Photography

We ended up cancelling one of our day trips (Valley Of The Fallen and El Escorial) so we had an extra day before heading off on the next leg of our journey tomorrow which is Seville.

The sun was up and it was a glorious day so we opted to take another run at Retiro Park since it was overcast and rainy the last two times.

We stopped off at the local Starbucks and I noticed this sign hanging over the station where you doctor up your coffee with cream and sugar and so forth…

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Cynthia and I were rather amused by the warning symbol featuring the purse and the hand…

After getting our coffee we proceeded to the Metro station and rode to Retiro Park. Am I ever glad we went again. The weather was perfect and I was able to re-shoot some things, like the The Fuente de Alcachofa (Artichoke Fountain)

As well as some detail shots…

And, more importantly, The Fountain of the Fallen Angel

I’m particularly fond of this one…

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We continued to wander the park and we saw a puppet show called El diablo y El Panadero

And as we were leaving we noticed the oddest tree

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We set off in search of a vegetarian restaurant that was recommended to us called La Isla Del Tesoro (Treasure Island). As it turns out, it’s health food restaurant and it’s very nice. Certainly not a tourist trap.

Cynthia enjoyed her meal of pasta and zucchini. I had a veggie burger that tasted more like an oatmeal sandwich. Cynthia asked how it was and I said it was “a delightful blend of textures and flavors, some of which resembled food”.

Regardless, it was filling and Cynthia had a good meal so it worked out.

We headed back to the hotel and we took a 2 hour siesta which I really needed as I am starting to feel a little worn around the edges.

Tomorrow is the high speed Ave train to Seville. Should be a nice change of pace for a few days.

In Madrid it’s almost as if smoking is mandatory. Everywhere you go, you see people smoking. With most restaurants offering sidewalk dining there’s no problem sitting down for a meal and lighting up. At one point Cynthia asked the waitress if smoking was allowed (she was concerned I was breaking the rules) and the she looked surprised. She said (in Spanish) that we’re outside, why would you NOT be able to smoke? She seemed dumbfounded.

If it weren’t for the army of sanitation workers patrolling the streets with there brooms, dust-bins and walk-behind mechanical street-sweepers this place might resemble one huge ashtray.

There’s even the local joke that the reason the Spanish Guardia Civil tricornio hat is flat in the back is so it will be easier for them to lean against a wall and smoke without damaging the hat.

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Oddly enough, you can’t buy cigarettes in the local stores. You have to go to specialized tobacco shops to get them or purchase them from a vending machine in a bar. And all tobacco products are labeled with a huge sticker warning you of the hazards of smoking.

Since I am travelling abroad I am taking the opportunity to show my opposition to a certain US foreign policy

Mmmmm….cuban cigars! Viva La Resistencia!

The Rick Steves guide book indicated that the Egyptian Temple of Debod was a good vantage point to catch the sunset in Madrid. Since it is a relatively short walk from the hotel we decided to head out after our siesta and catch it.

When we were there earilier in the day I surmised that as the sun went down the palace and the cathedral would be well lit for a photograph and I was right…

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A small crowd gathered as the sun slowly descended toward the western horizon. It was absolutely beautiful and quite romantic…

Spain is so lovely at night. This is the cathedral that you see in the center of the first picture and is right next to the royal palace

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We grabbed dinner at one of the local restaurants and drank some sangria while chatting with some fellow travellers who were from Toronto, Canada. Oddly enough, all the English speaking tourists we have interacted with have been from Canada.

I’ve visited some of the greatest cathedrals in Europe and they all have their fair share of votive candles. I even lit a candle for my mother while in Notre Dame during our visit to Paris a few years back.

While visiting the cathedral in Toledo I was struck by a significant difference between their votive candles and all the ones I’ve seen previously in my life…

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They’re electric lights. You put your offering in the slot, say a prayer, push a button and a light comes on….

What’s the world coming to?

Today was the day we slated for going to Toledo. It’s about 45 miles away and it’s only 30 minutes via the high speed Ave train which leaves from Atocha Station.

You might recognize the name as it is the location of the al-Qaeda lead train bombings that occurred on March 11th 2004.

In Spain they use 3-11 or 11-M the same way we use 9/11 in the US to describe the day the World Trade Center was attacked and destroyed.

This train station is truly something to behold. The most breathtaking feature is the winter garden that sits in the middle of the station.

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The garden is bordered by a lily pond, replete with turtles and everything!

Cynthia’s Spanish again served us well as we purchased our tickets. I don’t know if we could have pulled that off nearly as easily as we did if she didn’t speak the language.

We boarded the train and in no time at all we were pulling into the station in Toledo.

Rick Steves had indicated in his travel guide that it was a 30 minute walk to the city entrance or you could catch a cab from the station for a few euros. What he did not mention is that there are far fewer cabs than there are people needing them at the station. There must have been 50 people or more waiting in a cab line and I only saw 2 or 3 cabs trickle in before I decided we should walk.

Now keep in mind that Toledo is a walled medieval city on the top of a HUGE hill.

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We walked toward the city, not really knowing where to go and we found an old arched entrance in one of the walls.

As it turned out, this was some kind of “back entrance” to the city. We were greeted by a very steep climb up to the city center of Toledo. Neither of us was all that happy by the time we found our way to the top. We knew there must be an easier way and there is, we just didn’t end up taking it.

Once we caught our breath we set out to explore this incredible city.

The most impressive structure within the well preserved walls of Toledo is the Cathedral of St. Mary.

We made our way down the winding street to the entrance to the church and went inside.

Like many cathedrals, photography is allowed as long as it is without a flash. That is where my high speed lens came in handy and I was able to shoot some pics inside and actually walk away with something worth looking at.

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Gorgeous statues everywhere you look. This one was located on a very dimly lit wall. It was all I could do to hold the camera steady during the 1/5 of a second exposure time needed to get it.

Thank you built in image stabilization!

After we toured the cathedral we jumped on the cheezy mini-train that trundles around the city and took in the rest of the sites. This allowed me to capture a few more worthy shots of the city

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After that Cynthia and I walked down and out (the easy way) and headed back to the train station for our return to Madrid.

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Once back in Madrid we activated our rail passes and made our reservations for the train ride to Seville this Sunday.