Hola Madrid!

The first stop on our Spanish vacation was Madrid. Some inclement weather in Philadelphia delayed our flight out of Indianapolis over three hours, forcing us to miss our connecting flight to Madrid. After standing in many, multiple, slow moving lines, rearranging our travel arrangements, taking an unexpected connecting flight to Lisbon, Portugal. We finally arrived in Madrid (8 hours later than expected). With all of our flight changes and delays our luggage was lost, but finally showed up a day later (Thank goodness! We had seven unhappy, stinky, smelly travelers on our hands!) and the sightseeing began.

The Madrid Airport was very European and very modern. We were glad we finally made it. Too bad our bags didn't!

The Plaza Mayor was our first stop. Its a huge rectangle filled with cafes, shops, and apartments above. In the evenings people sit at the cafes, drink, and people watch. The inside is like a huge courtyard.

A typical street in Madrid.

Plaza de Toros-The bull ring. It is one of the largest in the world. You might notice the arches on the outside. Lots of the buildings in Spain have this arabic/muslim architecture since this group had a huge presence there many years ago. A few days later we went to a bullfight here. More bloody pictures from the inside later!

We took a bus to El Escorial. This is a view from inside of the front courtyard. It is a huge palace King Phillip II had built. Now it is a monastery and school. Down below is a huge mausoleum were many Kings and Queens of Spain are buried. It is emaculate with marble and gold everywhere!

A view from the outside of the palace.

Our last stop of the day was Valley of the Fallen. It is a memorial to the soldiers that fought during the Spanish Civil War in the early 1900s. Many are buried inside. There is a cathedral inside. It is built into the side of a mountain, and it huge!

That is for the first few days. Next stop: Cordoba and Toledo!

Hasta luego!