Madrid is walkable, quiet, and doesn’t have that many cars. It has laws against making noise, like no honking your horn unless you are trying to avoid an accident. The atmosphere is relaxed and the people friendly. 

 

Madrid is so walkable, I have fist-sized blisters on the pads of both of my feet. I walked 14,000 steps: 10 minutes to the park, 15 minutes to lunch, 10 minutes back to the hotel, 45 minutes shopping, 30 minutes to meet Tad, our oldest son, for tapas, 30 minutes to dinner, and 10 minutes back to the hotel. Warning: Be prepared to eat tapas before every meal. 

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Our 4-day stay in Madrid to see Tad and his fiancée, Diana, at their new apartment turned into a 6-day stay because Margo, our oldest daughter, who is 4 months pregnant, and her husband were coming to visit Tad and Diana. Since Margo and Lou’s baby will be our first grandchild, the delay was an absolute necessity. Dena, our youngest daughter, and her fiancé, Zach, are in the USA  for a 7-day, 200-mile killer bike ride in Crested Butte, CO. 

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Geoff did me the favor of going to the Museum of Madrid and reading the signs alongside the

paintings. In 1560 the King picked Madrid for his home base because it was in the geographic center of Spain, had good water, and a lot of fun bars on street corners. Just joking. The third reason is that it had flour mills to supply the people with flour. As a side note, Diana’s mother’s parents had a flour mill in Porzuna, south of Madrid. 

 

Our delay also served the purpose of giving more reasons to question our pending trip. After schlepping around Madrid in over 97-degree heat, I’m not sure I am physically up for the sightseeing part of travel. Once I have gone shopping, I am exhausted.