Walking to Near Our Hotel

We walked back to near our hotel from the Palacio Real to find a restaurant to eat lunch at. We first tried the Cafe Opera, almost across from our hotel and recommended by Rick Steves’ “Spain,” but their lunch menu was unexciting and we found that the opera–singing waiters only sing at the evening meal. We checked the menu of another restaurant and Merrie decided that she really wanted to have paella for lunch and that restaurant directed us to a paella restaurant nearby.

Walking to Near Our Hotel

Paella Valenciana

The Paella Valenciana restaurant. It was now only a bit after 2 p.m., so the restaurant was almost empty, not yet time for the Spanish to have this meal. I need to tell you here that this was an upscale restaurant––on a wall, there was even a photo of Placido Domingo having dinner here––because of some events that occurred later during our meal.

Paella Valenciana

Paella Valenciana

Paella was first made in Valencia, Spain, so our restaurant’s name was very fitting. The word paella today refers both to the pan used to cook the dish and the name of the dish itself. Paella’s main ingredients are rice, saffron, and olive oil and there are different other ingredients you can have added to it: We had a choice of seafood; vegetables; chicken and vegetables; lobster and seafood; and chicken, vegetables, and seafood. We chose the seafood paella. We were told that you need two people ordering a paella to have freshly prepared. If you can get it for one, it probably was made up early in the day. Merrie and I ordered the seafood paella. This is a photo of our seafood paella.

Paella Valenciana

Paella Valenciana

Our very enthusiastic waiter about to divide our paella into two servings.

Paella Valenciana

Paella Valenciana

My serving of paella. I traded that mussel for one of Merrie’s crayfish.

Paella Valenciana

Paella Valenciana

Merrie about to eat her paella. An important photo as the next photo shows a much different scene.

Paella Valenciana

Paella Valenciana

Now you may ask why does Merrie now have a gorgeous young Spanish guy, wearing a red bra and a red thong, sitting on her lap. Remember that I told you that this was an upscale restaurant, not some dive we came upon. A group of very cute young men and one girl––they told us that they all worked in real estate office––were giving one of their co–workers––the young man on Merrie’s lap––a birthday party. Presents were given to him before the meal was served and his first present was the bra and the thong. He started parading around the restaurant in it and I innocently asked him if I could take a photo of him. He immediately jumped on Merrie’s lap to have the photo taken.

Paella Valenciana

Paella Valenciana

And one more photo of Merrie and the gorgeous Spanish guy. Now why did his co–workers give him this present? All the other presents given him were things like dress shirts and ties. I really don’t know why except some of his co–workers told us that he was gay but said it in such as way that we think they were trying to shock two American ladies. We weren’t which I think surprised them.

Paella Valenciana

Paella Valenciana

His co–workers. They asked me to take some photos of them so they can e–mail me to send them. Our meal at the Paella Valenciana was very good: seafood paella, salad, 1/2 bottle of wine each, water, and coffee, 59 euros for both meals; the entertainment, priceless. I was laughing so hard when leaving the restaurant that I forgot to take a photo of the photo of Placido Domingo.

Paella Valenciana

Madrid Walk

We went back to our hotel and I was planning on having at least an hour siesta to sleep off that 1/2 bottle of wine. However, I realized that it was getting late in the day and if we wanted to take the Rick Steves’ Puerta del Sol to Palacio Real walk that we had better start out to do it. We used Rick Steves’ “Spain” almost exclusively while we were in Spain as it is the best guide for traveling independently in Spain. We didn’t want to walk on the same streets going there as coming back, so we started out at the Plaza Santo Domingo near our hotel. The statue in the plaza is of Queen Isabel II.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Close–up of Isabel II.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

We next walked up Calle del Arenal to the Puerta del Sol. We passed this meat and cheese store. We saw these hams hanging from the ceiling in many stores and eating places in Spain. Some of them are for sale and others, I assume, are for decoration.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

The other side of the meat and cheese store.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

At the Puerta del Sol, the same place that we ended up last night.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Close–up of the Tio Pepe sign. Madrid’s first billboard is more than 100 years old. It was originally the location of a church where the French detained Spanish patriots awaiting execution.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Close–up of the statue of Charles II. Rick Steves said to stand by the statue and review the square. However, there is now a large construction zone preventing this. Charles II was a popular king who ruled until 1788 who beautified Madrid.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Closer–up of the statue of Charles III.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

A view of a side street off the plaza.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

