Madrid, Spain
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.
We'd been wanting to visit Madrid for quite some time, so we decided to take advantage of the Rememberance Day long weekend in France to make a trip out to Madrid. After our overbooking experience when we went to Istanbul (where we basically got our entire trip paid for by being bumped off the flight - and we got a better flight as compensation as well), our full-flight radar was on as we arrived at Roissy. As luck would have it, this flight was, indeed overbooked and we received 700 euros in cash compensation to take a flight a few hours later. Of course, we lost some of our vacation time in return, but considering that the plane tickets only cost us 250 euros in the first place, this was a great deal. We arrived in Madrid a little late on Friday, checked into our hotel and walked around Puerto Del Sol and Plaza Mayor. We then stopped at a great local tapas place and headed back to the hotel after some nice sandwiches and beer.
The highlights of our trip included the Royal Palace (Palacio Real), the Prado (a wonderfully manageable museum with an astounding array of great works), Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (where we saw Guernica) and the beautiful Madrid cityscape.
Friday
- Arrived 10:00pm (Air France flight overbooked, but we were well-compensated)
- Walked from our hotel (Lope de Vega) to Puerto Del Sol and Plaza Mayor
- Had tapas on Calle Mayor
Saturday
- Puerto Del Sol
- Plaza Mayor
- Palacio Real
- Theatro Real
- lunch at Fresco buffet (packed with local students)
- Centro de Arte Reina Sofia - saw Guernica
- Tapas near Puerto Del Sol
Sunday
- Prado
- Churros con Chocolat
- Gran Via
- Chueca area
- Iglesia de las Saleas Reales
- Dinner on Calle Mayor (paella, calamari, garlic shrimp)
Monday
- Very rainy
- Walked around main shopping area (Calle de Sorrano)