Day 4 - Madrid's Plaza Mayor, Mercado de San Miguel & Palacio Real

Our first morning in Madrid was beautiful...so we walked over to Plaza Mayor. It is a centuries-old square that has hosted every event, from royal weddings to bull fights to executions. Nowadays, however, it just looks like a lot of people eat ice cream there (a lot less bloody and enjoyable).

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Please take note of the beautiful frescoes painted onto the building behind us. [Also of note: it took 38 years for me to care enough about learning the difference between a mural/painting and a fresco. Shockingly, this was not covered in my public school education. Psst- a painting/mural is any large painting on a wall, ceiling or any other large surface, and a fresco is a painting done on a type of stone (i.e. - limestone).

After cruising Plaza Mayor, we wandered around checking out the city. I have to admit that I know almost nothing about architecture (the eras/styles make my head spin), but I still greatly appreciate the beauty of both simple and intricately beautiful buildings.

 

France? England? San Francisco? New York? Spain? Cities have buildings from multiple cultures and generations, so it can be hard to tell if you're not born Michael Graves. ;-)

The Mercado de San Miguel became my favorite spot to visit each day in Madrid (think San Francisco's Ferry Building Marketplace). Organic, locally sourced, fresh gourmet food meant to be eaten while wandering from one stall to the next...

Every day we filled up on chocolate, fruit, gelato, paella, baklava, appetizers, wine (well, some of us did) pastries and bread from this wonderful indoor marketplace.

 

Again, even though I am not a fan of deli meats (or any kind of animal hanging upside down from a hook on the wall), I was fascinated by the country's love of pork. I'm both proud and embarrassed to admit that we ate bacon every single morning we were there. ;-)

After getting our fill at the Mercado, we headed over to the heart of Madrid's political district/square. I loved this door! (You'll see a lot of pictures of doors on this trip.)

We passed a shop called Gepetto's everyday that sold every imaginable type of wooden toy.

Our final destination for the day was a private, English-guided tour of Madrid's Palacio Real...the occasional stomping grounds of the reigning King Carlos & Queen Sofia. The palace has over 2,800 rooms (we toured about 20+ of them)...many of which were so over the top ornate that it made your jaw drop. Trust me, the Spanish Royal Family's digs are not too shabby (I wish I could share it with you, but no pictures were allowed inside).