Monday 6 March 2017

Madrid by train

In February we did a trip to Madrid. One of the reasons for doing it was that Rafael really wanted to go on the AVE, or Spanish high speed train. I booked tickets in advance to get a good deal, also a hotel in the city. Leaving at nine in the morning we were in Madrid by ten thirty-five.

The train goes up to 300km/hour on some parts of the journey!
Then we had to find the hotel-a couple of stops on the underground, up the Gran Vía and there it was: Hotel Senator.
It was very nice and comfortable. Having dropped off our bag we headed off to our first destination, El Museo del Romanticismo. Through less salubrious areas, it took us a while to find. 
This is the outside

Here are some pictures of the inside

I enjoyed seeing the dresses displayed close enough to examine fairly well.



When that was over we ate. in the afternoon we went to an exhibition of the Dutch artist Escher. It was very expensive compared to the national museums.







Walking around in Madrid 
Apparently the view from the top is great, but it's closed for repairs.

One of the great Modernist buildings in the Gran Vía


a refreshing cup of....in the Plaza Mayor

Yes, there are some giant legs coming out of the window!


The English College for  18th century Jesuits, I think.

On Saturday we went to the Archaeological Museum. It was really well arranged; all the national stuff in chronological  order from pre-history to the latest. From bones and stones to amazing and exquisite jewellery. We saw the famous Dama de Elche, whose real purpose they don't know. surprisingly, she wasn't absolutely unique. The have one full-body lady and another bust, but they are not quite as elegant as this one. 
 Roman mosaics


Gold! Lots of it!

Coins, jewellery, bright, shiny gold!
That was just about it. We were tired and footsore by the time we got to the station and took the Ave back to Zaragoza.




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