Madrid, Spain - John's Visit November 2002

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Madrid, Spain- John's visit November 2002

My trip Four days in Madrid was booked as a secret surprise trip for Jean. She had often complained that I spent too much time researching for this site and not enough giving her have an enjoyable break. Unfortunately when departure Sunday came she did not want to come. So I found myself at the EasyJet Check In at Liverpool Airport explaining that there would only be one passenger even though there were two in their booking system. My usual luck with public transport prevailed, spreading bad weather over many parts of Europe. Even though I have only flown from there twice, I think I know Liverpool Airport like the back of my hand, as I paced out the Departure Lounges for many bored hours. Still I was luckier than the many, who were told that their flights had been cancelled. Once on board the EasyJet 737 things were starting to look up. The clouds cleared above Shropshire and soon I was looking down at South East Wales' valleys with its lines of terraced houses. Cardiff Bay appeared below and a short dash across the Bristol Channel brought views of rural Devon. The English Channel came next followed by France. The Bay of Biscay with the sea sparkling like gemstones under the rays of the afternoon sun took up much of the flight before landfall was made over Northern Spain. The landscape turned from greens to browns and greys as we headed South.
Spain from air

Downing a small bottle of EasyJet red wine, I played cards with two teenage girls on their way to Madrid with their parents. At Barajas, I searched for the Metro. Eventually it was located at the tired end of a long walk although some assistance was offered by travelling walkways. The Metro / train journey to my hotel was uneventful. There was another long walk to the Ibis Hotel from Mostoles el Soto Station and my bags felt twice as heavy by the time I reached Reception.
Ibis Madrid

Next day I awoke refreshed and took a train into Atocha, the commuters, fashionably well dressed, read novels, newspapers, gossiped, coughed and sneezed a sure sign winter was approaching. Bright sunlight gave the city a summery feel even though this was November. With a DK Guide to Madrid I set about walking the city, looking up the AVE trains at Atocha, the Ministry of Agriculture, finding that the Prado Museum was closed on Mondays.
Atocha Station, Madrid

Eurapart Guide to Madrid

Moving on past Plaza Cánovas del Castillo with its fountain and sculpture of Neptune. Madrid war memorial

On past the War Memorial, witnessing the Army holding a ceremony.
My walk led me to the Palacio de Comunicaciones, the old Postal Headquarters with its white highly decorative pinnacles. Up to Puerta de Alcalá at the corner of Parque del Retiro was once a gateway to Madrid then back past some fashionable clothes shops to the end of Gran Via. Then using a combination of foot and Metro I took in the Opera, the Palacio Real, with lots of couples taking photographs of each other by the fountain outside, the Old Quarter, Plaza Major, Puerta del Sol, the centre of the Spanish road network. A light lunch of tapas with a glass of beer was followed by a visit to some of the shops in between Puerta del Sol and Gran Via.
Gran Via, Madrid

A walk down Gran Via, a visit to an Internet Café completed my first day's visit to Madrid and I returned to my hotel at Alcorcon. Late afternoon I caught the bus from outside the station to the nearest Commercial Centre at Alcorcon and bought Jean some perfume. The evening was spent at a busy Tapas bar in Mostoles.
Next day the Museums were open and the Museo del Prado
was first on my itinerary. It houses many masterpieces by the Spanish masters such as Velázquez and Goya. The clothed and Naked Maja by Goya are two of the more well known. Other works of note included the Three Graces by Rubens, The Garden of Delights by Bosch as well as paintings by French, Flemish and German painters. A walk in Parque del Retiro was my destination for lunch and I spent an hour or so basking in the November sun on the steps of the Alfonso XII monument wondering what the helicopter circling the centre of Madrid was up to. The Baron Thyssen Bornemisza Museum was the next port of call. This was formerly a private collection and ranged from 17th Century works to Impressionist, Modern art. Some of the artists included Rubens, Titian, Goya, Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso and Dali. After a long day in Art Galleries I returned to the Ibis Hotel with the sharing a train with commuters desperate to get home to their families. That evening I dined at the Ibis hotel on a meal of gazpacho soup followed by paella. My final day in Madrid started with another commuter train ride to Atocha.
A visit to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
followed the short walk across the road from the Station. A converted Hospital buiding, the works displayed here include Picasso's Guernica as well as exhibits by Juan Miró and Salvador Dali.
New Madrid

My last hours in Madrid were spent on a Madrid Vision taking in all of the cities major attractions and the Multilingual commentary giving the background to the sights. Finally, a quick Metro journey back to Barajas with just enough time for some Duty Free and I was on my way back to Liverpool.

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