10-14 June

Hola! One night in Madrid and already fluent in Spanish. Had fun day in Leith before flew to Spain (we flew to Spain on the 11th). Very nice lunch at a restaurant called Onedin seafood restaurant on George IV Bridge. Enjoyed some lovely mussels in broth and SA enjoyed some cod, a fish he does not eat at home. Visiting cousin sampled some Loch Fynne oysters. All agreed was very good. We then went to the Leith Fair which was on the Leith Links across the road. Favourite part was just wandering around enjoying the community feel. My latest semi- formed view is that this part of Leith is like Glebe. Second favourite part was seeing some owls and hawks;- some sort of wildlife rescue group. Fascinating birds. Went home to pack a few very light summer clothes for Madrid. There are a few things I prefer about living in Australia but one very big advantage of living in Europe is that it took us just under 3 hours to fly to Madrid and that was flying into a headwind. Each packed a small bag, wheeled them onto our easy jet flight and a very short while later, we are in a very different culture. Even the plane trip heralded a change- from reticent Scots to much louder Spaniards. Have two and a half & days in Madrid. Enjoyed a big seafood paella for our first dinner in Madrid at a restaurant with a strange picture of a devil split in half holding a cooking pot. Not sure but food great. Forgot how little English is spoken compared to say Italy and France. Should have brought little language book but am sure will manage. Already taken by architecture. Filigree balconies everywhere, giant fountains in the middle of intersections with roads running off them. Impressive statues of men on horseback with ruff collars. Lots of people out walking before dinner. We managed to wait until 8 for dinner but of course too early for locals. Booked a walking tour for first full day. Feels too short a time for a visit but suspect in part this is due to contrast with oddles of time in Edinburgh. Just finished first full day in Madrid. I learnt from our walking tour that the Hapsburgs ruled Spain for some time- 1500-1700s until they inbred themselves to extinction and the French Bourbon Kings took over. Our walking tour took us through Hapsburg Madrid basically. Saw their main Cathedral that took some 100 years to finish- guide said Spaniards don't like to rush. Also saw the Royal Palace that is apparently the largest in Europe- well has the most rooms. Basically nothing medieval remaining or from the time of the Moors we were told. Were shown a piece of land alongside the cathedral where there was a fountain in the shape of the Star of David, above which is the only surviving section of the city wall from when the Moors ruled and looming above these 2 is the Cathedral. Guide said that all 3 religions lived relatively peacefully under the Moors but the Catholic Church was not happy with this arrangement and decided was a good idea to throw out the Jews and Moors and take charge. Possibly somewhat simplistic but it was only a 3 hour tour that took in a lot. Lucky for me though as Grandmother's family would never have found their way east if hadn't been thrown out. The guide also said no one talks about the Franco era. It was interesting that could find no tourist things about the Franco era as you can in Berlin re. Hitler etc. People were just expected to transition peacefully to democracy and forget the past. People who lost relatives and friends have not been able to find out what happened to them and there are most likely mass graves around, the location of which is not publicised. The guide was also scathing about the level of corruption in government. She was pretty young so given the 50% unemployment rate for young people recently- not surprising she was cynical. Many interpretations of history are of course possible but always interesting to get a locals take on things. Love the street signs- there is the street name with an illustration in a lovely looking tile eg 'Elbow Street' had a picture of an elbow. After tour went to Reina Sofia Museum to see Picasso's Guernica. A giant picture where everyone just stands in silence to stare and absorb it. Very moving painting. Also saw some other Picassos and snuck in some Salvador Dali and Joan Miro. I like the surrealists- so clever and bizarre at the same time. Were going to large city park - Retiro-to sit in shade but in classic tourist style couldn't find entrance. Could see the greenery tantalisingly close but could only seem to walk parallel to it. After a while we decided we were too tired and hot after 3 hours walking tour and visit to museum, so wandered back to hotel via a bar where we re- hydrated. It's around 38 degrees. Will be returning to Scotland