Our final day in Madrid was a bit more low-key than our other days in Spain, but nevertheless, we packed in as much as we could before taking our overnight train to Portugal.
First stop, the Reina Sophia. Although not timed, we bought our tickets in advance to avoid queuing at the museum. Getting there right at opening time was crucial to beat the crowds. Even in early October, there were plenty of tourists and tons of local school groups. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures of the one of the museum’s greatest highlights, Picasso’s Guernica. Worth the price of admission, the artist’s eleven foot by twenty five foot painting depicts the horrors of war, specifically depicting in abstract form the bombing of the Spanish town of Guernica. It truly is a moving piece of art.
The focus of the museum is 20th Century art, and its collection includes paintings by Dali, Miro, Picasso, and more. There is plenty to explore in the halls of the museum.
From the second floor of the museum, you can see the leaves starting to change color.
After a morning touring the Reina Sophia, we spend the afternoon leisurely strolling the city.
Some of our stopped included the Fountain of Neptune. A bit more off the beaten bath, we walked through the Lavapies neighborhood, one of Madrid’s most culturally diverse neighborhoods. We stopped in local favorite Bar Chinaski for a quick drink. This beer bar had brews from NYC, all over Europe, and of course local! From there, we stopped by the Mercado de San Fernando. Although not nearly as fancy as the other food markets we had stopped in, the had some really interesting food and drink stalls.
That being said…we totally took one last stop at the Mercardo de San Miguel for some tapas!
Did you know there is a real Egyptian temple in Madrid? A gift from the Egyptian government, the Temple of Debod sits over the city and it is a prime spot to watch the sunset.
Here’s the famous Tito Pepe sign during the day and at night.
Walking from the temple, we caught the sun’s last rays disappearing behind the Almudena Cathedral. Sadly, our Spanish adventure was coming to an end. We booked at 9PM overnight sleeper train from Madrid to Lisbon, Portugal.
Pretty tight quarters in the train car! Thanks to the blog The Man in Seat Sixty-One, we were prepared to book the right train car. I wouldn’t have wanted to sit in a seat overnight. We went to sleep in Spain…to wake up in Lisbon, Portugal! Stay tuned for up coming blogs on our Portugal leg of our journey.
