Madrid - Day 5

We packed up and left the apartment today. We walked down to the Plaza de España Metro station as we could get from there to the airport with only one change. A very helpful attendant showed us how to load the airport supplements onto our travel card.

We were at the airport in plenty of time, and once we went through to the date we bought chicken croissants to have for our lunch on the plane.

We boarded only a little late, but there was an air traffic control delay which meant we were about an hour late in taking off.

We made up some of the time in the flight, and had no problems getting through the airport in Edinburgh.

We drove to the kennels to pick up Oscar, and were home by 3pm.

Madrid - Day 4

We decided to leave Madrid and take a trip to the city of Segovia today. First we walked to the bus station at Moncloa in the north of the city. We eventually worked out that the bus we wanted left from the part that's below ground. We bought our tickets and got on a bus that left at 10am.

It was a nice drive that took about an hour and 20 minutes, passing through the range of snow-capped hills that we had been able to see from Madrid.

At Segovia we discovered that the city was over 1000 metres above sea level, and it was quite cloudy, so it was rather cold! From the bus station it was a short walk to the Roman aqueduct, which is one of the famous attractions of the city.

We followed the line of the aqueduct up and along as far as a cistern that was used to filter the water.

We then went back to the main bit, and up steps on the other side which gave a good view back.

We walked along the old winding city streets, and bought some sandwiches for lunch. At the main square of the old town is the cathedral.

From there we walked towards the Alcázar, and on the way got some good views from the city wall.

We paid to visit the Alcázar, which is a 12th century medieval castle. It has a very deep moat on the city side.

Inside the rooms are ornately decorated but mainly unfurnished.

There's a steep drop on the city wall side of the castle.

On the way back round we took a path outside and below the city walls.

We went back in through a city gate, Walked back to the cathedral and sat and ate our lunch.

We then paid to visit the cathedral, which had a huge model moon inside, and an art gallery in the basement.

We went for a drink in a bar and to warm up, then caught the bus back to Madrid. From the Moncloa bus station we caught the Metro back to the apartment.

Later we went out to the Temple of Debod, where loads of people gather to watch the sunset. I guess this hasn't been much fun recently due to all the rain, so the crowds were out. It was quite a nice atmosphere.

We had dinner in a nearby restaurant, Dudua Palacio. Shirley had "Blonde Cow Entrecote" steak, and Scott had Cochinillo (roast suckling pig), and we shared a bottle of wine. It was all pretty good.

Madrid - Day 3

After breakfast we went to the nearby Metro station and bought our transport card, on which we loaded a bundle of 10 trips. We then caught the Metro across town to the Banco de España station in the east of the city.

We went into the Centrocentro cultural centre because it has a viewpoint on its roof. We bought a ticket for it but we were too early as it didn't open till 10.30. While we waited we had a look round all the modern art on the various floors of the impressive building.

We then got up onto the roof with great views of the surroundings.

We then went to buy some lunch to take with us, as we walked round Retiro Park, the big park at this side of the city.

We had a nice walk around, saw lots of turtles. Unfortunately the greenhouse was closed. The park was quite busy as it was one of the first sunny days after about a month of rain. We ate our lunch at the memorial.

After leaving the park we went to the nearby Naval Museum, which had free entry. It was pretty interesting.

We walked down the street past the famous Prado Museum, to have a look at the vertical garden up a wall, next to a dinosaur exhibition.

We then walked back into the city and had a drink outside a tavern. We realised we were quite near the Lavapies area, so decided to go for a walk there. After wandering for a bit we caught the Metro back to the apartment for a rest.

Since today was Scott's birthday, we went out for a tapas tour. First we went to a tavern nearby, Mareas Vivas. There with our drinks we got a tapas of chips, sausages and peppers. A good start.

We walked to the famous El Tigre Sidra Bar, but found the one we'd marked on Google maps was closed. Fortunately there was a sign on the door with directions to another branch that was open.

Once there we bought a drink and got the large "free" tapas they're famous for. The drinks prices are higher though, 4.50 for a beer and they are quick to suggest you add a tip as well. However the tapas were good, we got bread with ham, cheese, sausage and tortilla, and a plate of patatas bravas and croquettes.

After this we walked further out of the centre to another recommended free tapas place, Bar Petisqueira. In a bit of a misunderstanding, Scott almost ordered a main course of Wagyu beef which would have cost a bit, but fortunately we eventually worked things out and got our free tapas - patatas bravas and chicken nugget-like things. We had had sangria to drink there, for a change.

We walked back home after this, but stopped in the Los Angeles tavern for a Vermouth. Scott tried a cider too.