Saturdays are usually hectic days and for us even more, but we were in Madrid. And although life in Madrid begins at 10: 00h, we wasted no time and set out early on its conquest.
Arriving at the Armory Square, we stood in the line already formed, to enter the Royal Palace. While on the other side of the square, one can see the Cathedral of “Santa María la Real de la Almudena”. With tickets purchased in advance, we enter the grand Royal Palace of Madrid.
Through its large square we crossed reaching an extreme where we enjoyed a beautiful view of the gardens and the city. Retaking the visit, we headed towards the entrance of the Royal Palace where we find an element that we know very well in Puerto Rico, the sentry boxes.
Once inside the enclosure, we immediately enjoyed the Corrado Giaquinto’s frescoes decorating the Palace, especially its dome. We visit the second floor where taking photos is not allowed. Each corner of the Palace is beautiful and impressive. The Alabarderos salons, Columns, the House of Gasparini, the Hall of Mirrors, Throne Room, the Hall of the Crown and many others. We appreciated the different sculptures, furniture, paintings, Palatal Stradivarius, porcelains, tapestries and the list of the beauties found no end.
The Royal Palace is open to visitors from 10:00 every day. In the summer closes at 20: 00h, while during the winter closes at 18: 00h. General admission fee is 10,00 euros. Two hours is more than enough to enjoy this monument placidly.
We continue discovering Madrid, walking through the different squares, the Opera House and continued onto the Plaza de Calao to walk down the Gran Via. Busily seeking the filming locations of “Velvet” and “Girls Cable” which we finally found. In many respects, the Gran Vía reminded us a little Broadway Avenue in New York with its theaters and great crowd.
The great advantage of planning our trip, is that the itineraries are always flexible. Therefore, following the recommendation of our friend Alejandra us to visit the great “Tapas de Lavapies” festival, we didn’t think twice about it. We visited a place known as “Encuentros”, a small Puerto Rican business operated by Geraldo Portela. Very delicious tapas with a Boricua twist and very cold brews. We enjoyed a great batucada strolling through the streets. A very exiting Madrid!
On our way back, we remembered reading on the web that the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum had a very good exhibition of works by Picasso and Lautrec. So we incorporated it to our itinerary immediately and enjoyed a great show.
At sunset, we head to the hostel, had a few more tapas and then again to join the crowd at the Plaza del Sol.
Visit our Gallery: Madrid