Madrid- Palacio National

Saturday, June 14^th, 2025- Madrid, Spain

           We were up at 6 A.M. It was already 69 degrees out and promised to be a scorcher. Coffee and chocolate croissants were a good start. An uber met us at 9:15 A.M for a ride to the Palacio Nationale. (Royal Palace) 13 Euros. We had been advised to buy advance tickets on line and were glad that we had. There was a long line of tourists waiting to enter the place thirty minutes before its ten A.M Opening.

            The Palace is a massive affair. Four stories tall and U-shaped, it surrounds a huge courtyard. Fronting the Palace, is an impressive wrought iron fence, with gold tipped finials. It gave me the impression of a huge Crusader Fortress. The complex sits across from the equally impressive Cathedral of Almudena. Behind the Cathedral is another Art Museum. The crowds were already building.

           We sat outside for a time, watching the considerable streams of visitors that were lining up to enter. The Royal Family of Spain no longer is in residence here. The place is more of a National Museum.

            We gained admittance at ten A.M. The first-floor gallery is lined with administrative offices. Inside the main entrance, a massive two story stair-case leads up to the exhibit rooms. Fortunately, they did have an elevator, that a kindly guard escorted us to.

             The second-story corridors are massive brick walled galleries, with 35’ ceilings and a 30 foot across marble flooring. Large windows sealed the corridor from the massive courtyard. The exhibit rooms run off this spacious corridor.

              The grand ballroom had been built to impress. Parquet floors and gold-gilded mirrors reflected wealth and power. Window washing this sucker must have been a chore.

               The Royal Chapel as a velvet lined, gold-gilded small church, where the royals sat with a good-sized array of retainers to hear services. Gilded statues, and rich fabric walls made it a place of finery.

                The music room was small in size, but contained six Stradavarious musical instruments in glass cases. Each piece was probably valued at over a million Euros. Velvet fabrics and gilt edged everything seemed to be the motif.

              There was a private card room, a billiards parlor and other special purpose rooms. Each was rich in fabric and exotic woods and luxuriously furnished.

               The Royal receiving room was a hoot. The gold edged mirrors and fabric walls surrounded the Royal Thrones in a massive reception hall. This is the room where the Royals received foreign ambassadors. It had been meant as a showcase, to impress visitors with Spanish wealth. It achieved its purpose.

              Like all museums, the route ended in the gift shop. We found an elevator there to a small, second floor  cafeteria. We enjoyed cappuccinos and sparkle water, with muffins. The A/C was delightful. Outside it would reach 100 degrees today.

               Leaving the museum, we were engulfed by crowds of visitors waiting to gain entry. We didn’t want to even try and wade through them to visit the Cathedral. The heat was sauna like. We flagged a cab nearby and asked to be dropped off at the Plaza Mayor, the very heart of the City. It was awash with visitors.

               We snagged a seat at a Starbucks and sipped their delicious brew. All around us, tourists were walking hither and yon. A market across the street had throngs of people buying provender or sipping beers or water. It was a serious people show.

              Through a nearby stone arch we wandered into the Plaza Mayor. Stretching about 100 yads in lengths and half that across, this massive rectangle was lined with shops and restaurants of all types and throngs of people. In the center of the square a single fountain sits.  All around it, small children ran, kicked soccer balls and cavorted in the harsh sun. We found the “Magarit” restaurant. Outside, we sat under a tent. Large tubing spayed cooling mists around us. Augua con gas (sparkle water) was delicious in the heat. A platter of breads and various dips and a wonderful platter of fried calamari were delicious. (28 Euros)

             Beggars, con men and other miscreants circled around seeking advantage. We had one strange incident. We were sitting by the fountain, when a middle-aged couple came nearby, complaining of coins falling from her purse. She set her bag down near us and rummaged through her purse for a few minutes, before sighing and then leaving. We thought nothing of it at the time. But, when we later returned to our hotel, both of our room keys had been wiped clean. Luckily, we had known enough to encase our credit cards in “Farraday sleeves” that protect them from scanners looking to steal the credit information. And this is what I think the “complainers” had been up to. Be aware. The rascals are out there.

             The pedestrian mall leading up to the Plaza was wall to wall people. We walked for several blocks before coming to an intersection, near the Four Seasons Hotel, where four other such pedestrian walkways merged. Each of them was crowded with hundreds of walkers. This area must really rock at night. We walked a few blocks over and flagged a cab. For 10 Euros, we were ferried back to our hotel, happy to be out of the mid-day heat.

                I wrote up my notes and we enjoyed a glass of “tinto vino” in the room and luxuriated in the A/C. My legs weren’t working well that day, so we read and slept for a time. Later, we again enjoyed the Hotel bar for wine and Caesar salads. It had been a nice visit to the Spanish Capital, but we were ready to move on. Tomorrow, we would fly to Lisbon, Portugal and join up with our friends from Spring Run for a river boat cruise on the Duoro River in Northern Portugal.

                                                                      -30-

                                                                (979 words)

                                                          Joseph Xavier Martin