Day 2 – The Walking Dead - Part II

… the walk continues. Leaving the Plaza, we just had to do it. Sometimes one just has to admit that they are tourist. We gave the man our Euro and captured these shots of two crazy tourists.

Not far from the Plaza Mayor is the Mercado of San Miquel. This indoor market is a happening place with food (tapas) and wine to die for.

Yes, it is crowded, and yes, there are things most Americans would never consider eating, but what we can say is everything we tasted was amazing. And, of course the wine selection by the glass was unbelievable.

We both chose Godello, one that had been on oak and one that had not. And the winner was… Us! They were both excellent. Unfortunately, we had to walk on.

Walking down to the Palace and the Cathedral, the sun just beat down on us. The street performers were hanging tough in the heat.

We sat on the steps with the palace in the background listening to music in the shade. A couple sips of water and we were back on the road again.

Stopping in the Cathedral we sat quietly while a Mass was finishing. The service was beautiful.

Then it was time to hike to the hotel, we looked at the map and knew that it was not going to be a breeze. In fact, there was no breeze. And our journey began. Madrid is absolutely, beautiful and well kept.

The homeless population is larger than I would have guessed, but unfortunately that is a scar of our times.

Reaching the hotel drenched in sweat, we checked in and cleaned up and headed out once again. Enjoying a light dinner, with of course Sangria. Yes, we are in Spain!

We looked over the city from our balcony and both were sound asleep before the sunset. Over 24 hours without a bed, and 10 miles of walking in over 90 degree temperatures ended with two very weary travelers.

Salamanca Flashback for the ladies of 1972:

Ok girls, you get the couple view with Tom’s great pictures and my edits and/or comments. Just want to let you know that many things have changed from the early 70s in Spain in the fashion world. When we arrived, we had to be careful, think about long skirts, no shoulders showing, and never the legs revealed, or expect consequences. Memories of priests smacking girls legs with sticks if your knees were showing. Well now, the style of clothing is gorgeous and oh my, short shorts and midriffs showing on all the girls! And the girls love to model for pictures! Oh by the way, the guys have awesome shoes and smell great - Janet