Madrid

I am really fed up with this winter. Therefore I have decided to go to Madrid and seek a bit of sun.

On the list of the biggest tourist attractions of Madrid I found "Plaza de Toros de las Ventas". Indeed, this is a monumental building.

It is big and round shaped - not so easy to show it on the pictures.

Unfortunately, only after coming there I realised what is the purpose of this place. This is a bullring so in other words the place where people kill bulls for fun. They even build statues to commemorate their most skilled matadors. Did you know that in Spanish "matar" means "to kill"? I really cannot approve such things! Brothers bulls, we horses are with you with all our hearts.

To calm my nerves I moved to the city center to see the Almuneda Cathedral. It seems very old but in fact it was only completed in 1993.

The porch of the Cathedral ....

... faces the Royal Palace of Madrid. Actually, the Royal Family does not live here, they only use it for official ceremonies.

When you walk to the other side of the palace you will realise that it is actually located on a hill.

Below the palace you will see the Sabatini Gardens. Unfortunately even in Spain it is not warm enough now for the flowers to bloom so the garden cannot show all its beauty now. Again, the garden seems to date back to the eighteenth century while in fact it was only completed in 1970s.

I moved down the lane and passed by the Spanish Senate building. In fact, the Spanish king is not really ruling the country, Spain is a parliamentary democracy which means that the parliament and the government take the most important decisions.

Finally, I arrived to the Plaza de España or Spanish Square. This huge monument in the middle is devoted to Miguel Cervantes, one of the most famous Spanish writers.

Of course you all know that his most famous book is "Don Quixote", a brave man who travels on the back of his faithful horse Rocinante. You can see both of them (together with Sancho Pansa and his donkey of course) in front of the monument. 

In the back of the monument there is a nice fountain. The lady sitting there is supposed to represent the Spanish litterature. 

 

Finally, I moved to the Plaza Mayor (or Main Square).  It is rectangular in shape and is surrounded by residential buildings.

It is not easy to show its beauty on a picture so I will only show you one of these buildings. To see it in full, I recommend you this 360 degrees panorama.

Hi friends! Nice to meat you! You have a very nice city here.

Just a few steps from Plaza Mayor you will see the Puerta del Sol. You will see there the heraldic symbol of Madrid, the bear with the Madroño tree.

I am sure you noticed I did not mention so far one of the major attractions of Madrid, the Prado. Well, you will hear more about it next time.