Wednesday, November 18, 1998
I took a foot tour of Madrid in the morning, basically following the sights suggested by Fodor's. This included many historical buildings, city parks, plazas, and shopping districts. Madrid did not seem as historic as many other European cities, but very nice in its own way. The parks were large, and the city itself is dotted with many fountains.
Downtown Madrid
Unfortunately, it seems that the off-season is when restoration work is done. Many of the most historic structures throughout Spain were enclosed in scaffolding.
One of many restoration projects in Madrid
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In the afternoon I took the Metro to the Moncloa station and went up the Faro de Moncloa -- it's an odd-shaped 285-foot tower on the campus of a city university. The views of Madrid were spectacular.
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Overlooking Madrid from Faro de Moncloa
That evening I tasted as many Spanish cervezas as humanly possible (at least I tried). So far, Mahou is my favorite. I stumbled around the shopping districts, including El Corte Ingles. Basically this is a mall, but it's all one store. I especially enjoyed looking at the toys.
My evening ended around midnight, long before the Madrilenos evening began. Try as I may, I just can't keep up with their partying lifestyle.
Continue to day 3.