Madrid, Spain in B&W | Day 1 Part 1

Wow is the first word that comes to my mind as I sit here at the keyboard trying to figure out where to start.  First off, this trip to Madrid has turned in to a real gift.  I was only expecting to get one evening here and as it turns out it will be 3 or 4 days.  My flying job has brought me here and we had some issues with the “hardware”, fortunately this is a wonderful place to be stuck.

One of the first things one has to do when a visit is unplanned and one is not properly prepared some serious searching on the internet and others one may know that have been here is a huge help.

Problem one is where am I really in relation to the “main” attractions and how do I get there.  We happen to be staying a good bit from the center of Madrid out by the airport.  However, with some help from the front desk and a map of the metro system my crew and I developed a plan for our first evening in the city.

After a short walk from the hotel and a bridge crossing to the other side of the A2 (Av de Aragon).

It did not take long for the next bus to arrive to take us to our metro connect at Av de America (even I could figure this one out ; ) ) Along the way we doubled checked our map guide and got a feel for where we were.

When we arrived to the metro station it took us a few minutes to get our bearings.  We decided to jump off at the Retiro Metro station that’s on the Red Line which is just north of Parque del Retiro.

From here we walked across Alcala to the park.  As you can see from these photos and the rest the weather was awesome.

From the park we headed west as our primary goal was to see the old part of Madrid and especially the Plaza Mayor.  Along the way we visited San Jerónimo el Real, a beautiful church.

Right around the corner from the church we spent some time at the Museo de Prado.  We didn’t got inside but enjoyed people watching.  The day was just perfect.

follow Day 1 Part 2 here….