Day 78 - España Solo - Madrid

My first leg of Easter Trip: Spain. Flew from Gatwick, which was such a nightmare to get to, and reach Madrid at around 1pm.

Boarding / alighting the Metro? Open your own doors! It doesn't open automatically.

Madrid's metro. Barajas Airport is pretty near the city centre - it took me only 20 minutes on the metro to get to central Madrid.

The narrower and older streets of Madrid

The road signs are like a painting on its own. Basically I settled down on my hostel, and walked around. Was shocked to see so many Asians owning shops around. Am I in the middle of Little Asia or Chinatown?

A small bus to go around the narrow streets.

Entrance to Plaza Mayor - A tourist spot.

Hmm, feels very "Vantage Point"

The murals on the walls

Catedral del la Almundera

Royal Palace

Basílica de San Francisco. €2 just to see the interiors? No thanks.

Statue at Puerta del Sol, one of the busier areas in Madrid. See if you can spot the pigeon on the statue's head.

This is like a giant cuckoo clock. At 6pm, a music piece was played ( I used to play that piece when I was learning the piano. Can't remember its name) and these wooden figurines came out into action.

Plaza Cánovas del Castillo. Why is it a plaza if I can't get near it?

Plaza de Cibeles. Again, why is it a plaza if I can't get near it? Claimed to be one of the most gorgeous fountains in Europe. Me thinks it's over-rated.

Palacio de Telecomunicaciones (Madrid Town Hall). Quite a gorgeous building I must say.

So I've walked around Madrid and cover the key attractions. Really, Madrid is nothing much. Of course, the nightlife in Madrid is known to be crazy, but sorry, I don't club. So it's nothing to me. Thank goodness I'm just spending an afternoon here to get to Córdoba tomorrow.

So I went to the tapas bar near my hostel to try some tapas. You see, Spanish have their dinner only after 9.30pm. So before that, they take little snacks and small dishes, called Tapas, which are pretty much pre-cooked already at the bar. They can be simply olives, or salads, or more elaborate dishes. You could pretty much upgrade the portions to make it a full serving (ración) as a main dish, or half a serving, or keep it small as tapas.

My first tapas - Fried Calamari. Pretty good, and kept me full enough as dinner. Ok, I've tried tapas in Spain.