Madrid and Toledo

We arrived in Madrid on a hot Saturday afternoon via high speed train. Atocha train station is massive and we even had a travelator to aid us get to the exit. Heavily armed police were standing around and we would see more of them in other busy locations in Madrid. The streets were very busy on the way to the hotel, which fortunately wasn't too far, and as much as possible we walked in the shade of buildings as the late afternoon temperature reached 40C. There are many small eateries and tapas bars near the hotel so that was easy for us, some of them quite crowded on a Saturday night.

On Sunday we had a day trip to Toledo, and we headed off in plenty of time to the train station as we figured it might be difficult to locate our train. There are two different levels for train access and we needed help to locate the entry to the 'baja' level. All bags have to be X-rayed. It only took half an hour by fast train to arrive at the very attractive railway station of Toledo. Even though it was forecast to be 39C, the morning was pleasant, so we could walk up to the viewing point. We lost count of the number of tour buses on this road, we had not seen so many since Istanbul. Toledo was once the capital of Spain and the large building that towers over the city is the Alcazar, now a military museum. The artist, El Greco, is a famous former resident. Fortunately most of the streets are very narrow and shaded, giving relief from the sun to the many tourists in town.

On Monday we walked around Madrid, which seems a pleasant place for a capital. We came across a gourmet market which sells an amazing selection of tapas, so we had a tasty breakfast. There are so many places offering appetising food snacks, you would never go hungry here. We appreciated the large, shady parks in the city, as well as free entry day to the Thyssen-Bornemisza art museum.

Plaza de Mayor, Madrid

A beautiful garden bed of geraniums in Madrid.