Madrid Spain - November 9-12 2023

We arrived in Madrid to visit with my brother John. The hotel I had booked was a disaster and we managed to find a better one (Thompson Madrid by Hyatt) after the first night. Right away we had to adjust to the dining schedule of Spain - never a dinner before 9pm 🙂- but John picked great restaurants so it was worth the wait each time.

A highlight of our stay was a “Historical Madrid Tuk Tuk Tour”: https://ecotuktuk.com/madrid/. These little scooter/golfcart hybrids zip around the city and our guide was excellent. Some of the sights that blew us away were the Basilica of San Fransisco El Grande with its dome, paintings and statues, and the botanical gardens with hundreds of varieties of roses. We saw several sights that were new to John, who has lived in Madrid for more than 30 years now.

Our visit to Madrid coincided with some major demonstrations against the government, one of which happened on the morning of November 12, just as we needed to leave for the airport. So taxis were blocked from the downtown area and the only way to the airport was on the metro. That sounds fine, but the route was on three metro lines with two changes - and the changes involved four long flights of stairs up and two long flights down. And we had to do all that with three suitcases and two backpacks. It was a relief to finally get to the airport in time for our next flight - to Rome!