by Jim Bellomo | Oct 18, 2024 | Uncategorized
Allow me to explain the headline. The photos you see above are pictures of our tour guide both yesterday and, sadly, today. This is Fatima. She is living proof that the Viking guides with talking problems are not limited to the Mediterranean. Long-time readers of this blog know that back in 2022, we did a 21-night cruise with Viking Ocean from Athens to Barcelona. During that cruise, I often complained that it seemed like our guides were being paid by the number of words they spoke.
But last Christmas, we did our first Viking River cruise and did not experience the same problem. All our guides were excellent, and they knew they didn’t have to keep up a constant monologue throughout our entire tour. Our guides on that cruise were some of our best ever. The same was true about our Viking guides on our Norway cruise in June. They were awesome.
Fatima, on this tour, never stopped talking. Those of you who know me personally know that I can be quite a talker. In comparison to Fatima, I am a lousy amateur. And her voice is shrill. Imagine having your tour led by Minnie Mouse with a slightly deeper voice and much more volume than Minnie would ever use. And that person was in your earbud talking to you. No matter how much you turned down the volume…it was shrill.
Right now, I am writing this on a bus that is taking us from Lisbon north to Porto, where we will meet our river boat. Fatima is on board and has not stopped talking since the bus started moving. She is on a microphone, so you can’t avoid her even with headphones in your ears. Not only has she not stopped talking, but she hasn’t even taken a breath, and we have been driving for 20 minutes. If this is my last post of the trip, it’s because I have been talked to death.
But back to yesterday (Thursday—on this trip, it’s hard to remember what day it is). We awoke to some rain, but by the time we had breakfast and boarded our “luxury motor coach” for our tour, the sun was out, and it was a beautiful day for the rest of the day (except for in my ears).
I do need to say something about the “luxury motor coach.” I often make fun of the buses we ride on because they never call them buses; they are always “luxury motor coaches.” But this one really is a LUXURY MOTOR COACH. It is built to hold 51 seats but has only 38. I can actually sit in a regular seat on this bus and cross my legs. It’s amazing. There is WiFi, power, and so much more. The seats are very comfortable, and they recline without killing the person behind you. And because there are only 120 people on a Duoro River cruise (small locks make for small boats), we have four buses taking us north with only 120 people between them. That’s why I can write this while we are moving. I have half a row to myself. And there is room for me to hold a laptop and type comfortably. Amazing!
Another great thing is that these are actual Viking buses, not charters, and they will be with us all week. As we float up and back down the river, they will drive the roads along the river to meet us at our next stop and take us on shore tours. That’s impressive.
Our day yesterday started in the village of Belém. It is the home of the pasteis de Belém (the amazing Portuguese custard tart) and our destination, the Jerónimos Monastery. We arrived at the monastery before it opened and got into a long line of groups who would tour ahead of us. We waited about 45 minutes until the monastery opened, and our group was the fifth one in the group, so that wasn’t too bad. What was kind of a disappointment was the monastery itself. When you go in, you can really only see a big courtyard. Yes, this courtyard has two levels, and you can go up to the second level. As we walked around the courtyard, Fatima kept up a running patter about everything we saw, from the walls to the ceiling to the doors. She did her best to ensure we knew everything we were viewing. I know she did her best because she repeated most of what she told us two or three times.
Once we had circled the courtyard and been in both small rooms on either side, that was it. We were back out on the sidewalk. As a public service, I wanted to walk up the line of the people who were waiting up to two hours to get in and paying almost 20 euros, saying, “IT ISN’T WORTH IT!” but Kathleen wouldn’t let me.
So we were back on the bus and headed to our next stop, the Belém Tower. I had been to see the Tower (which is truly impressive—see the photos) during our December visit. The Tower itself had not changed—it’s been the same since 1515. What had changed was the number of people swarming around it. Fatima told us that October is still the high season in Portugal, which accounts for the massive number of travelers everywhere we look. When I came to take photos in December, I was almost by myself. Yesterday, there were hundreds, if not more. Days like this make me understand why there is such an anti-tourism movement in so many parts of Europe. We totally get it, and this is our last planned trip to Europe for now.
I did get some great photos of the Tower, but I had to work hard (at least Adobe’s AI engine did) to remove most of them from my photos ?. Let’s take a break and take a look. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Some different views of the outside of the monastery.
