First Day in Madrid...and WHAT a Day!!!

The much-vaunted Oso y Madroño (Bear and Strawberry Tree), heraldic symbol of Madrid, on Puerta del Sol.

Monday, 17th March.

Got up at around 9:00, had breakfast to set me up for a little while, and then I left the hostel at around 10:25, heading for the Teatro Real! Wanted to see the Royal Palace first, but, seeing as the Teatro closed at like 1:00, I determined to see that first! :) So I got a ticket for the tour at 11:00, and then I wandered around pretty Plaza de Oriente and outside the Palacio Real! :D

Statue of King Carlos III on the Puerta del Sol, the geographical heart of Madrid and--indeed--Spain! :) (Madrid was chosen as Capital by Felipe II in 1561 for this very reason!). Carlos himself (1716-1788) was known as El Rey Alcalde (The Mayor King) for his public works programmes.

Statue of Queen Isabel II (outside the Teatro Real) on the eponymous Plaza de Isabel II.



Plaza de Oriente (with the Royal Palace in the background!)



Statues of early Spanish Kings on Plaza de Oriente


Statue of King Felipe IV (1605-1665) with the Palacio Real in the background.


Close-up of Fountain

So, the Teatro Real (or simply, El Real) was inaugurated on the 10th October 1851 on the orders of Queen Isabel II, but--due to subsidence--was forced to close in 1925; it reopened again in 1966 as a concert theatre, but was finally remodelled as an Opera house once again and opened to the public (after a 10-year refurbishment!) in 1997. Even if you know nothing about Opera (as I don't!), it's still worth a visit for its sumptuous interiors! :)

Entrance Hall of Teatro Real


Luxury Interiors!!!


Awww!!! :p

Next stop was Nuestra Señora de la Almudena, Madrid's Cathedral, planned in the 16th Century but only opened in 1993, and where the marriage of Crown Prince Felipe and Letizia Ortiz took place in 2004. Found it--on the whole--uninspiring! Kitsch as hell, and just highly mediocre at best!

Nuestra Señora de la Almudena

Interior of Cathedral

Seeing as I had to find an ATM, I went a wander down Calle Mayor ('Main Street' I guess!)...

Memorial to those killed in the attempted assassination of King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia (granddaughter of Queen Victoria) on THEIR WEDDING DAY, 31st May 1906.

Plaza de la Villa


Charming...! :)

So, after seeing those things (and finding an ATM!), I headed to the Palace (something I'd been REALLY looking forward to!) at around 1:30 or so!

Madrid's Royal Palace as seen from inside the Teatro Real

Waited in a queue that moved quickly enough, got my ticket, put my stuff through the scanners at security, and got to the other side (of the scanner!) to discover that my i-pod was gone: some c**t had obviously stolen in the time it took me to go through the X-ray machine!!! :O Told security, who SAID they looked at the videos, but they said they couldn't see anything, and so there I was, minus a f**king i-pod!! My beautiful little i-pod!! :'( Don't know how ANYONE can be so f**king underhanded as to have done THAT!! Had HEARD that you had to pay attention in Madrid, but for God's sake! Of ALL places to be robbed!! The ROYAL PALACE under the EYES of SECURITY!! Ridiculous!! Maybe they f**king stole it!! Anyways, I filled out an hoja de reclamación (complaint form--for all the f**king good that'll do!), and then--seeing as I couldn't really do anything about it anyway--off I went to see the Palace regardless...!!!

The staircase!!! The Throne Room! Oh! EVERYTHING was MAGNIFICENT--absolutely SUPERLATIVE!! (Needless to say, my joy was marred SLIGHTLY by ONE particular event...!!!). So--after I'd gone round the Palace itself--I had a look round the Armería Real (Royal Armoury--just to see the armour of Charles V and Felipe II!), and then sat outside having a Magnum ice-lolly! Had a look round the Sabatini Gardens after that (looking over my shoulder the WHOLE time!!), and then I walked the short distance to Plaza de España.

The Palacio Real as seen from the Jardines Sabatini


Old meets new in Plaza de España...


Don Quijote and Sancho! :p

I then made for the Plaza Mayor, which--to be honest--didn't impress me all that much! I just thought, 'Is that it?!' :p Here are a few pics anyway! :)

This little guy dances himself dizzy to the music!!! :p

One of many random (and weird!) street artists in Madrid!

And then, seeing as Kathy had given me a free pass for the Reina Sofía Art Gallery, I thought , 'F**k it!' and decided to head over there! :)

Random part of town I passed on the way...


Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

Didn't have to wait in the queue 'cos I already had a ticket (thank God!), so in I went! Now let me just say: I HATE 'Modern Art' 'cos I JUST DON'T GET IT!!! Only went to see Picasso's Guernica, so I practically RAN around the place (seeing a couple of pieces that I GUESS could be termed 'acceptable,' until I came to 'it' Not impressed! Couldn't make head nor tail of it!! Don't know how ANY of Picasso's works could be termed 'masterpieces'!! Give me a good old Winterhalter or Velázquez!! 'Modern Art'...WHATEVER!!!!!!!

Picasso's Guernika (this photo NOT taken by me!). Make up your own mind!!!

Decided to head for something to eat after this (KFC! As you do! :p), and, once I'd done that, I took the Metro BACK to my hostel ('cos I was fed-up walking!), where I stayed for the rest of the night: no way was I going out IN MADRID at night on my own!! If I can get ROBBED in the Royal Palace, IMAGINE what could happen to me outside! Nah! Screw that! Pretty shit first impression of the place! But--in spite of that--I think you'll agree I had a pretty full day and that me and my camera got quite a workout! p