We began with a 10am-2pm guided bicycle tour of the city, from west to east and north to south. Our guide was a young Dutch woman who works 6 months in Madrid as a bike guide and then returns home for the other 1/2 of the year. She loves Madrid and gave us a wonderfully narrated tour.

Everybody had a great time and thought this was an excellent family activity and a unique way to see the back alleys, nooks and crannies of Old Madrid. We were joined on the tour by a young gay couple from Australia. One was a student and his partner was a Sydney police officer. They have also been to many countries-including the U.S.-and we had a lot of laughs talking and joking about some of the same places we have been.

After the bike tour, we took the tour of the Royal Palace (It is huge and beautifully decorated). We then had a late lunch, a 2 hour nap (Siesta!) and a late dinner, followed by more night walks and a pitcher of delicious Sangria outside a little Taberna off the Plaza De Mayor.