Jenny Cristina Barcelona: The Center of Spanish History...

Early Sunday morning, Mom, Dad and I flew to Madrid. Believe it or not, flying was half the price of taking the train! BTW, did I mention we flew out EARLY? Like, "we got up at 3:00 AM" early! But it was worth it when we had the entire day to soak up our first impressions of the capital city of Spain. Hotel Europa was in the perfect spot...right off one of the busiest plazas in Madrid...Puerta del Sol. We were within walking distance of most of the notable sights in Old Madrid like Plaza Mayor and the Royal Palace.

We took in the sights of Puerta del Sol, including the "Tio Pepe" sign, Madrid's first billboard (it's been in the square for over 100 years). Ironically, we saw this sign being taken down just a couple of days later (I will post pics of that later). We are still not sure whether it is permanently gone or whether it just needs a thorough "shining up" and will be up again soon in all its glory!

We had the opportunity to stand on the "kilometer zero" marker...which designates the exact center of Spain's major highways. The symbol of Spain, "El Oso & El Modrono" (The Bear & the Strawberry Tree) is also located in Puerto del Sol.

Plaza Mayor, built in 1619, has been home to a lot of Spanish history...bullfights, fires, royal pageantry and unfortunately, many Inquisition executions were conducted here. Despite its gory past, this plaza has a good vibe these days. There are many cafes and lots of seating lining the perimeter and in general, a lot of fun and revelry being had by everyone. It reminded me a lot of St. Mark's Square in Venice, but thankfully, sans the hundreds of dirty pigeons that dominate St. Mark's...!

We continued our walk to view the outside of the Royal Palace (we will be going inside to tour it on Monday)...and WOW! What a fantastic architectural beauty! My parents have been to Versailles and they said it definitely reminded them of France's royal palace....albeit this palace is a much smaller version. But considering that Madrid's Royal Palace is entirely within the city limits, it is a pretty impressive sight.