Madrid (again)

I have been lucky enough to go to Madrid a few times on tour now, either just for the day, or for a few days! I had a brilliant day on the 18th January where I explored Madrid with Jesús and Carlton. Madrid is becoming one of my favourite places to go because there is so much to see in terms of historical sites and it is also a brilliant place to eat and shop.

Retiro Pond – An artificial pond within the park

There is a stunning park in Madrid called Buen Retiro Park, it used to belong to the Spanish Monarchy but now is open to the public to wander through. The park is 350 acres and is one of the largest parks you will find in Madrid with an artificial pond and stunning scenery.

I loved this area of the park, it looked so picturesque

Monument to Philip IV of Spain

We also visited Almudena Cathedral which is beautiful. As I was sitting inside looking at the ceiling it dawned on me how modern some of the decoration was. I did a quick search and discovered that although the construction of the Cathedral started in 1879 it was not completed until 1993 which would explain the modernism. Unfortunately I could not get a decent picture of the ceiling so I took the following picture from google images:

From Google Images; the ceiling inside Almudena Cathedral

I loved the cathedral and would love to go back because I could honestly sit in there for hours and hours.

We visited a stunning market called Mercado de San Miguel which had a wonderful atmosphere and so much food which looked amazing. I wish I hadn’t been full when we went because everything looked delicious!

The market from the outside

Pinchos with cheese