Our train to Madrid was leaving about 6:00 a.m., so we were up and out into the very cold morning early. We wanted to get to the station in good time, and this paid off because Renfe threw an unexpected curve in the form of a complete security check. They were using an x-ray machine and apparently wanted to sift out the passengers planning to hijack the train at .. scissor point? Well, I guess they had their reasons, but for us it meant pulling all the packs off the bikes and putting them back on. They also changed the track at the last minute, forcing the use of the elevators to go down under the first tracks and up again. Admittedly that was pretty standard, and we were glad to find the train set up just like the one from Valencia - with a level entry and good space to place the bikes. Media Distancia may be hard to find, but when you get one, it seems to work!
We arrived at the Atocha station in Madrid. Its immediate surroundings are just apartment buildings. Perhaps because of the cold, I experienced a kind of a bonk here, and Dodie had to dig out the last of the cookies, plus the thermos of hot coffee to keep me going.
The station is just beside the huge El Retiro park. It's 330 acres of walkways, and has a reasonably sized pond where people can rent rowboats. We hoped it also had lots of birds to photograph, but it turned out to mostly harbour magpies, pigeons and sparrows. The landscaping was exclusively hedges and widely spaced trees, making it all appear rather austere.
We took to the streets, heading for our hotel - the Ibis Budget (only affordable thing in central Madrid). We quickly came to appreciate Madrid not as a large city with streets of speeding traffic, but as a place of neighbourhoods. Bicycles are not really a thing here, but neither are cars. Most people were on foot. There was also no shortage of pleasant buildings. While some of course were spectacular, most were just "nice", and none were ugly.
Here at last is the Plaza Mayor. It was started in 1590, but had to be rebuilt after fires in the 17th and 18th centruries. The oldest building, on the left, is called the Bakery House. It is decorated with frescoes of mythical figures. Some of these paintings are quite recent.
We arrived at this medieval square which is formed by historical buildings. Our guide app explained what they all are, but we really could not figure out what was what.
Throughout this walk, which was about 14 km, I had the dead P950 in a backpack. We were looking for the Correos, to mail it home. People kept telling us that it was in the Corte Ingles, on the top floor. But it turned out that there are about five Corte Ingles buildings sprinkled around downtown. Of course, as always, we found what we wanted in the last place we looked. But we got really tired hunting them all down.
We trudged back through the now familiar and really pleasant streets.
I thought one of the sparrows I had snapped was a new to us Spanish Sparrow, but Dodie (the Sparrow police) declared them all to be House Sparrows. So our 2025 bird count now stands at only 95.
Today's ride: 17 km (11 miles) Total: 72 km (45 miles)
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Bob KoreisAnd here I thought the people of The Great White North were impervious to cold. ;^) Reply to this comment 1 month ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Bob KoreisNah, just dress warmly and try to ignore it. Besides, we have been living on the much warmer west coast for the past 45 years and have grown soft. Reply to this comment 1 month ago
Scott AndersonHooray! And congratulations on arriving with plenty of time to recover if something goes wrong. Reply to this comment 1 month ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonThere is still one more train adventure to overcome tomorrow and then we are into the real cycling portion of the trip. Reply to this comment 1 month ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonThe alarm is set and the timing calculated several times. We are more likley to arrive with way too much time to kill, but we prefer it that way. Reply to this comment 1 month ago
Suzanne GibsonWhat a relief to see that the first two train rides went so well! Good luck on the last one as well! Reply to this comment 1 month ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesWell, we are somehow on the train right now, but man oh man! The blog tonight will describe the challenges they put in our way. Our heart rates are just slowly declining now! Reply to this comment 1 month ago
