Surprisingly strollable Madrid

This whimsical fountain is on the Paseo del Prado in Madrid.

Our recent trip to Madrid comes at the end of our February journey to the Iberian Peninsula. We're staying in an apartment about 45 minutes from the city center (via subway), so we know we'll have two full days to explore Spain's capital with no midday siesta back at the apartment. We'll need to pace ourselves for sure.

We cross paths with this black cat in Madrid's Plaza del Callao.

We've booked a walking tour for our first morning, so we head to Plaza del Callao to meet our group. Unfortunately, the group turns out to be a small mob, which despite being divided in two, is still too large for an effective, intimate tour. Our guide is young and inexperienced, and spends much of the morning giggling, then trying to shout loud enough for everyone to hear her after the battery in her microphone dies. (What, no spare?) But the tour gives us a "lay of the land" and the confidence that we won't get lost as we set out on our own.

This statue of Queen Isabel II stands in front of the Opera of Madrid.

Political demonstrators gather in a flowery Madrid plaza. 

The facade of Madrid's Teatro Reina Victoria includes mosaics from Talavera. 

The terrace of Madrid's Royal Palace provides a view across the Manzanares
River and beyond.  

Our first visit to Madrid several years ago had centered around the International Pickleball Tournament, so we had spent most of our time in the Retiro Park area (here's that link). This time I had planned to visit Museo del Prado, but the weather is too nice to spend the day indoors. Instead we decide to visit the Royal Palace where we are relieved to see that the long, long line to get in that we saw in the morning, has vanished.

A statute of Charles III wearing a Roman toga stands at the top of the
Grand Staircase in Madrid's Palacio Real.

Although Spain's royal family doesn't live at the Palacio Real, it is the official residence and is used for official ceremonies. The palace's design was inspired by the Louvre. It has more than 3,000 rooms, but strangely only three-and-a-half baths. (Just kidding!) We are free to tour at our own pace, but except for the first couple of rooms, photography is not allowed. That rule however, doesn't deter some oblivious (or entitled) visitors.

We also visit the royal palace gardens, Jardines de Sabatini, which are in their lackluster winter stage, but still impressive.

Jardines de Sabatini are Madrid's royal gardens.

Statues of past 44 Spanish monarchs stand in Madrid's Plaza de Oriente.

In the evening we find our way to the Salamanca neighborhood where we meet a dear friend for an early (?) dinner at 8. (We never can get used to eating so late in Spain.)

This storefront seems to tell a story in Madrid.

We hit the city early on Sunday morning and go to the massive El Rasto flea market. We think that maybe everyone in the world is here. (Were you there? Did you see us?) It's too crowded to actually shop, and taking my camera out of my purse which is clutched tightly against my armpit, is out of the question. After a few blocks we vámonos to a less crowded part of town.

The Prado Museum will have to wait until our next visit
to Madrid.

Eventually we find ourselves at the Paseo del Prado, where we are delighted by a dance party in the middle of the road. I don't know if this is a spontaneous event or if it happens here every Sunday, but it's so much fun to watch. Perhaps next time, we'll join in.

We come upon a Sunday morning dance party along the Paseo del Prado in Madrid.

Our walk through Madrid ends at Plaza de España where I snap a last few photos of the Monumento Cervantes, featuring the author's most well-known characters Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

The fountain of Cervantes in Madrid was commissioned in 1915 to
commemorate the 300th anniversary of the publication of Don Quixote.

We say adios to Don Quixote and Sancho Panza on our last day in Madrid.

We return to our suburban retreat, tired and yes, a little cranky. Nothing a bit of dinner and a good night's sleep can't cure. Tomorrow we head north to France. How we love to travel, but how much more we love chez nous!