Madrid and Toledo (02 - 08/11/2005)
The Tonteri if Coloco siempre en primera para ser row view, the inteligencia para ver detrás
Summer 2005 in July finally decide where to spend the holidays, rejected the dearly beloved London and Barcelona, \u200b\u200bthe choice falls on Madrid after assessing various proposals we decided to book: Flights from Bergamo - Orio al Serio (BGY) with
Myair and centrally located apartment booked through
Homelidays, the period from 2 to 11 August.
To start with ...
Tuesday, August 2, 2005 - At 15 o'clock we move to the English capital. The plane is not the best but the flight is quiet and timetables met. We land in Madrid - Barajas (MAD) at 17 and 20, picking up your luggage, do we get tickets for the metro and downtown, the station operates. We stopped in the square (Plaza de Isabel II) were amazed from light of the sky and called Pedro and Cecilia, shortly after Pedro welcomes us with a great Italian, and brings us to the apartment, just steps from the Teatro Real, the Palacio Real and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Almudena. We pay the rent, signed the contract, we leave the security and thank Pedro, very kind.
Time to take a shower and go down the street, we enter one of the streets looking for some tapas. We head in the zone of Chueca, where we find the Cerveceria Infancer SL (Calle de las Infantas 26), locale molto tipico, ottimi i bocadillos con jamon, i formaggi, le croquetas de jamon e la sangria.
A pancia piena girovaghiamo per il centro e rientriamo in appartamento.
Mercoledì 03 agosto 2005 - Ci svegliamo sotto un cielo azzurro fantastico, una buona colazione e facciamo la spesa nel vicino Corte Inglés. Iniziamo a girovagare per la città, prima in metro fino a Puerta de Atocha, qualche passo e siamo al
Museo Reina Sofia , per ammirare le opere degli artisti contemporanei più famosi e naturalmente Guernica di Pablo Picasso. Purtroppo nel 2005 l’ampliamento del museo ad opera di Jean Nouvel non era ancora stato inaugurato anche se i volumi del nuovo edificio erano oramai visibili. Aperitivo in Paseo del Prado, dinner in the apartment and then look for the local night life, beer and some tapas and sangria.
Thursday, August 4, 2005 - Wake up and breakfast in peace. At 10 we go out and within minutes we are at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Almudena. A visit to the cathedral and the temporary exhibition and head to the Palacio Real
, facing the front of the cathedral. We visit the charming rooms of the building and the outdoor museum of armor, we stopped in the gardens overlooking the Casa de Campo. The English royal in this period are on holiday in Palma de Mallorca and the palace is all for the many tourists.
Some photos of the building that stands on the wonderful sky of Madrid (I keep repeating it but it was really cool) and go home for lunch. Now we set and English are great times: lunch and dinner at 14 to 22 allow us to better enjoy Madrid. The afternoon started to wander aimlessly, passing Calle del Arenal where we arrive at Plaza del Sol is home to the Autonomous Government of Madrid region and where there is the symbol of the city, El Oso y el Madroño (a bear and the plant the strawberry tree) for the explanation of what I refer to the following site
.
We head to Calle de Alcala to the Metropolis, and then passing the Banco de España to Plaza Cibeles with the huge Palacio de Comunicaciones, the headquarters of the Post Office.
continue until the Puerta de Alcala and on to Plaza de Colon with the statue of Christopher Columbus and the towers Colón. Tired
for the long walk back home to freshen up and dinner.
Friday, August 5, 2005 - We woke up late after the wonderful night, we head in the most modern city, in Plaza de Castilla, where it ends Paseo de la Castellana, here is a whole building of new buildings and office towers between such as the Puerta de Europa towers (or Kyo Torres), two tilted skyscrapers that have already become one of the new symbols of the "new" and where in Madrid few years to make new towers (Torre Repsol, Sacyr Vallehermoso and Torre Espacio).
go along Paseo de la Castellana until the Santiago Bernabeu, the stadium of Real Madrid, a couple of pictures and we head to the metro station and head to
Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas , the arena more important given that the period of Madrid is temporarily closed until August 20, the bullfighters are on vacation. Walk around the perimeter of the building and visit the Bullfighting Museum where the greatest fighters are revered in the history of Las Ventas yet even the best bulls ever, the "invincible". The bull's head on the walls, sad, but the customs of the fighters are really fascinating and the history of torere (if there is a female bullfighter) is very special and exciting.
