After flying to Madrid via Doha we took the metro to Opera station. I left Malcolm with the luggage while I checked the route, just a 5 minute walk to our hotel through narrow cobbled streets. I was feeling over warm in my longs!
Our hotel is the building at the end of this street. After a quick change of clothes we left our suitcases there until we could get into our rooms and went to explore the neighbourhood...
...coffee first.
The buildings nearby were old and the streets narrow and higgledy-piggledy...
We came out onto this road full of interesting shops. One was a pen maker with a display of quill pens in the window. nearby we saw a guitar maker.
A bronze man looking at some exposed glass-covered foundations
Next we looked around the Cathedral...
and the crypt where an organ was playing - adding to the atmosphere!
Beside the Cathedral was the Royal Palace...
and beside the Palace gardens leading up to the Opera House
After getting into our room and getting sorted out we went to the area around Opera and had lunch of tapas and cider and sat watching the world go by.
Then we explored some more...
...before heading back to the hotel. Really loving the architecture, the tiled street names and the little squares with their pavement cafes.
