The hubby and I hadn't visited any major tourist sites although we were into our second day in Madrid. Our first stop was the Catedral del Nuestra Senora de la Almudena which was located opposite Palacio Real. Honestly, I wasn't impressed with the church and its museum. It's still worth a visit but its beauty is nothing compared to Notre Dame, Duomo, St. Paul's, St Peter's Basilica or even the Catheral in Barcelona.
Next stop was Palacio Real. By the time we were done with the church, there was already a long queue outside the ticketing booth. We waited for about 30 minutes before it was our turn to get the tickets. A man in black suit at the counter asked us where we were from. We said we were from Singapore. And he gladly declared that we would be Europeans for that one day and handed us two entrance tickets to the palace for free! The hubby and I were pleasantly surprised! Apparently, the palace is opened for free to EU citizens on every Wednesday. So we got to save 20 Euros for that day! That was a good start for the day eh.
There are 2800 plus rooms in the palace but only about 50 are opened for the public. We visited several rooms and soon got bored. The initial enthusiasm gradually died off. We found ourselves zipping through room after room towards the end. No doubt, the palace is a magnificent building with opulent rooms, it isn't quite as majestic as the Buckingham Palace. In fact, the Buckingham Palace left such a deep impressive on me, I still think about it sometimes.
The most memorable part of the visit to Palacio Real was the changing of guards ceremony. I was lucky enough to witness it although I only got to see part of it. Marching soldiers, guards on horseback and pipe music - I got them all recorded down with my digicam. I'm going to show it to Gwen and Glenn when I returned home.
The hubby and I also visited the Prado Museum. The museum has a seemingly endless parade of priceless works from Spain and beyond. I may not fully appreciate all of them but my favourite piece is Adam and Eve - 2 separate portraits which makes a complete piece of art. It's so provocatively beautiful. I actually bought 2 sets of Adam and Eve fridge magnets from the musuem souvenir shop. One of them is for my sis. I wonder if she would stick them on the fridge. I'm sure Gwen and Glenn would be so tickled by it.
Plaza Mayor was our last stop for the day. Ringed with numerous cafes and restaurants and packed with people, the arcaded Plaza Mayor is an atmospheric place. There were artists displaying their works and people sitting around at the square soaking up the sun. The hubby and I decided that our aching feet needed a short respite so we sat at a spot doing nothing except enjoying the warmth of the sunshine and each other's company.
Later, we had dinner at one of the restaurants at the square. It was still early for dinner, considering that it was about 7pm then. Dinner usually starts at 8 plus for the locals. So we were the only customers at the restaurant. One quick scan through the menu, we knew we had to order the mixed tapas - a little of everything on the tapas menu. It didn't disappoint us. It was delicious and just the right proportions for the both of us. In fact, it was the best meal we had in Madrid so far.
After dinner, we did some grocery shopping and bought some stuff for Peppy from a pet shop. And when we got back to the hotel, we got a wonderful surprise! We got back our luggage! I was so overwhelmed with joy I thought I was a little hysterical. I even shook hands with the hotel staff while repeating 'Thank you! Thank you!' for several times. To think I was about to give up all hopes of getting my luggage back and then unexpectedly, it was found! Yay!
To whoever who had taken our luggage by mistake, thank you so much! You are a good man or woman! Whatever! Gracias!
While on the way to Plaza Mayor, we saw this candy shop which sells candies of all shapes, sizes and colours. 
Check out the candies. So cute and colourful! I couldn't bring myself to eat them!
One of our favourite shops in Madrid. We saw several such shops which sell all kinds of cheese, smoked meat and sausages. The hubby and I would stand at the display window with our mouths salivating.
The Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Almudena.
View of Palacio Real from the 2nd floor of the cathedral.
I was indeed lucky to witness the changing of guards ceremony although I only saw part of it.
Plaza Mayor. According to the guidebook, the equestrian statue dominating the plaza's centre depicts Felipe III and was placed there in 1848.
We must have tried more than 10 times to take a pic of ourselves at the square. This is one of the better ones we took.
Tapas! We love tapas!!!
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