The Governor’s Palace, originally Madrid’s first post office, established by Charles III in 1760s, and one–time the police headquarters of Franco.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Front of the Governor’s Palace. The clock says that it is already almost 6:30 p.m.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Rick Steves said to notice the hats of the civil guardmen at the entry to the Governor’s Palace. The backside of the hats are square so that the men could lean against the wall while smoking.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Another view of the guardman’s hat.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

This mural is curbside in front of the Governor’s Palace and marks kilometer zero, the very center of Spain.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

This plaque on the wall of the Governor’s Palace marks the spot where the war against Napoleon started. Napoleon wanted his brother to be king of Spain and brought almost the entire Spanish royal family to France to negotiate this. A crowd waited at this spot for the decision, which was that Napoleon made his brother the king. The crowd became angry and the French guard massacred it on the second of May, 1808.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Next, Rick Steves directed us to La Mallorquina on the corner of Puerta del Sol and Calle Mayor, a confiteria famous for some of its pastries.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

He said to go inside and then face the entrance to see this tile above the door depicting the Puerta del Sol in the 18th century.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Some of the pastries in La Mallorquina. It was so crowded in this store that we would have had to wait a long time to be served, so we continued our walk.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Some more of La Mallorquina’s pastries.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Next, Rick Steves told us to walk to the pedestrian alley called the Calle de Postas and to notice the street sign. The post coach on the sign tells one the direction of the post office. Medieval street signs included pictures to help the illiterate. A note: street signs in Spain are placed very high up on the buildings. They are easy to miss if you don’t look high enough.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

There were a number of stores selling religious items in this area and they were very busy. We went into one of them and Merrie made a purchase, but I have never seen so many religious items in any store before. It was packed full of them. But I only took a photo of the store window as it did seem somewhat improper to take one inside the store.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

A clothing store on our walk.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Inside another clothing store.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

A Canas y Tapas. Canas means “beer” and you already know what tapas are. This is a chain. Merrie and I ate at a different Canas y Tapas a couple of days later. Very good tapas.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

A building with murals seen on our walk.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Close–up of one of the murals.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Close–up of another of the murals.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

A colorful building seen on our walk. The clock is telling us that it is almost 7:15 p.m.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

We made it to the Plaza Mayor, the major square in Madrid, not exactly by Rick Steves’ directions as we couldn’t find a couple of streets that he told us to go on. This square was built in 1619 by Phillip III. It has seen bullfights in it, royal pageantry, and trials and executions during the Inquistion. The color of the square is burgundy, interestingly the color being voted on by the citizens of Madrid after Franco’s death.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Madrid scene through an arch in Plaza Mayor.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Another photo of Plaza Mayor. I was getting hungry. One of the restaurants with outside tables was offering pizza and this sounded good. The pizza wasn’t too bad. You can have items such as pizza or tapas all day long, but more upscale restaurants only serve lunch late in the day and dinner late in the evening.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Another view of Plaza Mayor. The statue is of Phillip III and it is in front of the Casa de la Panaderia, the Baker’s Guild.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Close–up of the statue of Phillip III and a better view of the murals on the Baker’s Guild.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

The Baker’s Guild building is covered, somewhat surprisingly, with semi–erotic frescoes of Cabeles, the adopted goddess of Madrid. Here is a close–up of some of the nudes.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

And another one.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Another view of the Plaza Mayor.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

It had now gotten dark outside and we could not finish our Rick Steves’ walk. But there was one more place that he told us to check out which we could: La Torro de Oro Bar Andalu, which Rick Steves called a temple to bullfighting. This was located in Plaza Mayor.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

After reading that the La Torre de Oro Bar Andalu was a temple to bullfighting, I was very surprised to see the following photos on its wall.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

And another.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

And still another. These photos were not particulary gory, but some of them showed in graphic detail the condition of the matadors who had been gored.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

But there was also a shrine to El Cordobes, the famous matador of the 1960s. He did not die fighting a bull

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Closer–up view of the shrine.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

More of the bar.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

And another view of the bar.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

The Plaza Mayor at night.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

And another photo of the Plaza Mayor at night.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

Merrie and I didn’t expect to have to walk back to our hotel at night––time just seems to fly in Spain. There were still plenty of walkers and we were careful to follow closely behind other walkers, stopping, of course, along the way to take some photos. This building was very pretty at night but I don’t know the name of it.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

This is a statue of a man overlooking a Roman ruin excavation.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

The Cathedral de la Almudena, which faces the Palacio Real.

Madrid Walk

Madrid Walk

The Palacio Real at night. We made it back to our hotel about 10 p.m. It was quite an interesting, long, long day.

Madrid Walk