Spain {Day 1 ~ Madrid}

On December 14th, I left out for Spain.  I flew in and out of Madrid, but the rest of my trip was primarily in the Andalucia region.  I was very happy to see my checked bag once I arrived in Madrid.  They forgot to scan it when they put it on the plane, so when I checked before taking off, it didn't look like my bag was on board.  Thankfully it was!

I arrived about 8:50 a.m., cleared customs and got my luggage pretty quickly.  I took a taxi into Madrid and arrived way too early for hotel check-in.  They told me they should have a room in about an hour, so I didn't bother to change clothes or freshen up, I just headed out walking.  I walked the very short distance from my hotel to Puerto del Sol.  I looked around and decided I could use some food, and headed to the Chocolateria San Gines...

 After a bit of a line, I got what everyone comes for...  Churros and chocolate.

The churros aren't as sweet as the churros we get here, and the chocolate is definitely not sweet, but very rich.  You dip the churros in the chocolate.  I saw people drinking the chocolate or using a spoon to eat it.  I was only able to use it for dipping...it was too much!

I walked around and killed some more time, and then finally got into my hotel room.  I freshened up, changed clothes, and then headed out on foot.  First stop was the Royal Palace.

 This is Almundena Cathedral, but it was closed for tours because it was Sunday.

 The beginning part of the palace tour allowed photos, but then they didn't allow them further in.

 This is in the Royal Chapel.  Which does not allow photos.  But there wasn't a no photos sign, so I didn't discover it was no photos until I snapped these two and was yelled at (in Spanish of course, but I got the gist).

After touring the Palace, I decided I needed more food, so I went to the Mercado de San Miguel.  It's a wonderful market of food stalls and lots of yummy looking food, but it was so crowded you could barely move.

 I got a couple of the empanadas.  I didn't care for a Salmon one I got, but thought the Carmelized Onion, Cheese, and Honey was really good.

 I then walked to the largest plaza in Madrid, the Plaza Mayor.  They also have a big Christmas market.

 This led to my discovery that Spanish Christmas markets are in general crap (I eventually found two exceptions to this rule).  Like they sell only crap.  You can't even buy an ornament.  But if it's crap you want, you came to the right place.

I wondered around for a bit more time, but ultimately crashed about 7:30 that night.  Given that I had less than 2 hours of sleep on the plane, I decided to get a good night's sleep and hit the ground running the next day.

For my first two nights in Madrid, I stayed at the Hotel Liabeny.  It's in a great location just steps away from the Puerto del Sol.  I think about half of the hotel has been renovated, and they charge more for those rooms.  The renovated room wasn't what I had originally booked, but it was the room that was available first that day, so I upgraded for about $25 per night extra.