Having spent three marvelous days in Valencia (please see my posts "The spaceship has landed in Valencia" and "Valencia: vast beaches and magnificent parks"), the next city on the agenda was Madrid. The train from Valencia to Madrid took about two hours.
Albeit somewhat pricey (around 70 euros), it offered a comfy and pleasant trip with a service of sandwiches and drinks, including cava.
It was also very fast, with speeds reaching 300 km/hr at times.
My first impression of Madrid was very positive, especially after I saw a poster for a play for Virginia Woolf's essay "A Room of One's Own" in Spanish.
It was nice to rent an entire apartment via airbnb in the center of Madrid, which was also close to a great grocery store, major parks and museums.
The first day was spent walking through meandering streets of Madrid and just taking it all in. One particular street that was really cool is Calle Embajadores which had three bookstores all within a few blocks of one another, beautiful street art, great cafes and stores, in one of which I bought a nice dress.
On one of the side streets, I saw a battered sign "Potemkin", the name of which comes from fake Soviet flourishing villages.
One can really see how the center of Madrid grew organically over time because there are few straight streets with the exception of major streets such as Calle Bailen, Calle Segovia, Paseo del Prado, Calle Atocha and a few others.
As I walked through the city, I saw many beautiful churches and cathedrals.
One of the major landmarks of Madrid is the Almudena Cathedral, a perfect place for taking photos, including wedding pics, listening to street artists and just chilling.
Can you see Leo in this picture?
The cathedral faces Palacio Real, the Royal Palace of Madrid, previously home to the Spanish royal family but now only used for state ceremonies.
Not far from the palace is Teatro Real or the Royal Theater as well as the Opera House.
A short walk to one of the side streets led me to Ramen Kagura which was fully packed that evening.
Having briefly explored the area, I took a metro back home. It was very fast and clean although a little confusing since one needs to buy a ticket for a specific line.
It was a pleasant day and a nice start of my Madrid trip!
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