But fear not! This week we had one of those very rare weekends at home together (between the never ending study and jaunting across the old Spanish countryside) so we decided to go out and document a very small section of the city and some of the places we commute past weekly. With home to over 3.2million people the city is relatively densely populated and the centre is certainly walkable.
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| Us too!!! |
We thought the best way to get about quickly and cover a lot of ground for our photo log was by bike. So, with our water bottles packed and sunscreen on, we hired bikes from a small shop in the city centre. Below is a log of our ride and some of the places we stopped; these are a selection of some of the exciting main city sights a typical tourist would visit, just to give you a little bit of a glimpse.
But, after returning the bikes the tour continued and we traversed down Gran Via to the Palacio de Cibeles to take in the view (of course we included those photos below too). A spectacular sight! Lastly we explored the barrio La Latina before dragging our sweaty, tired bodies home for a wine and hearty slice of tortilla de patatas.
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| Next stop La Puerta del Sol |
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| The bear and the "strawberry" tree |
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| Queen Isabel II outside the Opera house, Opera Plaza |
If Madrid had a beating heart it would be La Puerta del Sol.
The iconic Plaza is shaped like a half crescent, which represents a rising sun with long straight rays of road shining out in all directions and is best described as a coagulated centre of activity. All those pumping blood vessels and what not. Parades of people work the streets selling ridiculous things you don't really need to buy and dress up in costumes for photos. Local people just stand around congregating, smoking and chatting with friends and there are so many people shopping and sightseeing that it's a people watcher's dream!
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| Plaza Oriente |
Directly in the middle of the Plaza is 'kilometer 0', which is more or less the dead centre of the Iberian Peninsula. How cool is that!?
One of the attractions within the Plaza is the iconic bear eating from a 'strawberry tree'. This statue is engraved everywhere across the city as a coat of arms - on fire hydrants, recycling bins and man holes.
The story goes that when translating, nobody knew the English word for the red fruit so they just called it a strawberry. Nobody will be any the wiser, right? Why Madrid's icon is a bear, is also a mystery, but it is said that long ago, bears used to roam the fields around the city (cough, cough).
After a quick photo we carried on down passing through the Opera Plaza and Plaza Oriente to the Grand Royal Palace (pictured below).
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| Past the Royal Palace and all over its 2000+ rooms |
Cycling past the neighbouring Almudena Cathedral and then downwards alongside the catacombs we slowly zig zagged towards the River Rio. This section is perfect for cycling, it's well paved and runs several kilometers along and over the almost dried out river. It's not really touristy as such, probably from a lack of shade but led us on towards Casa de Campo.
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| Down to the River Rio |
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| The Lago de la Casa de Campo |
Casa de Campo is Madrid's largest park. Once a famous hunting spot for Spain's Royal elite, it is now a public space, with an array of bike paths, a stunning lake, restaurants, an amusement park etc. Actually this was our first trip to Casa de Campo (although its relatively close to our house).
It's such a huge park that the size was a bit daunting to us! "Where is the best place to go?" But with bikes we were able to move around the park with so much ease. Keeping under the large canopy of trees we followed the bumpy and dusty bike paths up and around and climbed up to what is considered the highest part. The park itself was so dry and not to mention hot, we could believe that we were back in Australia, whizzing through the gum trees!
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| Reaching the Cuatro Caminos Alto in Casa de Campo |
From Casa de Campo we turned around and worked our way back towards the city centre. By this time we were fairly famished and stopped for a small chorizo bocadillo! Kara was then kind enough to take over the reins of tour guide and point out notable places that she learnt about in the free walking tour she did last April. As such, we had to carry our bikes up probably the steepest mini hill in Madrid before cycling past the oldest restaurant in the world and visiting a secret garden for the Prince of Almeria.
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| Some of the beautiful sights |
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| Garden with a view |
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Drink stop behind the Madrid Cathedral
(Notice those clouds! Ek) |
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| Heading up toward Calle Mayor |
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| Inside Plaza Mayor, City Centre |
From there we worked our way towards the Plaza Mayor. We love Plaza Mayor! In fact its one of the most awesomest places to visit in the city. The rectangular boxed in square doesn't look like much but the area has so much fascinating history. Commissioned by King Philip III in 1577 and built in 1617 (actually a remodel of Plaza del Arrabal). Over time the plaza has been used for markets, bull fights, football games, public executions and of course now its a fantastic place to go and enjoy the sun and marvel at the surrounding three story buildings and their beautiful facades.
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| Flamenco dresses for sale |
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| Or magnets if you prefer? |
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| Dropping the bikes off! |
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| Looking back down Gran Via |
After four hours cycling around the city in the sunshine, we were very glad to drop the bikes off and give our weary legs a rest! So much so, we only made it 100 meters down to the corner before we opted to stop for a refreshing beverage and to sit quietly for several moments watching big loomy rain clouds on their way towards us! But not a problem, they were behind us to the West and so we paraded back up Gran Via (where we started) heading East toward Plaza de Cibeles.
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| Walking down Gran Via |
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| Plaza de Cibeles and Cybele Palace |
The Cybele Palace in Plaza de Cibeles is a magnificent building, so large in fact that its quite often difficult to get it all into a photo. It's neo-classical exterior adorned with iconic marble statues and fountains, stands tall over some of the city's busiest roads and was built in 1909 as a... wait for it.... post office!! Probably the most beautiful post office in the world. As the clouds behind us grew darker and meaner we ventured up just past the clock face for the view.. whoa look is that rain?
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| A cloudy view West from the Palacio de Cibeles |
As the rain drops begun to patter down lightly, we walked back towards the centre looking for another small snack to keep us going. Thankfully the rain passed over quickly, moving more towards the North and we begun our journey towards La Latina.
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| Close to Sol again for something to eat |
La Latina is a neighbourhood just south of the city and this was our first real visit there. We've passed through a few times but never taken the opportunity to explore. It got a real funky ethnic vibe and it considered the oldest area of Madrid with large Plaza's and small narrow streets. Actually, at night we had never felt safe passing through the area. Recently we weren't surprised to read that the area (without generalising) has some of the highest levels of robbing and crime. However, this is most typically at night and really, you probably need to just be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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| Fascinating street corner |
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| Art on the buildings |
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| Looking up the small narrow streets |
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| Statues and stunning buildings |
We, however, were there at the right time! A perfect afternoon to explore the old barrio with its huge collection of tapa bars, crazy street artwork and interesting buildings. Just getting lost looking around. On Sundays, the neighbourhood comes alive with one of Europe's biggest flea markets; El rastro (the rat), winding its way through the streets.
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| Look the colours! |
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| Love stumbling over these corners! |
We hope that you enjoyed our tiny snapshot and tikki tour through the city. For now, there's no rest for the wicked and next weekend we are off to Belgium! So stay tuned!
Tot Siens,
John and Kara
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