The Pantzers parlay Portugal

June 17: Madrid

Today we climbed aboard a tuk tuk for a familiarisation ride around the key points of interest in Madrid. Amazingly this was the first time any of us had visited Madrid. The tuk tuk seats 6 people. Fortunately there were only 3 of us otherwise it would have been very squishy! Our driver was Joshua and he and Warren exchanged football stories.

We visited the financial and embassy districts which are very upmarket with wide boulevards and beautiful architecture, and then the older parts which are a complete contrast…narrow, cobblestoned streets. There are beautiful parks throughout Madrid. The most famous is the El Retiro park which I think is three times bigger than Central Park in NY.

Couldn’t miss the famous Cibeles fountain. The fountain features the Greek goddess of fertility and nature riding a chariot carried by two lions. This is where the Real Madrid fans gather to celebrate the team’s victories.

We went to the Temple of Debod which is a 2nd century Egyptian temple. It was gifted to Spain, one of the countries to help Egypt salvage precious temples from being lost to flooding when the Aswan dam was built. The temple is set in beautiful gardens with stunning views of Madrid, and from where you can see the Royal Palace and the famous Cathedral Almudena.

The cathedral took almost 100 years to build and it was consecrated by the late Pope in 1993.

We unfortunately didn’t have time to visit the Royal Palace which has more than 3400 rooms and served as the home of the Spanish royal family. It is one of the largest palaces in Europe, twice the size of Buckingham palace or the Palace of Versailles.

The tuk tuk dropped us at Gran Via, sometimes referred to as the “Spanish Broadway” and one of the city’s most important shopping areas. Warren’s credit card got a workout!!

In the evening we went to watch the most amazing Flamenco dancing performance. I didn’t know a lot about flamenco so felt compelled to find out more.

Flamenco is a Spanish art form which combines passionate singing (cante ), guitar playing (toque), and powerful dance (baile). It is a highly emotional art form – dancers use their bodies, facial expressions, and gestures to convey a wide range of feelings, from joy and passion to sadness and despair. 
Flamenco relies on a strong sense of rhythm and a specific rhythmic structure called “compás.” The dancers and musicians work together to create and maintain this rhythmic pulse. 

And we certainly experienced all these aspects of flamenco, performed at Corral de la Moreria.

Finished the evening with supper in the courtyard of our hotel.