Monday, November 23, 2015
Another chilly 50 degree day in Madrid with brilliant sunshine. The Metro system is easy to navigate, spotlessly clean, and punctual. We rode the train from our hotel to the Opera station.
The Madrid Opera House: 
It’s just a couple of blocks to the Royal Palace which is a huge rambling building of 2,800 rooms finished in 1763.
The palace was built to rival Versailles and the reputation is well deserved. I took a few pictures in public areas but photography was not allowed inside the ornate royal rooms.
The palace was magnificent and very impressive. We wondered if the king had ever seen all the rooms. Across the courtyard was the huge Catedral de la Almudena.
Afterwards we walked around the center of the city and ended up at Mercado del San Miguel.
The market has been transformed into an upscale eatery where a variety of stalls offered yummy treats at reasonable prices. We found a couple of stools and shared some tapas and cidre.
We winded our way along narrow streets admiring the architecture and the life style. Shadows lengthened as the sun dipped behind buildings and the air became colder so we returned to our hotel.
Madrid is an interesting city to explore. There’s much to do, great food, helpful friendly people, clean safe streets, beautiful historic architecture, and a tapas culture.