We woke up to rain this morning. We decided we would go to Atoche Station and get our train tickets to Valencia. As we made our way there the sun came out and blue skies were punctuated with moody clouds.
We walked around the train station and wanted to see the Atocha station memorial which is a monument that commemorates the 191 victims of the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings and the special forces agent who died when seven suicide bombers blew themselves up on 3 April 2004, but it was closed for maintenance. We hope to get back and see it. The 11 March 2004 bombing is the equivalent of the 9/11 attack in the U.s. and the anniversary is coming up on Monday so they are making ready for that.
Since the sun was out we headed over to Retiro Park to take in the sights. We visited the Fallen Angel Fountain, possibly the only monument to The Devil in the world.
After the fountain we visited the Crystal Palace which is a spectacular glass structure in Retiro Park.
We wandered over to the Monumento Alfonso XII after that.
After touring Retiro Park we took the subway to Puerto Del Sol and walked over to Plaza Mayor.
Right off the main square of Plaza Mayor is a restaurant called Casa Rua which serves the best squid sandwich you can imagine.
After Plaza Mayor we walked west to the Royal Palace, but by now we were getting pretty tired. We turned around and headed back to Puerto Del Sol and caught the subway back to the hotel where we enjoyed a 2 hour mid-afternoon siesta.
When we woke up we walked over to El Corte Ingles to pick up some soft drinks and toiletries.
For the evening we met up with some friends for a leisurely dinner and a few bottles of wine.
All in all, a very good and very productive day. But now we’re beat. It’s near midnight and we’re turning in. Tomorrow is open, but we may try to hit up the museums.