with suntan. Also learnt Madrid much like Canberra- formed because of strategic location (in middle of country). A made up city. Probably not the best analogy. It came to me after a cider or 2. Also learnt many buildings may look old but are relatively new- early 20th century. Catholic Church did a good job destroying evidence of all that came before. And I suppose Civil War didn't help. Pity. Lots of shops with such colourful clothing and shoes and great jewellery. Very flamboyant. So different to UK. Cars honking horns, having to boldly stride onto pedestrian crossings, assuming the cars will stop. Reminds me of Italy in that way. Loved a place called Plaza Mayor- large square built in 1600's with various uses over time- markets, bull fights, executions. All the usual. Also like new town hall- huge white gothic looking building although built in 20th century. Disturbingly found we are again staying in a hipster neighbourhood. Not sure how we managed it. Anyway Will will be impressed ( or just sigh in a 'hope you did not embarrass yourself' way). Lots of good cafes, bars etc and not very touristy. The street is called Marlasana - think is known as bohemian area. Good but challenging when attempting to order food as lttle English spoken. No disasters yet. And lots of legs of ham around. And cakes . Madrid likes its food. Had lovely crispy bread with ham and cheese for lunch. Simple but very nice and fresh. Finished the day with tapas. Had calamari, potato dish ( looked like a Spanish scotch egg on a bed of green sauce), fried green tomotoes and a pork dish. Delicious. Sorry Scotland but we agreed on a not so random survey of the 2 of us- Spanish food leaves Scottish food for dead. Second day in Madrid- tried the metro to get to Prado Museum. Easy. Had plan of attack for museum as is vast. Read somewhere to concentrate on Spanish painters so sought out El Greco, Goya and Velasquez. Also viewed some Dutch and Italians.- some Ruben and van dyke and something called 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' by Hieronymous Bosch. Very strange surrealist triptych but painted in 1500's. Esp. taken with El Greco and Goya- very dark ( in style and sometimes content). Had siesta and then visited Salamanca area in afternoon. Upmarket area. Lovely apartments, shops with usual name brands and great deli/ cafe called Mercado ( thanks Cherry). Had another great tapas dinner. Even waited until 9pm to eat. Daring.Enjoyed Madrid more than anticipating. Felt very safe- Safer than Paris or Rome. Relaxed and very pleasant place, great museums and friendly people. Then today ( 14th) caught fast train to Toledo. Easy trip- only 30mins. Toledo is predictably very pretty. Many windy cobbled streets. Definitely lots of medieval architecture here. No idea where we are most of the time- streets very confusing. Visited their huge impressive Cathedral. Spent about an hour there. Many different styles- baroque and gothic with a bit of Muslim influences ( was built on top of a mosque) and a bit of Judaism. We took the audio option- definitely worthwhile. Spain is still so religious in many ways, is necessary to listen to all the religious stories/explanations to get a feel for the culture. We have inadvertently arrived the day before a huge religious procession- the Corpus Christi. The streets are all decorated with flowers, banners, tapestries and chairs line the streets- all chained together. These are reserved by locals and they are often just their household chairs I assume by the look of them. The houses of Toledo have been emptied of chairs it seems. Hoping to see some of the procession tomorrow- should be interesting. The whole town will be watching or participating, so may as well. Found out that Toledo is famous for steel- lots of knives and swords for sale. Not planning on bringing any through customs although cheese knives do look pretty good. Also known for marzipan. Last year we visited Riga in Estonia and they said they were famous for marzipan. And there is the Italians . What's going on. Someone is telling fibs as to who has the best marzipan. Will have to sample some I fear. Delicious tapas dinner- full of locals. SA did excellent job navigating us there ( and choosing the place). One great thing they do here is spray little bits of water over you from little sprinklers affixed above you in the restaurants. Very refreshing. Don't suppose would be allowed at home.Everyone out walking after we finished dinner. Great fun. People selling balloons and very festive atmosphere - getting ready for tomorrow. And how do those little children stay awake so late? 10pm and they are happily wandering around with families. Practice I guess. Glad staying overnight so can experience the evening atmosphere.