Day 113: Madrid, Spain

Well, there isn't much to report about today. We had a day in Madrid to relax and collect ourselves. Ilana ordered great weather for us as we have temps in the mid-90's with absolutely no humidity, and not one cloud in the sky. We ran to do laundry first thing this morning so we don't offend our friends in London with our odor, then the rest of the day was spent relaxing. Ilana ran off to have coffee with her good friend Carolina, and I went back to our hotel and took a nap. Tough day I have to say.

When Ilana got back we hit the pool for a few hours then went out to dinner to another favorite place of ours, which is located in our old hood where we stayed last month. Then we strolled around before heading back to our hotel. We really had a great last full day in Spain


(Our dinner spot. We had a fantastic meat and cheese plate, with a side of ice cold beer.)


(After dinner we strolled into the Palace Hotel. It has this domed lounge that is apparently famous.)


(And the nearby Plaza Canovas del Castillo which has the Fountain of Neptune in the center.)

I also have to publicly admit that I have changed my mind about which city, Madrid or Barcelona, I think is better. Seeing these two cities in one week really highlighted it for me. Madrid wins although I would not discount Barcelona as a great city. Barcelona is a fun town, has a beach, and tons of cools bars, plazas, and streets, but is completely overrun with tourists and does not feel much like a Spanish city at all. As Rudy mentioned, Las Ramblas is kind of like walking through Times Square, and the beach is so packed you'd rather not even go. Now Madrid has much better weather, although it lacks a beach. The lack of humidity here makes the outdoors soooo much more comfortable, which reminds me of California. And the city feels much more relaxed at a good Spanish pace. Needless to say that when I told Ilana of my decision she tore up the divorce papers on the spot. Crisis averted......for now.

FJ