So en route to study abroad in Barcelona, my program had us fly into Madrid where we spent the first few days, and then we traveled to Toledo about an hour away. Here are some pictures of Madrid, many scenic and others just noticing some differences and interesting things I've experienced along the way. Sorry if some of the shots didn't turn out too great. Many were taking during a walking tour and we were moving pretty fast.
In Madrid, we stayed at NH Hotels right in the city and across from Jardin Real, a big park with lots of different types of plants from all over the world. I was surprised they put us up in such a nice place!
took me a while to figure out you had to stick your hotel keycard in this slot when you walk in the door in order to get power/lights. They're big on saving power here in Spain.
main gate to the Jardin Real across the street from the hotel
this was random to see...pretty sure you can rent them to go around the city
statue of Christopher Columbus.....not pointing toward North America, believed to be pointing toward India.
One of the train stations where the 2004 terrorist bombings occurred
only one of the several royal palaces
This cathedral actually has a reputation of being "ugly" by the locals compared to many others. It's apparently less ornate than most others.
they have police EVERYWHERE here in the cities, but they mostly sit in their cars, or stand around on their cell phones....hard at work
una plaza (that's Don Alvaro Bazan.....don't ask me who he is...ha ha)
The three flags on all their government buildings (from left to right): the community of Madrid's flag, Spain's flag, and the city of Madrid's flag
they have graffiti all over Spain. I think its thought of more as art here and left up
All of the streets are labeled on the sides of the buildings like these; very rarely are there any street signs (or even these labels are sometimes missing) unless you are on a main street, usually by a metro stop (yes, I've spent a lot of time getting lost; even the locals don't know where to go!)
This was an indoor market selling everything from fresh legs of ham (they're obsessed with ham here! and have the legs hanging out curing) to cheeses to fish. The smell was....ha lets just say overwhelming.
The best part! Heinekin is the cheaper beer and seemingly very popular (like budweiser in the U.S.)
Plaza Mayor - their main plaza, still had all the decorations up from Christmas
interesting artwork on the buildings in the Plaza....ha ha
Ha pretty sure he saw me taking the picture
Another Heinekin truck in the Plaza
Lots of people always walking their dogs
They're obsessed with Minnie Mouse here....saw more than one of these walking around.
Their big Christmas tree in the City, like their Times Square
Yes, they have just as many "We buy Gold" signs as in the states
So everybody buys their cigarettes at these Tobacos stands (really, probably 70% of the people here smoke)
Also just interesting that since its the beginning of the year, EVERY shop and store has these Rebajas ("discounts") signs in their windows.
The bear ("oso") is one of the symbols of the Madrid
There's a Farmacia (or three) on every street corner. Kinda like the pharmacies in the states.....person in a white coat behind a counter, except you don't really need prescriptions here. You tell the pharmacist your problem and they get you what you need.
An enormous, and very nice hotel in the city center
La Taperia - an example of a tapa bar here, which typically serves beer with little appetizer snacks called tapas (small piece of bread with toppings like ham, chicken, cheese, depending on what you get; they have a huge variety)
La Reina Sofia - great art museum showing works including Picasso's "Guernica" (very cool!) as well as some by Salvador Dali who I really liked as well.
Had to take the picture....right outside the hotel
and some shots of Madrid at night...
All images are the property of Christopher Redlich. Unauthorized use of these photographs is prohibited without the consent of the author.
