Vaucluse Dreamer

This morning, every bone in our body wanted to get on the bikes and start pedalling. But for once, we had been sensible.

Having had to dismantle the bikes to transport them, we had been a little nervous that we may have to deal with a few problems, once they had been rebuilt. We also wanted to post the bike bags and a couple of tools back to France, as we really didn’t have room to carry them with us, and it seemed such a waste to consider just throwing them away. Also, we have never visited Madrid, so thought we’d take the opportunity to wander around the city and explore some of the sights.

By just after 9, we were out in search of coffee. If I’m honest, it wasn’t the best of experiences, with a cup of milk that had effectively been stirred with a spoon that may have been dipped in a jar of coffee, at some point in the last year. In fact it was so bad, we couldn’t drink it. After a little walk we found a smaller, specialist coffee shop and sat outside the Opera on a bench with an excellent takeaway and a brioche croissant.

Feeling a little more human, we headed back to the apartment, packed everything we needed to post home, into a box and set off to find the Post Office. That sounds so simple, but it turned into a magical mystery tour. Albeit a very enjoyable one, as it took us on a walk through some very beautiful parts of the city.

We imagined that by searching ‘Post Office near me’ on Google maps that it would identify the Post Offices, but no. The nearest one turned out to be a post box at the back of a park, the second a post box outside a souvenir shop, certainly not somewhere that we would be able to arrange postage for a large parcel.

By now, we had walked past the cathedral de Santa Maria and the Royal Palace, we’d strolled through gardens watching the parakeets and had admired some of the beautiful architecture that makes this a stunning city. Yet we were still carrying our parcel.

Another search showed there was one in the heart of the shopping district. There was even a photo, so surely  this had to be it. Yet when we arrived, there was no sign of it. We walked round the building that was shown, but there was nothing to suggest that it was a Post Office, so we threw in the towel and walked to a nearby Tourist Office kiosk. The chap was very helpful. Yes there is a post office, but the entrance is on the other side of the building.

We found ourselves in what appeared to be a big tech store, and tentatively asked for the Post Office, imagining they would think we were mad. But no. Of course, it’s on the 8th floor!

I don’t think we’ve ever been so happy to buy a stamp, but finally the parcel was on its way back to France and we could start to enjoy the city. Ridiculously, it was almost midday, so we found another coffee shop and had a truly excellent coffee, which restored our faith in Spanish coffee, perked us up and set us up well for an afternoon walking around the city.

We love just walking around cities, taking back streets and getting off the beaten track, as well as trying to take in some of the sights.

With just one day, we don’t have the luxury of time to go into the museums and historic buildings, but walking around we got a real sense of the beauty and elegance of this historic city.

Of course, the Royal Palace and the Cathedral are spectacular buildings, with beautiful stonework and fine detail. The view from the terrace between the two is across woodland towards distant hills, with the built up areas just coming into sight on either side. It gives a real sense that the Palace sits in open countryside, rather than in the heart of a vibrant city.

But it isn’t just these buildings that caught our eye..

We found ourselves captivated by the beautiful old shop fronts

And incredible traditional and specialist shops.. from book-binders

To quill pens ..

And wonderful haberdashery stores with walls filled with drawers & cabinets that reminded me of similar shops when I was a child, over 50 years ago.

At times it felt as if we had stumbled back in time and was utterly charming.

We also found ourselves looking up so much that I’m surprised we didn’t trip over a kerb or a step (believe me, I have a lot of previous for doing this) But the detail in the buildings here draws your eye up and you can’t help but walk along with your head turned skywards.

At the end of many of the streets are views of towers and spires…

Or simply statues that catch the eye…

Yet perhaps some that you’d rather forget! Although there is a historic reason for the rather too realistic sight

There is elegant plasterwork on some buildings…

And on others the facade is a work of art in itself, like here in the Plaza Mayor, just opposite our terrace.

The Plaza Mayor is a spectacular centrepiece to the city, a colonnaded square, with 8 arched entrances. Originally the city’s main market square, it was rebuilt at the end of the 1700s after a fire although some parts pre-date this by almost 200 years.

For us, this has been home for the last 24 hours and we’ll enjoy this evening on our little terrace, watching the world pass by below.

After walking 14km around the city today, we feel we can take a seat and relax ahead of our first day pedalling tomorrow.

We just want to get started now.