Waking up the next morning, we had a great breakfast at the hotel, and then boarded our buses for a great tour of Madrid. We stopped first at the Plaza del Toros, where the bull fights still occur during the summer months. They only have them on Sundays so we didn't get to watch one, but it was interesting to realize what happens here every week.
Next, we stopped at the Palacio Real - the Royal Palace of the King and Queen of Spain. This palace has 2800 rooms, of which we toured about 30. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was so cool. Every room had a different theme and had been decorated with items donated by different world leaders over the centuries. The rooms were so ornate, covered with gold and ivory and more. It was really cool. It was hard to imagine someone actually living here. It seemed more like a museum. The coolest room was where they dine when they have parties. The table seated about 100 people. Marty and I decided that once all of our kids are married and have kids, we need a room like this.
We next stopped at a park which has a monument to Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. We even asked a policeman if we could take a picture with him. He looked at us like we were crazy, but when we told him that our little boy loves policeman, he said okay and smiled for the camera.
The bus dropped those who wanted to at the Plaza Real, about a 15 minute walk to the hotel. We ate at McDonalds, because we were a little intimidated with what the other restaurants offered, and then walked back, checking out the scenery and some souvenir shops. Every where we turned there was another beautiful building that looked like a castle. This one with Marty in it is the Post Office. Madrid was so clean and we felt very safe walking around. We really liked this city.
The next day we boarded the bus for our trip to Toledo. This is a very old medieval city. We loved it here. We passed olive tree orchards, vineyards and many old churches and buildings. Arriving in Toledo, we were dropped off at the bottom of a series of 5 or 6 escalators that had been built into the side of the hills. Arriving at the top, we then were led by a tour guide, thankfully, through a bunch of winding, narrow alleys. Cars would sometimes come by and we would all hug the walls. We saw many old buildings here and some really cool souvenir shops.
We visited a Cathedral that had been started around 1000 AD. It was a very beautiful church, with some cool donations to the church by many countries. One was from the city of Toledo, Ohio, their sister city. Another was a bejeweled crown of one of the Queens of Spain. It was really cool. There were also several paintings done by El Greco of the Apostles and Christ. After we left Toledo, we drove outside the city walls and were able to see it from outside. The old bridge is not in use anymore and it really reminded us of the times when the knights and carriages would cross that bridge to attend parties or to meet with the government. It was definitely like going back in time.
Upon our return from Toledo, we boarded the high speed train for a 2 hour trip to Barcelona. We were able to relax and see the scenery of this beautiful country, from brown flat countryside to green, rolling hills and small villages complete with their own Cathedrals. The train traveled at about 300 km per hour and we all spent some time in the bar area, where we could stand and visit.
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