Madrid - an introduction

The On-Off bus is an excellent introduction to any city, and the older we get the more we appreciate this. So by 8.30 am we were on our way to stop 1. The architecture in Madrid is stunning, one could go on photographing beautiful buildings all day, but I will just show you a few.

Not only is the architecture stunning but there are many beautiful large fountains and the gardens are a blaze of well maintained colour.

There is much to please the artistic eye in Madrid. These street signs being one great example.

How about this for a Spanish word?

Finally it was time for some energy food so what better than the popular Spanish churros with chocolate. For this you go to a chocolateria!

The Bear and the Strawberry Tree is the emblem of Madrid. 

With some walking and more difficulty we eventually found the Market of San Miguel. This beautiful old market building has been restored into one huge tapas bar. Being still amateurs at the tapa business we were stunned by the huge variety of tapas for 1 or 2 euros per piece.

Then we had the difficult decision of deciding what to buy. On the left, a stuffed mushroom on grilled sweet capsicum, on a bread base. On the right, a chicken morsel so tasty that you wanted a plate full.

By now it was mid afternoon and time for all Spaniards ( and some mature tourists ) to have a siesta. Actually, I call it blog time!

Later we set off for Buen Retiro Park but got side-tracked by the church of San Jeronimos El Real where they have many paintings from the 1600s. Spanish art is a new thing for us so the names are not familiar. Carducci and Mendez are the notable artists. The photo shows an incredible wall of more modern art, so big that you had to stand on the other side of the church to view it.

From there we found ourselves at the Botanical Gardens, which luckily are free to enter after 5 pm on Tuesdays. Despite being given a good wrap for their scientific works, we found the experience rather weird, many empty beds and many that looked like they were cultivating weeds. I don't  mean lots of weeds, I mean actually growing them.

One interesting feature was the 'insect hotel', a collection of interesting nook and crannies that attract insects to breed.

Time for a cold beer and a mojito before getting to the On-Off bus for a night ride to look at lights. Alas it wasn't dark enough to see any lights. It isn't  dark here until after 10 pm.

Salud!

Travelling, it leaves you speechless ...

This year's travel journal (the old fashioned paper sort) opens with the quote from Ibn Battuta, Moroccan adventurer and traveller ... " Travelling, it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller." 
Daily blogs and other electronic media don't allow enough time for real storytelling even if I had that ability. However I hope you will enjoy my photos and travel snippets over the coming months.

This year we decided to do something different with flights. They say Variety is the Spice of Life, and it has turned out that way for us. We decided to fly to Europe via Japan and what a bonus that was. Our very first upgrade! Although it was a night flight,  all that extra space was wonderful. Thanks JAL, I slept like a baby all night.

From Tokyo we flew with Iberia to Madrid and were lucky enough to both get window seats with a spare seat beside us.

It wasn't  long after leaving Japan that we started the long crossing over Russia and eventually Scandinavia. What a lot of flat barren land there is in this world. Glimpses of snow on the steppes added to the interest for us.

We arrived in Madrid ahead of time, made a seamless transfer to our apartment, and immediately went out to check out our home area for the next eight nights.

First reactions are that Madrid is impressive, architecturally stunning and charming. Our apartment in Huertas is everything we could hope for, and more!

Wall art at Mokoan Rest Stop - northbound

Today we visited the Mokoan Rest Stop - northbound, on the Hume Freeway near Benalla. The only reason was to look at the wall art on the public toilet block, but we were pleased to see that the water tank by the picnic area has also been beautified.

The tank is the work of Reset and is a nod to the nearby Winton Wetlands.

Andrew J. Bourke (aka Sirum) has painted native Australian flowering gum flowers and a white bellied sea eagle on the amenities block. This is beautiful work but sadly some thoughtless graffiti has damaged it on one wall.

Pit stops have never been so entertaining!