We arrived by train on Saturday afternoon and took the Metro to our hotel. Emerging from the Metro station into Plaza Puerto del Sol, we were overwhelmed by the high-energy crowd. People swarmed the streets enjoying a weekend afternoon – it was easy to get caught up in the excitement. The Spanish love crowds and celebrations!
We are staying at Hotel Europa – a perfect location but noisy on a weekend night.
From a small balcony in our room we have a view of Puerto del Sol. Sunday morning we watched a crowd gather and tried to imagine what was about to happen. Eventually an entourage entered the square and a bus with the soccer team members of Real Madrid arrived. The crowd was very excited as they celebrated a big win the previous night.
We’ve been to Madrid on previous trips so for this one we’re looking for activities new to us. Sunday we walked to the Sorolla Museum, a home of the artist Joaquin Sorolla (1863-1923). There was a long line to enter the museum and we waited about 30 minutes before we were allowed to go inside. Once there, we understood the wait time – it’s such a beautiful space that people just want to linger. The garden, his light filled studio and the art…it was a really nice experience.
Joaquin Sorolla lived here with his family for many years. He helped design the space for his light-filled studio.
The house is filled with art, beautiful furniture and unique architectural features.
We’d recommend this museum – one of our favorites.
The photo below was taken at 9:26 p.m. Sunday evening. It’s still daylight and the Gran Via is bustling.
It’s Monday and the museums are closed. The streets are super-crowded so it’s a low-key day for us. At lunch time we stood in line to get a take-out fried calamari boccadillo. It was hard to find a bench so we found a graffiti-lined stoop and enjoyed lunch there.
Just a couple more days and we’ll be winging our way back to Decatur! Madrid is a wonderful city but it takes some energy to navigate. The last couple of days have been hotter than we’re accustomed to but temps will cool tomorrow. We’re taking it easy here and enjoying the vibe.