the afternoon to dedicate the first of our visits to the Museo Nacional del Prado
. Describe the Prado is really hard, works from all over the world, from every era, amazing artists, but overly large which forced us to visit him in several days. The only downside to the absurd presence of dozens of Italian boys who do nothing but cry, laugh, laugh, in fact disturbing. We are ashamed a bit 'but fortunately in every corner of Europe all exchange me and Laura to German tourists.
to recover from mileage fra le sale del Prado ci dirigiamo verso il Real Parque del Buen Retiro, la zona verde più grande all’interno della città dove ci gustiamo un’ottima birra (spagnola naturalmente) e una tortilla de patata sulla riva dell’Estanque del Buen Retiro, un “laghetto” artificiale all’interno del parco dove ci si può concedere un giro in barca.
Sabato 06 agosto 2005 - Dedichiamo la mattinata alla zona vicina al Teatro Real, visitiamo i Jardines de Sabatini, sul retro del Palacio Real, vediamo il Senado e ci dirigiamo verso Plaza de España dominata dal monumento dedicato a Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ed al suo personaggio più famoso don Quijote de la Mancha, foto ritual and shopping on the Gran Via, plenty of shops.
the afternoon we wander in the Atocha station looking at the new, infamous for the terrorist attacks of 11 March 2004 that caused 191 deaths and over 2,000 wounded, and the old one built between 1888 and 1892 with the help of Gustave Eiffel in Art Nouveau style. Since 1992, the old station has been transformed into a tropical garden with a constant temperature in which exotic plants are preserved.
For dinner, choose a restaurant in Plaza de Santa Ana, where we eat fish soup with fried calamari, and excellent desserts. Following the instructions in the Lonely Planet we reach Las Cuevas de Sesamo, assolutamente consigliato. Las Cuevas de Sésamo non è altro che una grande taverna sotto al livello della strada con volte a botte piene di scritte (“La tontería se coloca siempre en primera fila para ser vista; la inteligencia detrás para ver”), un caldo assurdo, gente in ogni dove, una fila lunghissima per entrare, una nube di fumo, ma con una sangria da fine del mondo accompagnata da un pianista che suona canzoni della tradizione madrilena tanto da scatenare centinaia di ragazzi a cantare una specie di inno madrileno... Usciti ci dirigiamo in Plaza Mayor dove, come i ragazzi del posto, ci sediamo in mezzo alla piazza ascoltando la musica dei vicini locali e di qualche chitarrista improvvisato. Ci rilassiamo un po’ e prima di back to the apartment we stop Chocolatería San Ginés (Pasadizo de San Ginés, 5). Of course it will seem strange to eat hot chocolate and churros (fried sweet sticks dipped in chocolate) at 2 am with 35 ° in the center of Madrid, but I must say that is simply outstanding, plus the Chocolatería San Ginés is open all night. Simply amazing, one of the most beautiful evenings of my life.
Sunday, August 7, 2005 - Morning disappointing to market El Rastro, many stalls of clothes and some old worthless, many stolen items, nothing particularly well, although here a friendly seller from whom I buy a shirt immediately recognizes my hug from how Italian Laura (for once I am not a German tourist, but an Italian jealous and passionate, I do not know what is best ...). The second long stage
Museo Nacional del Prado , then again to walk through the streets filled with people of the English capital. Siesta, night in a pub in Plaza de Santa Ana beer with lemon and seafood tapas before and stop at the Cerveceria 100 montaditos (Avenida Felipe II 28), a small brewery that serves sandwiches than 100 different flavors (from chorizo, the jamon, the tortilla de patatas the traditional bread and chocolate) with excellent beers and wines. Try it as an aperitif or after dinner, which was one fast food chain in Spain.
