After the fun and games of trying to get train tickets, we arrived in Madrid at approximately 6.00pm and checked into Hotel Francisco.
After unpacking we wandered down streets off Puerto del Sol found place for dinner and cerveza. Even Kel partook in two beers to quench her thirst due to the heat.
After next to no sleep due to the heat I stayed in the hotel and Luke and Kel went hunting wifi. Maccas had the goods, so they got to surf the web in air-conditioned comfort. They then came back to get me (via Starbucks to get me a coffee) and then we headed off to find the statue of the bear and strawberry tree, the symbol of Madrid. We stopped for lunch and then wandered some more - found Plaza Mayor and Luke bought a hat. It was very hot at this stage so it was time to head back to the hotel for a siesta.
All refreshed we walked to Sol Metro. It was packed with people (all the kids here for the World Youth Conference) so we had to pack onto the train like sardines. We
got off at Retiro Park and strolled around the lake to find an icy pole which we had in the shade on the grass as it was still hot at 7.30 pm! We went on a solar powered boat around the lake in the park, which was really nice. We were going to use the row boats, but the heat, combined with 100s of kids doing the same thing spelled disaster in my books! :-)
Dinner was at a restaurant chosen specifically because it had water misting sprays. The waiter was cheeky and referred to Kel as his baby. After dinner we walked back to the hotel down the same street we walked in the morning. However this time we noticed a lot of sex shops and several ladies looking for a friend!!!
We slept a bit better as we'd had the windows to the room open all day. The only issue was that the kids seemed to think chanting and screaming outside our window until at least 2am was a good idea (I'm sounding old and grumpy now, aren't I?).
A nice morning stroll to the Prado Museum was in order and now we're back in Maccas taking advantage of their free wifi :-). It's soon time for our siesta before we head out for our last night in Spain.
Location:Madrid, Spain
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