Sun Shiny Day

20-Oct-23

We had clear skies on our second day in Madrid, so we joined a free walking tour to explore more of the city. It was led by a local stage actor, so it was a bit long and overly dramatic for me, but it hit the main sites. 

Plaza Mayor

The oldest clock shop in Madrid greets customers with an animatronic watch maker

KM 0 in Puerta del Sol plaza that points toward the 8 main roads leading out of medieval Madrid.

Oldest restaurant in Madrid: Casa Botin opened in 1725. Its specialty is whole roasted pig. Needless to say, we did not eat here ;)

Oldest pharmacy in Madrid, Farmacia de la Reina Madre opened in 1578. Apparently, the royals didn't trust that their royal pharmacist in the palace wouldn't poison them if the right price preserved itself. So they built an underground tunnel to a private pharmacist outside the palace walls... Or so we were told 😜

Plaza de la Ville that contains architecture spanning 3 centuries. On the left: 15th century Casa y Torre de los Lujanes. Center: 16th century Casa Cisneros. On the right: 17th century Casa de la Villa.

Almudena Cathedral - we didn't go inside, as we'd reached our max-cathedral capacity at this point. The cathedral was built atop an 11th century mosque & while construction started in 1883, it wasn't completed until 1993 due to various 20th century wars that interrupted the process. 

Symbol of Madrid: Female bear eating from a strawberry tree - also found on the city's coat of arms.

We spent the afternoon at Museo del Prado, originally created in 1785 to house the royal art collection. It's been expanded over the centuries to house an ever-increasing collection of European art collected by Spanish nobels. It's a massive collection of medieval religious & Renaissance art, including a room showcasing the Dauphin's collection of bejeweled crystal tableware, & countless El Greco, Rubens (Nick's favorite), Titian, Velazquez (my favorite), & Goya masterpieces! Sadly, no photos allowed ☹️