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Today started off as another beautiful day in Madrid. First we overslept. Apparently an alarm was set for 8:30 but nothing went off until 9. Luckily it wasn't that big of a deal. We got dressed, packed, and headed downstairs for a complimentary breakfast by our hotel. It was delicious! And all you can eat so Jayne was very happy and satiated. Once we were ready, we checked out and left our luggage with the concierge to spend a few more hours soaking up all that Madrid has to offer.
The first stop was the Catedral de la Almudena, a modern cathedral that wasn't officially completed until 1993. At first we were afraid we had missed our opportunity to see inside of the cathedral as the first sign we passed stated "Closed on Sundays." But we kept our hopes high, kept walking, and ended up walking through the front door with the nuns. The inside was absolutely glorious. Hopefully our pictures do it justice. As Catholic fashion would have it, when you exit the cathedral, there is a quaint tienda where you can purchase all things Jesus. Since we just had to see what they could possibly have to offer, we took a quick peek inside. Jayne did purchase some postcards from the shop, our way of saying "thank you" for the looksee.
Next we headed across the courtyard to the Palacio Real, which far surpassed the palace we visited yesterday in Cibeles. It felt like walking back in time, the old carpets, tapestries, ornate craftsmanship, and original works were impeccable. Sam was investigating to see if it was currently listed on Sothesby's for a future summer home. You are all invited as there are more than 200 rooms and plenty of seats at the dining room table. Unfortunately, we were unable to take pictures inside of the castle, but maybe upon our return we can draw you a picture.
At this point we had a little under an hour to kill before it was time to head to the station for Part 2 of our Spanish Adventure. Since Jayne was hungry, as per usual, we stopped at a Paneria and grabbed something to eat. Before we knew it we were on our way to Atocha Renfe and on the AVE to Barcelona.
After 2.5 hours of our scenic train ride and traveling at 200 miles/hour, we arrived safely in our new city. We manipulated our way through the new train station and found ourselves on the Metro headed towards our hotel. Once in the hotel, we got to practice our Spanish as the concierge knew very little English. We headed up to our room, and oh my, how things can change in a matter of seconds.
Sam immediately starts to look for her phone but to no avail. After dumping everything out of her bag and triple checking, we have come to the conclusion that it is gone. We triple checked everything once again, and then headed downstairs to talk to our new friend David, the concierge. Long story short and a few phone calls from David to the train station, Samantha is now part of the statistic for the number of tourists pick-pocketed in Spain. We have done all that can be done at this point, and needed a quick pick-me-up after the turn of events.
Luckily, we already had plans! What better thing to do than head towards Las Fuentes Luminosas, a spectacular choreographed multicolored water show. We got our picture taken with the fountain in the background, and spent over an hour just walking around watching the water dance. It is not something one can describe, but Jayne took a video that will be posted shortly. Stay tuned!
We ate some tapas for dinner at the "hip" time of 10:30. Neither of us were overly enthusiastic by our meals, but we're pretty convinced that's just us and our stubborn digestive systems. However, the ambience and staff made up for it, and we ate as much as we could.
Tomorrow is a new day in Barcelona! Hopefully today's "hiccup" will be the last and we can look forward to enjoying the rest of our trip.
- comments
Brendan I think God pick pocketed Sam cause you guys didn't buy enough Catholic merch. Either God or that concierge named David. It's always the concierge!
Kyle DaSilva OMG! Thank goodness it was just a phone! I'm assuming it wasn't her iphone????