Date of Events : April 25th, 2019.
Just outside the door of Hostal Oriente, where I am staying, it's the Metro Oriente and the Monument Isabel II.
Not that far away was Palacio Real. This Royal Palace of Madrid is one of the largest palaces in Europe with more than 3418 rooms and a large courtyard. It is the largest functioning Royal Palace and in floor space in Europe. The monument in the foreground is Philip IV.
Cathedral de la Almudena is not that old of a Church. The construction of Almudena only began in 1879. The cathedral seems to have been built on the site of a medieval mosque that was destroyed in 1083 when Alfonso VI reconquered Madrid.
The Palace gated courtyard.
The Palace has a function on today and tourists are not permitted inside until after 2pm.
A short distance away from the Palace, is the Plaza Español. In the centre is a very historical monument, monument of Cervantes. And on one side is the copper statue of Don Quijote de la Mocha, a most iconic figure in Spain.
A couple blocks over is the Temple of Debod (Spanish: Templo de Debod ). It is an ancient Egyptian temple that was dismantled and rebuilt in Madrid, Spain. In 1960, due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam and the consequent threat posed by its reservoir to numerous monuments and archeological sites, UNESCO made an international call to save this rich historical legacy. As a sign of gratitude for the help provided by Spain in saving the Abu Simbel temples, the Egyptian state donated the temple of Debod to Spain in 1968. The temple was rebuilt in one of Madrid's parks, the Parque del Oeste, near the Royal Palace of Madrid, and opened to the public in 1972. The reassembled gateways have been placed in a different order than when originally erected. Compared to a photo of the original site, the gateway topped by a serpent-flanked sun was not the closest gateway to the temple proper. It constitutes one of the few works of ancient Egyptian architecture that can be seen outside Egypt and the only one of its kind in Spain.
Puerta de San Vicente, an arch just outside the gardens.
An old Moorish Garden, known as, del Campo del Moro gave lovely views of the back of the palace.
This peacock was quite friendly ... it would walk very close to my feet.
This fountain was not operational, but is in a great location for photo op. Ìt is called the Fuente de Las Conchas.
This was the site of what is called the old water well.
A trail in the Moorish Garden that loops around.
An old urn in the Moorish Garden.
Interesting flowers on this tree.
The peacock again by my feet.
Next stop was Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande. The Royal Basilica of San Francisco el Grande (in Spanish : Real Basílica de san Francisco el Grande ) is a Roman Catholic church in central Madrid, Spain, located in the Barrio (neighborhood) of La Latina. It forms part of the convent of Jesús y María of the Franciscan order. The convent was founded in the 13th century at the site of a chapel.
This fountain seems neglected, and looks like it once was a nice garden. It is called Fuente de Ramon Gomez de la Serna.
La Violetera was a statue in the shadows just outside the small garden mentioned above.
From a different side of the Cathedral de Ntra Sra de la Almudena. It is quite huge.
This is one of the main doors of the Cathedral Almudena. The details are amazing.
Arch above the door.
From an angle you can see the 3D detail on the door.
Statues in the Jardine del Cabo Noval in front of the palace.
The main monument in front of the palace of Phillip IV.
This statue was in front of a monastery. It is called Plaza de la Encarnacion.
This is the Monasterio de la Encarnacion
The Via Grande Street was quite impressive with the buildings.
In this square 4 buildings had the huge wall screens.
Lovely wall mural. A lot of places had tables with books for sale and were quite popular.
A couple police officers on horseback ... seriously waited for light to turn green.
Chariots with horses in rooftop ... amazing.
Interesting rooftop.
Magnificent dome on building.
Puerta del Sol was a very busy square.
For arches to enter Plaza Mayor. A building completely surrounds the square ... I love it.
Back at Puerta del Sol, the two police officers were there on their horses.
And so ends my travels to Spain and Portugal. Tomorrow morning I head back to Nova Scotia. It has been a wonderful journey ... beautiful countries ... beautiful people. I had such amazing experiences ... such a wonderful time ... until next time ... Ciao.