Early Spring in Madrid

Participants: Gennaro, Giovanna with the little Martina and Ilaria, uncle Paolo and aunt Carla.

Saturday 28 March 2009

Our Madrid adventure does not get off to the best start. Naples airport at 6.00 am: due to overbooking we are rerouted via Milan and arrive at 14:30, 3 hours late. The Alitalia flight, bought online at a price that rivals low-cost carriers (390.00 Euro all inclusive, 4 adults and 2 children), is nevertheless comfortable. The airport is connected to the city centre by metro (E 1.00 + 1.00 airport supplement) which, with a single change, takes us to the "Tribunal" stop. The hotel, right opposite the stop, is the Aparthotel Tribunal, located a 5-minute walk from the Gran Via. Booked online (E 370.00 for 2 triples for 3 nights), the rooms are very large but simply furnished, with old beds and a small built-in wardrobe; there is also a small kitchenette that we used only for breakfast in the morning (we had to buy a sponge and detergent ourselves).

Once the suitcases are sorted, we start exploring the city: it is very cold, but despite this the streets are full of people; in Puerta de Sol we hear stadium chants from Turkish fans who are playing against Spain tonight at the Bernabeu. We have dinner at a restaurant of the Fres.Co chain (9.95 euros per person, children half price and the 3-year-old free): you can eat as much as you like, choosing from a vast array of very fresh vegetables and salads, some hot dishes, pizza, fruit, dessert, ice cream and coffee. After dinner we go back to the hotel, tired: we have been on our feet since 5.00.

Sunday 29 March

Thanks also to the switch to daylight saving time, we wake up late and, after a quick breakfast, begin our day around the city. The weather is uncertain and the temperature hovers between 7 and 8 degrees. We decide to visit the city using the MADRID VISION tourist bus (21 euros for 2 days, under-7s free) which, with its 2 lines, stops at the most important places to visit; the buses are very frequent (we never waited more than 10 minutes), they have an audio guide in Italian too, and they also give you a booklet of discount vouchers for other attractions, local museums, etc. The first stop is Plaza Mayor: beautiful, rectangular, adorned with splendid buildings, it is full of school groups and street artists who delight the little girls.

In the square there is the tourist office where you can get free internet for 15 minutes and where there is a computerised service that, after processing a series of information you enter, draws up a personalised plan for how to organise your holiday days, taking into account opening hours and any weekly closures of the places to see. Back on the MADRID VISION, we headed to the SANTIAGO BERNABEU, the REAL MADRID stadium. The visit (15 euros, 10 for the girls), which lasts at least 2 hours, starts from the high stands of the stadium and continues through the history museum, the trophy room, the benches, the changing rooms and the press room. For football fans I consider it a must, but I assure you it is engaging even for those who have never seen a match. Inside you can even have lunch with a view directly over the pitch: we booked for the next match that Napoli will come to play here.

We head back to the centre, a quick lunch with sandwiches, and head to the museum area: it is 4.00 pm and we decide to take a walk while waiting for 5.00 pm because at the El Prado museum entry is free on Sundays; on the way back, however, we find a long queue and think we would have done better to wait there. We do a very quick visit because of the little one, who soon gets tired, and also because the guards inside are quite rightly very strict and do not allow the little girl to wander unless held by the hand or strapped into the pushchair. We go back to the centre on the GRAN VIA, do some shopping in the Es Cortes Englais department store where, with its 10 floors, you find everything: we bought souvenirs that we later found at much lower prices in the little shops in the centre.

Dinner at the Fres.Co restaurant, on a side street off Callao square, where however we receive terrible service: the buffet was very poor and the food was not fresh, the plates and cutlery were greasy and there weren't even paper napkins; even last year in Barcelona we always received excellent service; perhaps Sundays are best avoided. We go back to the hotel and everyone off to bed.

Monday 30 March

Giovanna turns 30 and Carla surprises us with a little cake complete with a candle: we have breakfast and are ready for a new day. It is still cold and drizzling; we head to the cable car that takes us into the heart of the "PARQUE DE CAMPO"; the park is immense, full of picnic areas and with a fabulous view over the city; inside there is also the Zoo and the Parque de Atracciones (closed on Mondays). The temperature drops and we head back to the centre early. We reach the nearby PALACIO REAL, where however an official event prevents us from visiting it; we take shelter from the rain mixed with snow in the nearby Cathedral of LA ALMUDENA. We return to the centre and have lunch at the MUSEO DEL JAMON in PUERTA DEL SOL: between the 6 of us we ate generous dishes including Paella and Sangria and spent only 45.00 euros in total.

In the afternoon the weather improves and we continue touring the city with the MADRID VISION; we reach the REINA SOFIA museum (6.00 euros entry), the only one open on Mondays, and the nearby Atocha station with its beautiful exotic garden in memory of the 2004 terrorist attack. We end the evening with a stroll through the centre and at the Cioccolateria in Paradiso de S. Gines we savour a delicious hot chocolate. There is no better way to end a cold day.

Tuesday 31 March

Finally the sky is clear; we decide to spend our last half-day in Madrid on a long walk: GRAN VIA, CALLAO, PUERTA DE SOL, PLAZA MAYOR, PALACIO REAL; we buy the last little gifts, go back to the hotel to collect the suitcases and the metro takes us back to the airport. The flight, via Milan, perfectly on time, brings us back to Naples. Hasta la vista!!!!!

Gennaro