Adios Granada, Hola Madrid!

We had a couple of hours before our train left Granada for Madrid so we took a stroll around town.  We wanted to see The Gate of Elvira, one of the many examples of Arabic architecture around the city.

In this part of Granada there are many colorful Arabic-style bazaars selling clothing, jewelry, and souvenirs.

Just beyond the gate is a cute shop called Al Sur de Granada.  The young woman in the shop was delightful and we bought a piece of pottery and a slice of home baked banana bread.

We checked out of our hotel,  Aurea Catedral by Eurostars and walked to the train station.

We arrived in Madrid and after a bit of kerfuffle trying to navigate  from the Atocha rail station to our hotel in Puerto del Sol we finally arrived at Hotel Europa – a favorite of Rick Steves travelers.  It was daylight when we arrived,

but once we settled and opened our windows, we jumped for joy to see the lighted Christmas tree just outside our window!

The holiday lights brought many, many people and the streets here are jammed – we bravely ventured out in the evening but couldn’t believe the swarms of people!

It’s Sunday now and and we took a tour of the city and walked by the Opera House,

where La Boheme will soon be performed!

Our next task was to get our COVID tests for our return flight.  We walked to a location on the Gran Via and got our swabs.

While we waited for our results we walked to the Prado Museum.  This arrangement was colorful;

and this painting by Spanish painter Diego Velazquez, spectacular as well!

While we were at the museum, our test results came back – both negative.  Hooray!

The buildings and holiday lights in Madrid are stunning,

…but cooler temps make dining outside challenging and unbelievably huge crowds of people make this a less pleasant destination for now.  Perhaps we arrived on a peak holiday shopping weekend.

In spite of that, we’re happy to be traveling again!