Last Leg of Europe

It was a short drive for us from Salamanca to Madrid.  About 3 hours because we took the no-toll roads.  It was a nice drive and took us right into the hustle of the city.  We unloaded our packs at our new place and returned the rental.  We were able to walk from the rental return (train station) back to our apartment.  Our apartment was in a great location and we were able to walk most places.
By this leg of our journey our exploring muscle was a little worn out, but we managed to hone in on the key things we wanted to see.

Our niece, Clara, from Paris had just begun her first semester in Madrid, so we were able to spend time with her while we were there.

We took our free walking tour like we always do.  Learned some very cool things about the city, like.......one version of why the people of Madrid are nicknamed "Lost Gatos" (The Cats).  Back many years ago (not sure how far back), the leader of the city put a fence up to separate the city from the brothels, bars, etc. Many people in the city would just climb over the fence to get to the night life and that is why the nickname "Los Gatos" is used.  Because they climbed the fence like cats.

Diego playing part in our tour.  Each of them were played the part of the incestuous kings in Spain's history.

Catedral de la Almudena

Another fun story was where the word "Tapas" came from.  The requirement for drinking establishments to serve a portion of free food with a drink was implemented during a time in Spain's history when the wages were very small for the men who were doing hard physical labor and when they were paid they would have to choose between alcohol and food and most of the time would choose alcohol.  They would return to work useless, so a law was put in place that drinking establishments had to serve some food so that the workers would have some sustenance in their bodies and be able to work.  The portions of food weren't called "tapas" yet though.  That nickname came about when a member of high society was served a piece of cheese on top of his wine glass and when he inquired about why it was there, the server said "para tapar"  to cover your wine. And it is believed by some that that is where the free food served with drinks got it's name "Tapa".  We were told that it is not a Tapa unless it is free.  Otherwise it has another name...."pincho".  So there are a lot of Tapas bars in the US that have it all wrong :)

We visited Plaza Mayor, a tourist destination and a place where there are many outdoor cafes, but mostly wandered the streets and plazas all around the city.

Plaza Mayor

Protesting Bullfights

Spain's version of the Tour de France

Reina Sofia (the sign and the girl :)

The art museum El Prado has free admission in the afternoon and we spent some time browsing around famous art that is displayed in there.

Art work in the El Prado Museum.

A beautiful park (Parque de El Retiro) was not far from us and we rented bikes one day so that we could explore without exhausting ourselves.

Rose garden inside the park.

Parque El Retiro

Parque El Retiro

This country definitely has a late night/relaxed lifestyle.  Most places seemed to open around 9 or 10, close for several hours in the middle of the day.  Then they would open back up for evening hours.  It was tricky to catch some stores during their regular hours.

The unemployment rate was around 20% during our visit and you could see evidence of that all around.  A lot of people doing tricks for money.  One old man in particular showing his dance moves.  Can't believe I don't have a picture.

Paella before we leave.




Heading to the airport.  Crazy early, crazy tired and about 24 hours of travel ahead of us.

Thank you, Europe.  We had a great visit.