Thursday, September 01, 2005
Day 98: Salamanca to Madrid
September 1: So we´re into the final leg of our tour.
Salamanca is beautiful, very historic, nice people... the whole package. Slept in, then had a look into the old buildings of the University. Saw old classrooms, the library, chapel, statues, you name it. Very interesting.
Had a relaxing morning, before boarding the bus and heading back to Madrid.
Lunch was at a petrol station on the side of the road, near to Avila... a town known for its saints, and even more so, its city walls. Great view of the walls from where we stopped. Interesting to see how the whole town was contained within these walls.
Arrived in Madrid in the mid afternoon. Had just enough time to head into the main square and walk down to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Reina Sofia Museum). Really enjoyed walking around looking at famous paintings and sculptures from various artists including Salvador Dali, Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso, among others. Also got to see the famous "Guernica" painting, relating to Picasso's protest of the German bombing of the Basque town during the Spanish Civil Was in 1937. Hired an audioguide so I could understand the major works around the gallery - very useful.
Had a very nice dinner back at the hotel, before heading into town with everyone to an Irish pub, Moore's - just off Plaza Mayor. We also went into "The Bull's Revenge" eatery to see the photos on the wall, where matadors were injured and bulls won the fight... proving they don't always get killed.
In the main square, we also saw the 'toilet paper tunnels' made each night by the homeless people. Hard to describe, but they make them over the grills where the exhaust from the train lines come through so that you get the 'Marilyn Monroe' effect. People then go through the 'tunnel' and pay them money for it.
Our tour manager also celebrated her birthday today...
Salamanca is beautiful, very historic, nice people... the whole package. Slept in, then had a look into the old buildings of the University. Saw old classrooms, the library, chapel, statues, you name it. Very interesting.
Had a relaxing morning, before boarding the bus and heading back to Madrid.
Lunch was at a petrol station on the side of the road, near to Avila... a town known for its saints, and even more so, its city walls. Great view of the walls from where we stopped. Interesting to see how the whole town was contained within these walls.
Arrived in Madrid in the mid afternoon. Had just enough time to head into the main square and walk down to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Reina Sofia Museum). Really enjoyed walking around looking at famous paintings and sculptures from various artists including Salvador Dali, Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso, among others. Also got to see the famous "Guernica" painting, relating to Picasso's protest of the German bombing of the Basque town during the Spanish Civil Was in 1937. Hired an audioguide so I could understand the major works around the gallery - very useful.
Had a very nice dinner back at the hotel, before heading into town with everyone to an Irish pub, Moore's - just off Plaza Mayor. We also went into "The Bull's Revenge" eatery to see the photos on the wall, where matadors were injured and bulls won the fight... proving they don't always get killed.
In the main square, we also saw the 'toilet paper tunnels' made each night by the homeless people. Hard to describe, but they make them over the grills where the exhaust from the train lines come through so that you get the 'Marilyn Monroe' effect. People then go through the 'tunnel' and pay them money for it.
Our tour manager also celebrated her birthday today...
# posted by mishij @ 3:53 AM 
