Madrid, Spain
I was so glad to be back in Madrid. Marc and I were just there last summer. Nevertheless I looked forward to this trip just like any of our other trips to Spain. We actually returned because our free ticket to Europe had a departure from Madrid on our way home to the USA. As some would say, "Beggars can't be choosers." The only disadvantage to the free ticket we received was that the flight going home was not direct. We had a layover in Washington DC and for six hours at that. I did tell myself that in the future, when we cash in our miles for more free flights on UNITED or any of its partners, we would try to get a flight that will fly us direct from Europe to San Francisco. It would be less stressful and painful. We did so many times in the past and so we should be able to do it again in the future. We just have to be creative in choosing our itinerary and early in booking our tickets.
Anyway, after having lived in Spain for several years and seeing all the changes last year after an extended absence from the Spanish capital, we had a more leisurely time during this visit. We did try to see places that we had not seen before like the Museo Municipal de Madrid and the interior of the Templo de Debod.
This year too, we met up with a classmate of mine from college who was also visiting Madrid at the same time we were. We even played tour guide to him.
We had lunch at the Museo del Jamon and was surprised at the price of the set lunch menu (Just 8.60 euros) for a starter, the main plate, with a dessert and drink. We also ordered the restaurant's seafood platter filled with fish, calamari and shrimp.
I shopped with delight at Primark, the discount store along Gran Via. I even went to the reportedly biggest ZARA store in the world along Paseo de Castellana. Unlike last year when we stayed at the IBIS in Barajas, this time, we stayed at the fabulous Leonardo Hotel along Calle Alberto Aguilera. It was located close to the El Corte Ingles on Calle Princesa as well as my old dorm along Calle Guzman el Bueno. It was so centrally located. At last, we finally found a hotel close to the Gran Via. In fact, we just walked to all the sights from where we stayed. What a jewel of a find.
These memories will surely linger in our minds for years and years. I can only thank God Almighty for all the blessings he has showered upon us all these years.
El Museo del Jamon. Don't let the name fool you. It isn't a museum but a restaurant. Their lunch set menus are such great deals here during the weekdays!
For years, I saw this façade along Calle Hortaleza but I never went in. I knew it was a museum but it was only this summer I actually got to visit.
I finally found the very popular store that sold the alpargatas and espadrilles in Madrid. It was just outside the Plaza Mayor and close to the store where we bought out home cooked potato chips every time we visited Madrid. I didn't buy any pair here though. I sure wish I did now.
This was how one of the exits from the Plaza Mayor looked.
With my college classmate, Albert Mcbean. It sure was fun waxing nostalgia with this guy. Oh how we loved to shop!
In front of the Congreso de los Diputados, the Spanish Parliament Building.
The Museo del Prado. The face was undergoing renovation but Marc, Albert, and I returned for another visit. As usual, I just had to see my favorite paintings by Goya of the Spanish Royal family, La Maja Desnuda, el 2 de mayo, and more.
This is the Leonardo Hotel (C/Alberto Aguilera, 5). Should the prices here remain competitive, this is where we shall stay every time we return to Madrid. I can't recommend it enough.
One of my favorite places in Madrid, La Puerta del Sol!
The statue of Velasquez in front of the Museo del Prado. It has remained the same since the very first time I saw it last 1987.
Taken after visiting The Prado Museum. Too bad no photography was allowed inside the Prado. Come to think of it, I should have just bought a book about the museum and its collections.
My school, the Instituto de Cooperacion Iberoamericana de Madrid. It was here where I studied for three years and where I received my graduate diplomas as a Teacher and Researcher in Spanish Language and Culture. I was a scholar of the Spanish Government then. If only I can turn back the clock and relive the memories. I had fun here. Oh the days of my youth!!!
I never realized there was a statue of Philippine hero Jose Rizal in Madrid. It was located in Parque Santander. I remember seeing a bust a few years ago but not a replica of the monument in Luneta Park in the Philippines. Anyway, I enjoyed finding this monument close to my old dorm, Hostal Chocolate along C/Guzman el Bueno.
The Puerta de Alcala at night.
A bar along the Gran Via
This is how Primark looked on the inside. Located across the newly renovated Casa del Libro along the Gran Via, this discount department store took over the location of SEPU. Oh how fun it was to shop here. I did find it very much like a zoo with the thousands of shoppers inside. I literally got dizzy one afternoon shopping here after turning around and around looing for bargains. There was just a lot to stimulate anyone's shopping desires. Oh How I enjoyed shopping here in Madrid. I literally visited every clothing store there was along the Gran Via be they for men, women, or both. Cortefiel, Massimo Dutti, ZARA, and Primark were my hands down favorites.
On my last two days in Madrid, I tried to see the places that I used to visit when I lived there. The changes had been numerous and impressive. These leaning towers called the Eurobuildings (if I am not mistaken) were not at Plaza Castilla yet during my time. This area used to be the lot for public buses. The red buses I used to travel on if and when I didn't take the metro. I did see them last 2003 but I wanted to take a better picture of them this time around.
A business area along the Paseo de Castellana. This was new for me too. I passed by here on my way to see the ZARA building said to be the biggest in the world.
This was the ZARA I really wanted to see. So vastly different and much calmer and quieter than the one along the Gran Via. What a world of difference! It was big alright but I was expecting something so much more humongous!