Monday 11.22.2010


No Toledo


As we made our original plans, we worked our trip around available flight dates using frequent flyer miles. While that plan called for us to be home last week, the flights didn’t match up so we added more days. Why not? Part of that involved adding another day to Madrid and when we planned the details of the itinerary we thought we could day-trip Toledo. It is a half-hour train ride on the high-speed line so we planned on a 10:30 trip down and a 5:30 trip back.

As it turns out we were both lukewarm on the idea of another day in a walled European city on a hilltop with a big cathedral and twisty streets. We went through the motions of taking the Metro (subway) to the big train station (Atocha where the 2004 terrorist bombing took place) where we found the train to Toledo really leaves at 10:20 and it was now 10:15. No chance. Neither of us was disappointed.

Instead we decided to have an easy last day in Madrid and hit some parts of town we hadn’t seen yet starting with the “Dunkin’ Coffee” across from the train station. The new plan took us through Retiro Park, a 300 acre former royal hunting ground that is now ponds and paths and all types of flora and fauna. It is clear and cool again so a delightful morning for a walk in the park that eventually takes us to the lovely rear end of the Prado.

From the Prado we hopped on the number 27 bus going north into the new part of town. This is a whole new part of Madrid that takes us into shady shopping areas, embassies, and ministries. The US Embassy was along our route but hard to see with screened fences and security barriers. We also passed the big 80,000 seat Bernabeu Stadium, home to soccer superstars Real Madrid. Our ride ends at Puerta de Europa (the Gates of Europe) twin office towers leaning inward at a fifteen degree angle from opposite sides of our boulevard. Very impressive.


We get right back on and ride back down to Grand Via and wait around a bit for a restaurant to open for lunch at 1:15. La Gloria de Montera Restaurante had been recommended and John is determined to have one more “menu del dia” before going home. Today’s choice is a shrimp and rice appetizer with a fried egg on top, an entrée of tenderloin medallions and vegetables, a flan for dessert and a couple glasses of wine for E9.50. Mary has the Bolognese pasta and wine so we are fat and happy. We walk off lunch for another hour and decide to take an early break so we can have an early dinner so we can get to bed early so we can get up early for the airport tomorrow. Early has suddenly reappeared in our lingo. Mary runs over to our local patisseria to load up on some goodies for our breakfast in the morning.


We want to do the tapas tango one more time before we leave Spain so we walk southeast to Plaza Santa Ana where we started on our first night here. We work our way through several good stops all the way back over to Plaza Mayor southwest of our hotel. We even stop at the bar with the bull heads on the wall and watch a DVD of bullfights on their little TV. How Spanish is that?

When we’re almost back and it is sneaking up on 10:00 we decide one more stop for the last hurrah on our trip. It is pretty sleepy in this place with only a few other people around. There is a couple at a table behind us, and we hear the fellow saying something sort of loud. When we turn around we see he is talking to us, asking where we are from. We tell him we are Americans from the United States and he says his hometown is Cadiz in the south. We chat a bit more in half English and half Spanish about our travels, and finally he says he just wanted to thank us for visiting his country. He is very proud of Spain and hopes that we enjoyed our stay and will encourage others to come to visit. We all shake hands and wish each other Buenos Noches and it is all a perfect ending to the last night of this trip.


Full moon, nice night and great finish. The alarm is set.


Today’s Picture: Our last night at the Torre del Oro Bar Andalu.