fuse (which he found just up the street in a little shop that specializes in fuses, batteries and bulbs) for our Kindle. Duane is absolutely loving having the Kindle with us as he reads the Toronto Globe and Mail and the New York Times every day. It's especially wonderful to stretch out with that at night when one is absolutely too tired to take another step. (NB: Carol would use the Kindle as well if Duane would let her get her hands on it.)

We then walked to the Museo de Reina Sophia, which has quite an extensive Picasso collection including the amazing Guernica and numerous individual working studies which informed that painting. There were also many Salvador Dali paintings, one of which is included here.

We spent about four hours admiring the wealth of artistic treasures, had lunch in the museum restaurant and then returned to another floor of the museum where we saw the more modern works of art.

After leaving the museum we took a bus ride to the north end of town, through modern Madrid, with its office towers and government buildings. Madrid is extensive and it has a wonderful mix of old and new.