Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: A Tale of Two Cities (2010)
From the Palace to the Palace
I woke up a little early, had a sneak-peek outside and was delighted to see clear blue skies and bright sunshine. It was quite obviously going to be a great day! Breakfast was a nice, quiet affair at this earlier hour. I noticed that a different layout was being used for the buffet, perhaps because on the previous day, the restaurant had hosted the well advertised, much praised and shockingly expensive Sunday Opera Brunch. As previously, breakfast in La Rotonda proved to be an excellent way to get the day off to a good start. The streets also seemed a good deal quieter and more business-like, once I ventured out into the bright morning sunshine. Once again, I decided to begin with a quick visit to the park, this time seeing arguably one of the most attractive floral sections next to the Alfonso Gate. I also couldn't resist a quick return visit to the Crystal Palace, to see how it would look in these much brighter conditions.
I then made my way along the Calle Atocha, which struck me as a resolutely working-class area of the city centre. Eventually, I found myself in the Plaza Mayor, familiar from the previous day and yet at the same time barely recognisable with the weekend crowds gone. It was only a short walk from there to the Almudena Cathedral, where I took some photos of the exterior before proceeding with a visit. The most striking feature, both externally and especially once inside, was the modernity of its structure and fittings. Most of the side chapels, for example, housed ultra-modern shrines rather than traditional altars. The explanation is that this cathedral is very new, especially by European standards. Madrid is not even traditionally the seat of a bishop; until 1884 it was part of the Diocese of Toledo. An ecclesiastical reorganisation took place to reflect Madrid's position as capital of Spain and the new cathedral was finally consecrated as recently as 1993.
Most conveniently for tourists - and, I dare say, for state occasions - the Cathedral is situated literally next door to the Royal Palace. In the glorious sunshine, it was therefore an easy matter to continue to put my camera through its paces. As I didn't go inside the palace during my 1990s visit, I decided to give it a shot this time around. However after spending fifteen minutes standing in a queue that barely moved in all that time, impatience won the day and I gave up, thinking that I would be much better off enjoying the sun in any case. I continued to stroll around until noon when, most conveniently, I found myself back in the Plaza de Oriente. Just like the previous day, but this time in much quieter conditions, I had an enjoyable al fresco lunch.
After lunch, I decided to head round to the grounds behind the royal palace, recalling that I had discovered this much less busy area on the final day of my first visit to the city, over a decade previously. It was much as I remembered it, except that it seemed a great deal smaller. Not feeling readily able to face the steep climb back up to the city centre, followed by the long walk back to the hotel, I decided that it was time to try out the metro. It proved to be perfectly tourist-friendly and, with a change of trains en route, I was soon back at the Banco de Espana, just a short distance from my hotel. Rather than walking directly back, I made a minor detour through some of the quiet and up-market side streets around the Ritz hotel.
After the day's exertions, I had another quiet evening.