Lista/Goya
I opted to roam around the neighborhood where I stayed, as opposed to leaving by taking any form of transportation.
Besides the beautifully ornamented European style buildings, what drew my attention and concerned me is the supermarkets adjacent to the hotel I stayed.
Being extremely obsessed with the huge variety of cheese sandwiches from the Carrefour in Barcelona which I visited 10 months ago, I was so psyched to see every one of them again in the Carrefour here in Madrid as though a child was given the candy that he’d long coveted.
Were they still yummy? Absolutely!
But were they still as startlingly delicious as those in Barcelona that I could eat up to 10 one day? Anything but! Obviously, the novelty had worn off.
In spite of the exaltation of being in a strange new city, on the very first day of my visit, I was not yet used to the acute drop in temperature compared with that of the subtropical city where I came from. I was shivering as I was strolling around the windy Calle de Alcala and the elegantly built El Retiro Park.
El Retiro Park
Broad gravel pavements, magnificent sculptures and statues and beautifully tree-lined paths first came into sight, followed by the panoramic view of the gigantic artificial Retiro Pond on the northwestern part of the park.
Next to it stood the monument to King Alfonso XII, featuring a semi-circular colonnade and an equestrian statue of the monarch atop a tall centre core.
Roaming through the spacious park, I was still shivering in the gusty wind but the carnival atmosphere and the upbeat music by the Retiro Park helped warm me up a little.
Prado Museum (Museo del Prado)
Being one of the most reputable tourist spots and widely considered to have one of the finest collection of European art, queues were seen at the entrance of the museum. But art museums is not my thing.
To the east of it stood the splendid baroque church of St. Jerome the Royal (San Jerónimo el Real)
Plaza des las cortes and Plaza del Canalejas
Leaving Prado Museum, I headed west past countless elaborately ornamented buildings which was a feast for the eyes.
Gate of the Sun (Perta del Sol)
After a short stroll from Plaza del Canalejas, one of the most celebrated public squares and bustling places in Madrid, Perta del Sol came into sight.
Dissimilar to its circular and square counterparts, encircled by 3/4-story finely embellished buildings, Perta del Sol is notable for its semi-circular shape.
According to Wikipedia, Perta del Sol is the centre (Km 0) of the radial network of Spanish roads, featuring some famous landmarks including the old post office which now serves as the office of President of Madrid.
As I was done with experiencing the hustle and bustle of the touristy Perta del Sol, I tried to look out for the serenity and subtle grandeur in the nearby tortuous alleyways.
Plaza Mayor
Endless plazas with distinctive features here in Madrid completely sated my eccentric desire for plazas and public squares.
I was thrilled and amazed at the sight of another reputable plaza in Madrid, the Plaza Mayor which was just a stone’s throw from Perta del Sol.
The rectangular square was completely watched over by uniformly ochre-hued 3-story elaborately embellished apartments with wrought iron balconies. Along the gracefully built cloister were the traditional indigenous restaurants, bars and shops.
San Miguel Market (Mercado de San Miguel)
Similar to other imposing landmarks or tremendously beautiful natural scenery, San Miguel Market was an astonishing beauty when it first came into sight. I tried very hard to capture its beauty with my cutting-edge phone, but my effort was in vain.
Since then I came to realize that the unrivaled stunning beauty that I experience only belongs to that once-in-a-lifetime moment only. The beauty of that particular moment is a one-off unique combination of countless favorable factors like the weather, the temperature, the air movement, the number of people involved, what kind of people they are, the buildings and their design and embellishment, the roads, paths, etc. At that very particular moment, all of my 5 senses are receiving a huge amount of information, sensing a huge variety of subtle feelings and most of them have to pleasant information and feelings or that specially good moment won’t be created.
Therefore, however advanced my mobile phone is and amazing my photographing techniques are, I still won’t be able to capture the beauty of that particular moment.
Plaza de la Villa
After all the commotion and hubbub of the touristy Plaza Mayor, I was in desperate need of the tranquility of the backstreets and the atmospheric vibe of the winding alleyways flanked with well preserved historical buildings.
Which one is more beautiful? The world renowned Plaza Mayor and Perta del Sol with flamboyant grandeur or the obscure Plaza de la Villa with subtle beauty? They’re really much of a muchness.
Royal Palace of Madrid
White and marble buildings have always been my things, in combination with its stateliness, Royal Palace of Madrid was impressively beautiful though I wish the biting wind would have stopped and I could enjoy its beauty without shivering.
According to Wikipedia, Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the Spanish royal family and is the largest functioning royal palace and the largest by floor area in Europe.
Almudena Cathedral (Catedral de la Almudena)
Standing in the cover-less spacious foreland of the Royal Palace of Madrid, I almost froze to die. Thankfully, the warm, windless, majestic yet modern interior of the stately white and sky blue cathedral adjacent to the Palace literally saved my life.
My Travel Journal TWO 