Winter in Madrid

It has been a year since I went to Madrid. I clearly remember it was a pretty last minute trip out of impulse. A week before the trip, I decided the place - Madrid. I have always loved Spanish cities (and I still do, of course). I stayed at Hotel De Las Letras, which is centrally located at Gran Vía. Gran Vía means Great Way in English and is an upscale shopping street located in Central Madrid. I would recommend you to stay at Gran Vía area for your trip to Madrid because all the other main attractions are within 5 - 20 minutes walking distance!

Upon reaching the airport, I took a cab to my hotel. I was conversing in Spanish with the cab driver for a while. Then, as the conversation went on, I had to converse in English instead because it was way over my limited Spanish. Luckily, the cab driver could speak in English. I was told by the cab driver that the weather the next day and the days after that would be very, very, cold and chilly at 11 - 13 degrees Celsius. I was thinking, that's great! It won't be a problem for me, it's like the weather in spring! :)

It was pretty surprising for me because most people do not really speak English in Madrid as compared to Barcelona. Luckily, I already have the knowledge of some basic Spanish. So it wasn't a problem for me when I was asking for directions.

Whenever I visit a city, I would always go to the same places of attractions twice. Once at day time, and another at night. I think the contrasts between day and night are significant. It's as though they have a completely different story to tell.

Which way? Hmmm...

The Metropolis at day time. It is located at Gran Vía and Alcalá Street

 

The Metropolis at night

The famous Telefónica headquarters at Gran Vía

Palacio de Comunicaciones 

Love the architecture

 The Ministry of Economy and Finance

The main Spanish national art museum, Museo del Prado. I spend 2 hours in the museum itself.

Exterior of Museo del Prado. I didn't manage to take any photos while inside the museum because the no-photo-rules were very, very strict. At every corner of the sections, you can see a few guards in very alerted lookout like a hawk.

Nearby the museum

Plaza Mayor de Madrid 

Plaza Mayor with the Casa de la Panadería

The Christmas tree nearby Plaza de Mayor

I had mixed paella in one of the restaurants nearby. Verdict = it was just so-so. The best paella still goes to the restaurant at Palma Mallorca.

One of the metro stations in Madrid. I took the metro to meet my Spanish friend, and we had something very local. I love the food! It was definitely fantastic! I love the Metro stations in Madrid. It's clean, bright and well maintained. 

North facade view of Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena 

Close up 

Courtyard of Palacio Real de Madrid. Palacio Real de Madrid is the official residence of the King of Spain in the city of Madrid.

After dinner on the second night, I went to Mercado de San Miguel. Oh dear, how I wished I did not have my dinner earlier on as Mercado de San Miguel is THE PLACE for good food! Nevertheless after a full dinner, I went on for some desserts and tapas.

Mercado de San Miguel in the afternoon.

This is how it's like at night:

 

 

I love Madrid! The people are friendly even though most of them don't really speak English, and they are more than willing to help when being asked for directions. The food was good, and I loved the places of attractions. It was definitely a refreshing and rejuvenating trip before the start of our one month study break. I would definitely love to go to Madrid again in the future, if time permits :)