Monday, August 8, 2005 - Day in day out, we're undecided between Segovia and Toledo, but in the end we decide for the latter, more touristy but very fascinating. At 8 o'clock we are at Atocha station and booked their trip to the regional air-conditioned train of 8:44, arriving in Toledo at 10. For a person who used the train for seven years to go first at the high school and then university, accustomed to delays, canceled trains, bus stops exceptional service RENFE is truly amazing, a different world compared to Italy. Furthermore, from what I understand if the train is delayed only five minutes the English railway repay the whole ticket. Pleasant journey between the barren lands of La Mancha and in an hour the train stops at the previous station in Toledo, the speakers we invite to come down, the journey will continue on three buses to Toledo because the Toledo station is undergoing renovations to accommodate the AVE (Alta Velocidad Española acronym) . The bus took us to the station, from there a bus to say the least dented (the windshield is a bullet hole) we arrive in downtown Zocodover Square, just steps from the Cathedral and on by the. The city is really beautiful, inland properties have stunning views of the Cathedral and sull'Alcazar, unfortunately closed for restoration. Unfortunately, Toledo has a lot more travel to Madrid, the prices are twice the capital. We look for the house museum of El Domenikos Theotokopulos Greek painter of Greek origin who settled in Toledo after working at the court of the King of Spain until his death in 1614 when at rest by the church in the city of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, but being on Monday museum is closed (the first error of the Lonely Planet that gave the house museum is closed on Tuesdays). From the look at the area marked by the location of the Tagus River and the many agricultural areas burned by the sun (40 ° C constants that do not bother because the air is very dry).
We are moving towards the Alcazar. We visited the Museo de Santa Cruz (Calle de Miguel de Cervantes, 3), the church and cloisters are open al pubblico, molto tranquilli, dove ci riposiamo dalla lunga passeggiata. Bellissima la mostra temporanea Otros Quijotes e una mostra sulle varie raffigurazioni di don Quijote de la Mancha, aperte in occasione dei 400 anni dalla prima pubblicazione (Volume I)
.
Pranzo e tardo pomeriggio in piazza Zocodover da dove partiamo col Zocotren (3,80€) per un giro turistico della città, girando attorno alla collina su cui sorge Toledo. Solitamente non amo le cose troppo turistiche (da giapponesi per intenderci) ma lo Zocotren offre panorami incredibili, per fotografie decisamente belle e permette di vedere l’intera città prima dall’interno, poi allontanandosi per avere una visione d’insieme dell’Alcazar e degli altri monumenti, fino a raggiungere le rive del fiume Tago e il Puente de San Martin. Si risale in città passando nelle vicinanze de La Puerta de la Ciudad e ritorno in Plaza Zocodover.
Purtroppo la nostra gita a Toledo sta per finire, il treno per Madrid parte alle 18 e 42 e pochi minuti prima delle 20 siamo a Madrid, ceniamo e ci riposiamo dopo la lunga giornata, bellissima e intensa.
Martedì 09 agosto 2005 - Giornata dedicata ai musei di arte contemporanea;
El Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Conde Duque, 9 - Entrata gratuita) e
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (Paseo del Prado, 8 - 4,00 € studenti). Qualche ora di shopping per le vie del centro fino Vicente Calderón Stadium near the River Manzanares, photo rite for Madrid's stadium, where they were played a few meetings of the World Cup in 1982 and stop at 100 montaditos for appetizers. Quiet evening.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - Morning dedicated to the university area and the area of \u200b\u200bMoncloa with its distinctive lighthouse (Avenida de los Reyes Católicos), but the rain quickly leads us to visit these neighborhoods and to take refuge in a nearby waiting for the Corte Inglés rain stops. A few purchases and walk up to the P º Pintor Rosales from where
El Teleférico de Madrid, one way to Casa de Campo, a large park just outside the city where there is absolutely nothing but an amusement park that inspires us. Picnic at Casa de Campo, a walk in the park to the lake (another pool) where it starts to drizzle again, and take the subway back downtown, where shops to wander, I recommend
Kukuxumusu for gifts, shirts and many other very special items. Second stage to
Chocolatería San Ginés for a snack and good book based in Las Cuevas de Sésamo sangria to celebrate our last night in Madrid last visit to the Plaza Mayor lit.
Thursday, August 11, 2005 - Wake up in the late morning as they do not want to wake up the atmosphere of Madrid's nightlife, a few steps still in town to say goodbye to this beautiful city, we prepare your luggage, Cecilia meet the security that leaves us at lunchtime and leave Madrid by plane Myair of 18:20, leaving a tiny piece of heart in Madrid that we lack, that is the city where I live, which is a continuous discovery, an experience that never ends ...
A wonderful holiday, our first real vacation together, we will return soon in Madrid and who knows if it ever come back ...
you soon!