Thursday March 13
The day got off to a bad start when Detroit Airport Town Cars failed to pick us up at 9:00 am as we had booked. For some reason the driver thought he was supposed to pick us up at the airport. So we hopped in the car and drove to the airport. Fortunately, TSA was very efficient and we got through the security check in mere minutes, and got to our gate with time to spare. But it did us no good. We got on the plane, then they discovered mechanical issues and we got off the plane. American Airlines ended up rebooking us through Philadelphia, getting us into Madrid a few hours later than originally scheduled, which all in all is not a bad outcome. We called Great Value Vacations with our flights and they notified the people in Madrid who would be picking us up at the airport. But the net result was that at the time we should have been leaving Boston for Madrid, we were still in Detroit, for a total time in the airport of 8.5 hours.
But we finally left Detroit around 6:30pm, headed for Philadelphia, where we caught a plane for Madrid.
Friday March 14
One red-eye flight later, we landed in Madrid around 10am. We got connected to our driver after a few phone calls, and found another couple in our group riding with him as well. He took us to the hotel, which was the Silken Puerta Madrid. Cheryl had lunch, and then we went to the supermarket. Then it was time for a 2 hour nap. After that, it was time to search for a restaurant for dinner. In Madrid, and I suspect in Spain generally, the restaurants all close around 4:30 or 5pm, then reopen around 7pm, so it would be what is for us a late dinner. We decided not to wait this time, and went for a walk that was somewhat longer than I expected, to a little Lebanese restaurant that was open. When we got there, it proved to be a hole-in-the-wall with 4 tables, so we got an order to go and took a cab back to the hotel. Along our walk, we did see some lovely street murals.
Back at the hotel I discovered that I had missed a message about a group meeting that was sent through What’sApp, So I changed my notification sound for the app to use the same Wagner I use for my phone calls. I hope that is all it takes. At 8pm we went to bed, and set the alarm for our usual 6am the next day. If we did this right it should get us over the jet lag and adjusted to the new time zone when we get up tomorrow.
Saturday March 15
We were up at 6 to shower and get dressed, with breakfast at 7am. Our meeting time for the morning tour is 9:15am, so we have plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast and a few cups of coffee. At 9:30 we boarded a small coach for a scenic drive around Madrid which included some historical notes from our local guide, Susanna. We went through the Salamanca district, which is a more upscale part of the city, saw one of two remaining gates from the old city wall, which wall has since been torn down.The center arch was reserved for the king, and on either side of that were two arches for other carriages, and on the outside 2 smaller arches for lesser people on foot.
Madrid is an expensive place to live, like many other large cities. A very small apartment might take more than half an average salary in rent per month. And they also have had problems with vacation rentals like Airbnb that price locals out of the market, so they recently passed an ordinance that requires vacation rentals to have their own entrance from the street, separate from any other building entrances. This has slowed down the vacation rental market.
The coach dropped us outside the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), and we set out on foot with our local guide, Susanna. Our first stop was the Plaza de la Villa, home to some of the oldest buildings in Madrid. We passed by a Convent, and learned that in this convent the nuns are totally cloistered, and do not go outside the convent or see other people in person. If you want to buy a product of the convent, like cookies, you put money in a basket that then rotates like a Lazy Susan behind the wall, and then the basket comes back with your purchase.
Then we went to the Plaza Mayor, which was once the center of Old Madrid. It is surrounded by apartments, and is home to a farmer’s market. And they once held bullfights in this plaza. When there was a bullfight, the people with apartments would rent out access to their balconies. From there we went to Puerta del Sol (Gate of the Sun). This was once a gate in the city wall, but now is a very busy square in the heart of the city, and the home of Kilometro Zero, the point from which distances are measured in the main roads radiating out from Madrid. About a block away was the Four Seasons Hotel, our pickup point at the end of the day.
The tour group had a chance to see some almond sweets made (a traditional Spanish delicacy, we were told), but we were not interested, so we went shopping for the usual souvenirs, and then headed to Opera House (Teatro Real), were we got coffee at Starbucks so we could use the rest rooms and relax a bit, before our tour of El Palacio Real (The Royal Palace). This was something we booked through GetYourGuide, and we got to tour a portion of the Palace. The entire palace has several thousand rooms. Apparently the king who started the construction was trying to outdo Versailles! It was, in any case, quite opulent inside. We spent a couple of hours there, and then headed back to the Four Seasons hotel where we sat on a bench outside and quickly gathered others from our group.
At about 5:20pm we boarded our coach back to the hotel to rest and freshen up, until dinner at 8pm, which is about as early as anyone in Spain eats dinner, particularly on a Saturday night. We had Caesar Salads, and then to bed.
Sunday March 16
We were up at 5:30 because we had an early departure to Seville. We checked out, then grabbed breakfast in a very crowded dining room at 7am. And at 7:30 we boarded the coach to go to the train station. There we had to go through a security check similar to the airport, though perhaps a bit less rigorous. We caught our train to Seville that was scheduled to depart at 8:55am, and arrive in Seville at 11:47 am. This is a high-speed train, similar to the TGV we took in Lyon last October. They had free wifi on the train, and it left on time. We made a brief stop in Córdoba, then on to Seville, where a coach was waiting. The weather was sunny and warm, and we did a little tour on the coach with Rikardo pointing out local sights. Then we got off the coach at Plaza de España.
This was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. It is in the shape of a semicircle, and inside are tiled alcoves representing the different regions of Spain. We were only there for a half-hour, but it was good to get out and stretch our legs. This was the site for scenes filmed for both Lawrence of Arabia, and Star Wars.
From there we went to the Hotel Macarena, which is in the Macarena district of Seville, right next to the old city wall. We were told that Monday, when we have two tours, would be rainy, but today was really nice, so we decided to get out and explore. We let Google guide us to a local attraction, the Metropol Parasol (informally called The Mushrooms) which is located in the old quarter of Seville. The route we got from Google took us away from the main streets and through some neighborhoods which gave us an idea of where the locals live. After a look at the Metropol Parasol, we returned by a slightly different route, still off the main roads and stopped inside a church for a brief rest. Right now many local churches are preparing for Easter, and that means processions with covered platforms bearing statues, and we thought we might have seen one in the church.
Then it was back to the hotel to search for a place for dinner. And we found one we really liked back in the old section of Seville, called Alcazar Andalusi Tapas which we liked so much we are planning to go back tomorrow. Cheryl had fish, ratatouille, and roasted vegetables, and I had falafel and hummus. Coming back we went a different way, and found the Alameda de Hercules, which is a pedestrian mall several blocks long with lots of families out and kids kicking soccer balls around. Coming back we stopped in a church that Rikardo had recommended, Hermandad de la Macarena, for a brief visit, then walked by the Parliament of Andalucia building. As it got darker, a light rain started to fall, and we headed back to the hotel.
For what was initially looking like a light day, a lot happened. We got to see a nice bit of Seville in a way we could not in Madrid. And I got just under 20,000 steps in for the day.
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