DAY 64 JULY 28 MADRID, SPAIN

All ABOARD THE AVE!

 High tech and known for speed, the AVE train is our next mode of transport.  No family friendly car for Boca please.  And make sure it's near the bar car with plenty of Bloody Mary's filled with those Extra Virgin Olives please.

 Joe and his never ending back pack and instructions....hasn't he figured out we Taucktorians are hopeless non-listeners.  Ha Ha...to "no" us is to love us.

 Vieve la difference...oh my darling, you are stilling in front of me.  Whew.  Joe, don't let her know she can swivel the seat around to face me....we've had more than enough FACE TIME I can assure you...

 Boca, stop laughing about that poor guy who flipped his tray and for gosh sakes don't take a picture!

A few hours of the great AVAEXPERIENCE and  time to reflect on Spain.  Now I understand in early times, why Spain was a coveted prize for foreign conquerors - Phoenicians, Romans, Moors, Catholic Monarchs, Christian forces....religion and politics ruled these folks like a ping pong ball.  Although the inhabitants of this very varied country have one main thing in common,  a natural sociability and a zest for living.  The Spaniards we have met have been gregarious and welcoming.  Catholicism is still a pervasive influence in spite of waning church attendance of the under 35 set- we so enjoyed the beauty and splendor of the gorgeous Cathedrals.  Hey young folks, there's a reason your forefathers believed and built such churches and monuments to honor God.  Just a thought.

Let's keep in mind in the last 40 years Spain has undergone much social change- until the 1950's, Spain was predominately a poor, rural country, in which only 37% of the population lived in towns over 10,000 and by the 1990's the figure was 65%.  People flooded into towns and the country saw an economic boom, party due to the burgeoning tourist trade (now 10% of country's income)....the Franco the Dictator died in 1975 and things changed...then scandals...then the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and the Expo....still many Basques favor independence...and now high unemployment (although you wouldn't know it from the packed streets) and now a new King.  And anyone who knows this country will tell you that it is the Spanish people's capacity to enjoy life to the fullest that is Spain's greatest asset and attraction.  OLE.  Loving our Spain Experience.


enough thoughting, we're in...


MADRID

The local guide awaited us with bus and info about Madrid.  The capital of  Spain- famous art galleries, a royal palace and grand public squares.  And some very cool architecture...

Off the bus gus for a walk through Plaza Mayor,  Mercado San Miguel and Plaza de Espana...hey, isn't that a stat of Don Quiote, Annie??  Yes, it's the statue of the author Cervantes and Don Quixote ridding his horse while the plump Sancho Panza rides his donkey along side....anybody for spinning windmills??

Let's check out the rest of the square Boca...

A guy's gotta make a living....

Break for lunch...can't let 3 hrs go by with out some chow for the Taucktorians...CAFE DE ORIENTE.  Overlooking the square and palace. Charming spot for MORE VINO in the heat.  Great quality, friendly service and a first class location- across the street from the palace.  Good choice Joe.

COME ON BOCA...TIME TO SEE YOUR SECOND FAVORITE- THE PALACE...the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family but it is only used for state ceremonies these days.  The palace was used by the Royal Family until the abdication of King Alfonso i 1934.  The current royal fam lives at ANOTHER palace out in the burbs.

You got it Blaine!  Oh to be young again...the palace is on the site of a 9th-century fortress and was constructed as an outpost by Muhammad of Cordoba.    New palace needed per the Hapsburg's (1516)- 1,450,000 sq feet and 3,418 rooms later the tourists get to visit.  Loaded with art and fine materials...and renovation.  Ya gotta love those Haps!

Boca, did you hear the guide "NO PICTURES IN THE PALACE????"

HUH?

The staircase is technically not in the palace, right?  This place was certainly built to impress-vast and  lavish.

Pleep couldn't help but sneak a pic of his favorite room....

WESTIN HOTEL

Time to check in...only 108 degrees...everyone is schvitzing.  The Westin Palace was "suggested" by King Alfonso XIII.  Huh?  It took 18 months to build and opened in 1912 and at the time the Hotel Palace was the largest hotel in Europe.  It included a new invention....the telephone in each room.  Love the location....walking distance to what Boca wants to do.

Check in Boca...the hotel is now a part of the Starwood Hotels.  Bubs only cares about a comfy bed but Boca is all about the ambiance and who slept here....Brad Pitt?

Talk about a Tiffany ceiling- wow to the La Rotonda restaurant!  No time to snoop around Boca- get cleaned up and ready to hit the Botin. The Botin?

BOTIN
The Sobrino de Botin founded in 1725, is the oldest restaurant still running in Spain- where is an older one??  The restaurant was founded by a Frenchman and his family still runs it.  If someone has done this year after year for almost 3 centuries they've gotta be doing something right.  Annie, are you wearing your chapeau for protection from the moon light?

Boca peeks in the kitchen...what the???

Yep the Sobrino family specialty is cocinillo assado (roast suckling pig).  Even ol'Ernest Hemingway mentioned it in a novel- The Sun Also Rises.  If its good enough for Ernest...  Some of the waiters have worked here over 40 years.

Annie scampers up the steps to grab a table...the place is an institution and will get mobbed shortly.  Good job Annie!

The gang awaits their suckling oink oink...hey where's the rest of the gang?

Down in the basement?  I guess like in school our reputations preceded us and thought separating the gang was necessary...huh??  A tourist trap for sure but worth a visit if you are a pig aficionado.  Not the place for you Vegans.  Oink Oink.