Madrid July 8-15

I meant to write this article while I was visiting Madrid, but of course I did not get the time.

I was supposed to be in Madrid from the 11th to the 13th (included) and later needed to add the 14th. Of course there was not a good flight to go back on the 14th evening and had to stay until the 15th morning.

Anyway, the good thing is that I got to leave from Milan on the 8th (Saturday) and stay in Madrid with my girlfriend until the 11th. On the 11th she left and I went to the W3C Workshop.

The first day we arrived at lunch time, got our rooms and went to enjoy the sun and the swimming pool. Was really good.

The day after, Sunday, we went to visit the Museo Nacional del Prado. LOTS of beautiful paintings. There was also a special exposition of Picasso, but it was almost impossible to get in. I won’t go into the details of the paintings as I’m not an expert AT ALL, but enjoyed seeing them.
Good thing is the price. Normally it is only 6 Euro, which is already VERY low if you considering the number of paintings and statues they have, but on Sundays it’s FREE! Since we had enjoyed very much the museum I wanted to make a donation, something like 10-15 Euro, but they said they do not accept money on Sundays, that it’s just free. Well, thanks Spain!

On Monday we walked a little bit around the city, visited Plaza de Espana, Granvia, Puerta del Sol. Unfortunately it was REALLY hot. When it was about noon we went back to the hotel as it was impossible to keep walking under the sun.
For all the week it’s been between 34 and 40 Celsius!

We did not have a car to drive around and actually we would not have needed it! The subway is great, they have 12 lines and they take you anywere. They say it’s the most advanced subway in the world, and I would hardly say it is not true. All the trains I have used are new or at least recent; air-conditioning which is not bad in summer, and most of all they all smelled good as if they had just been cleaned. In summer, at least in Italy, you often get in very hot trains and… well… some people should probably get more showers.
Madrid did a really great job on the subway.
The station near our hotel was closed for renewal and so they provide a FREE bus service to the nearer station. Very nice.
All stations has good light and you often met guards that were controlling the area. As long as you’re not hiding anything you’re probably happy to see them around.

Last but not least, of course I got to eat Tapas. They are ok, but I actually like hot food better than cold. Most tapas I had were cold. Anyway it was a very good experience. I obviously also got to eat fish and rice, which I liked.

It was a very good trip, too bad it was too hot. We will have to visit again in Spring.