Day 16 -- Madrid

We left our great hotel in Toledo ( Whenever you are in Toledo you should stay at Abazara) and drove to Madrid airport. We dropped off the car and took the Metro into the city. We had to change trains twice, but Madrid metro is so well organized and so clearly marked that it was very easy to get to our destination -- the Opera stop. We got to Plaza de Oriente where our hotel is located but could not find it. We asked at a restaurant but to no avail. I asked a delivery truck driver and he produced a handheld and punched in the name and got us the address (Plaza de Oriente#2). It was 50 ft away but no sign. We entered this beautiful large building and they told us the hotel is on floor 3. This hotel (called Posada Real Manuel) is probably the quirkiest place we have stayed in. It is an enormous, old style converted apartment with 7 rooms. Ours overlooks the plaza with a fantastic view of the Royal Palace and the plaza. The owner, an older gentleman senor Manuel presides over everything. He explained the rules of the house to us and gave us 3 keys -- to the front gate, the apartment and our room and we set out to explore. Madrid is a beautiful city. Lots of parks, wide streets and stunning architecture. We walked and walked and walked -- did half of the historical walk suggested by the guidebook, had a very tasty lunch in an old -style bar/restaurant and then went back to the apartment for a little siesta.
In the afternoon my friend Pepe called and we made arrangements to meet at 9:30 pm.
After meeting Pepe, he took us to his favorite Tapas place called La Trucha located near Teatro Espanol. It is an old traditional tapas bar and it was jam packed. We had a few tapas (fish and tortilla Espanola) + a few drinks at the bar standing up. Pepe said that’s how you eat tapas -- standing up. Then we went to another for more drinks, and then we finished it off in an outdoor place in our plaza with a nightcap. The evening finally ended at 12:30.
Pictures: (1) view from our window on the Palacio Real; (2) the building where our hotel is located; (3) Museo de Jamon --- the Spanish are very serious about their ham.