’26 Madrid, Spain

I had a late afternoon ticket to see Guernica but got there early due to a disappointing, maddening, and very embarrassing event wherein I fell asleep on the train and missed my chance to visit with Hilda’s cousin Anabella. Anabella had prepared a wonderful introduction to her beautiful city, Zaragoza, halfway between Barcelona and Madrid, and the only stop on the fast train. She was so kind “it happens, don’t worry!” but wow-eee did I feel sorry.

So on to Guernica! You can see between the first and the second picture how the crowds come and go just while I was hanging around.

Of course everyone wanted a picture but also everyone took time for looking, for paying attention. I didn’t mind them.

I got a turn to stand right in front too. Worth it? Absolutely!

My body’s level of fatigue made me feel like I weighed 300 pounds. I wasn’t tired or in pain, maybe it’s like if you’ve ever recovered from the flu where you’re over the hump but everything aches. That being said I had a very nice hotel in a perfect neighborhood and I just shuffled along for a few days enjoying every minute.

In the middle far-right is one of the entrances to the Museo Nacional del Prado. I stopped by here on the first day as well as going to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía to see Guernica. I walked down here but having reached my limit, I took a taxi back.

The Prado is on everyone’s top 10 museum lists and it deserves all the glory. But no photos allowed. They want you to just look. I get it, you can find pictures of the art on the internet, but you know me, and I didn’t do it justice at all, tired as I was.

Here are some places on my street.

A tapas bar.

Cheese and sliced meats.

I thought that figure in the upper-middle might be ‘a thing’ and I’d be seeing him around town, but no, this was the only one.

Greek frozen yogurt. There was always a line so I got in that line and it was a tasty sweet treat.

The different days are lost to me since I spent a lot of time resting.

A symbol of Toledo, Spain (pronounced Toh-LEH-doh, Toledo Ohio is pronounced Tuh-LEE-doh), here as a reminder that I didn’t get to Toledo or Segovia or any of the other delightful day trips. Another time!

The Plaza Mejor. “The name of the plaza has changed over time. It has been known as Plaza del Arrabal, Plaza de la Constitución, Plaza Real, Plaza de la República and now Plaza Mayor. These changes of name reflect events in Spanish history.” Originally constructed in 1580–1619, knowing about the name change would be a good outline of the history of Madrid I think.

Let’s ask AI! I’m copying the answer at the end of this story.

Iglesia Catedral de las Fuerzas Armadas, commonly known as Iglesia del Sacramento, a 17th-century Baroque-style Catholic church.

I guess I don’t have a picture of the exterior.

Frogs.

Almudena Cathedral (Santa María la Real de La Almudena). 

“It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madrid and is dedicated to the city’s patron saint. Construction of the cathedral began in 1883 but was not completed until 1993, totaling 110 years due to interruptions like the Spanish Civil War. The cathedral features a mix of architectural styles, including a Neoclassical exterior designed to match the nearby Royal Palace.”

Above is the view from my seat at a café where for the first time I got to order a pile of vegetables. It was lovely.

The patio was home to a flock of little brown birds. Against my long-stated position of never feeding wild animals, I left this piece of bread on the plate to enjoy the delightful birds as they dug out the center in just a few minutes.

There’s an important museum here, part of the Almudena Cathedral and bordering the plaza of the Royal Palace.

Turning around from the above, the Royal Palace.

Inside the Cathedral.

The Cathedral doors.

Plenty of snack food, just the way I like it.

My Church, the Iglesia de San Sebastián, originally built between 1554 and 1578. It’s around the corner from my hotel. By the time I got back here it was closed so I didn’t get to see inside but from the internet, it’s quite lovely.

An internet picture from another angle.

I was on my way for a Thai Foot Massage. I got the foot massage and shoulders and neck and it was wonderful.

Cats! No, no cats, it was a nice looking hostel. I chatted with the woman at the counter, chuckling over their lack of cats. She asked me if I wanted to see cats and yes indeed I very much wanted to see cats, so she sent me a few blocks down the street.

Nice buildings, relatively quiet streets, lovely. My walking-distance neighborhood took me to super-interesting streets in every direction.

And I’ve arrived at the CATS. Gato is cat in Spanish and here we have La Gatoteca.

These were all previously street cats and sometimes a little skittish, and it’s true what ‘they’ say, none of them, not one, meowed. There were plenty of places for the cats to escape the attention of the guests if they wanted, so that was good.

Hi kitty kitty.

AHH cats, a purrfect way to end my time in Madrid.

I did it, I sprung for business class flights and it helped so much. Both coming and going, my legs were in such good shape since they were entirely horizontal the whole time. The lounge access was nice too especially during a layover. I even had a shower.

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Chronological Name Changes of the PLAZA MAJOR in Madrid.

• Plaza del Arrabal (15th Century – 1812): This was the square’s original name. It was a bustling marketplace located just outside the old city walls—”arrabal” means “suburb” or “slum” in Spanish.
• Plaza de la Constitución (1812–1814): Following the enactment of the Constitution of 1812, all major plazas in Spain were officially renamed to honor it.
• Plaza Real (1814–1820): When King Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne, the name was changed to “Royal Plaza” to distance it from the liberal constitution.
• Alternating Names (1820–1873): The square’s name flipped back and forth depending on who was in power:
  • Plaza de la Constitución: Reinstated during the Trienio Liberal (1820–1823) and other liberal periods (1833–1835, 1840–1843).
  • Plaza Real: Used during periods of monarchist restoration.
• Plaza de la República (1873–1876): Renamed during the brief First Spanish Republic.
• Plaza de la Constitución (1876–1939): It held this name for a long stretch through the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy and into the early 20th century.
• Plaza Mayor (1939–Present): At the end of the Spanish Civil War, the square was permanently given its current name, which literally means “Main Square”.