Really a pretty building.
If regular readers are experiencing déjà vu, you may have seen this building on my posts in December.
It is a beautiful building…
…especially from the outside.
Some great statuary.
And cool towers.
The blue sky helps improve any white tower.
Even the gargoyles stand out.
Here’s the front door.
Inside the front door they already had their Halloween decorations up.
A view of the courtyard of the Monastery.
Inside the courtyard.
These small doors go into the confessionals for the monks.
More inside the courtyard, this time from the second level.
That blue sky kept calling me.
To take more and more photos.
See what I mean.
The other end of the monastery is a maritime museum.
Here’s the very long line of people waiting to go in that I wanted to warn not to bother.
The Belém Tower
Close up.
Look at all these people around the tower. A BUNCH!
But Photoshop helped me get rid of all of them.
The Changing of the Guard at the Military Museum.
The front of the Military Museum. A cool piece of architecture.
By the way, it is now 20 minutes later, and she is still talking. She did take a rest for a few minutes, but that was it. Another thing that she needs to consider is that she says some things that people might find offensive. I don’t care what anyone says, but she has used the word “Christ” a few times as an expletive. That’s offensive to some people. And she spent much time yesterday complaining about people who have driven the prices of housing up in Lisbon, going on and on about “rich people,” not thinking about the fact that, in all likelihood, if a person is on a Viking cruise, they would easily fit into her definition of “rich people.” She spent time decrying people who could afford to live in “million-dollar homes” when most of us already do.
Getting back to yesterday, after we visited the Tower, we drove around the city for about half an hour before heading back to the hotel, where we got lunch in one of their three restaurants. This time, we tried Soul Garden. According to their website, it is the home of “Asian-Mexican” cuisine. I’m not sure I have ever heard that combo before, but we loved the outdoor seating area and thought the menu looked interesting. it worked out well as lunch was so good, so we came back and had a bunch of appetizers for dinner.
Most of our party took naps during the afternoon, but I decided I owed it to my loyal followers to go out and walk to take pictures. And here’s what I got. Enjoy! Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And you know how I feel about people that look at my photography on a phone.
Looking back at our hotel…the Corinthia
And this really cool hotel next door. I like its hat.
On my afternoon walk I passed the Roman aqueduct.
Me being artsy with a window shot.
No plaque marked who this guy is. He was just standing there in all his goldness.
Passed by a residence of someone special in the government.
And a tower.
And a lake where you could get coffee. Look to the right side of the coffee area…
…you will see this group coming. Not sure if they were demonstrating or they were Harry Potter fans.
Back up above this beautiful park looking down towards the harbor.
Looking down on Marquis of Pombal statue.
And a little bit closer to the Marquis of Pombal statue.
It’s him….the Marquis of Pombal
And on the way back to the hotel, a beautiful church.
With some amazing tile.
And a nearby fountain.
We were right in the glide path of the Lisbon airport.
Fatima update: We stopped for a “comfort break,” Now she is talking about Spain and Belgium. WTH does that have to do with Portugal? I am sitting on the aisle at the very back of the bus, and she is facing forward, talking to the windshield with her arms going a mile a minute as she speaks. Did I say speaks? I meant as she yells. We are now getting a lesson in romance languages. We are now getting a lesson on the sounds you only hear in Portugal. It sounds exactly like I do when trying to clear my throat…when I have a nasty cold. Half an hour later, she is still talking. OMG. Everything is how the people in Portugal are the best people in the world, and everything in Portugal is the best in the world. I guess the rest of us are chopped liver.
Right now, she is explaining why parents in Portugal are better than their counterparts around the rest of the world because they don’t put crisps in their schoolchildren’s lunches. Seriously. She is having a conversation with the people directly behind her in full voice on an open microphone, so we all have to listen to her. This is literally torture. It’s sad that the one thing most of us will remember the most from our bus ride to Porto is this woman yelling at us.
I thought I was done with my Victor Mildrew act (hello to my Brit friends), but we just had another patented Viking “fun time.” This is where, in the pouring rain, Viking stops in the middle of a town, tells you that you HAVE to exit the bus, drops you there for an hour or so, and tells you this is “free time.” So there we are, walking around in the rain, getting soaked, all so we don’t get to the University (where we will see a special library) at the same time as any of our other buses. I understand, but why did we have to get out of the bus and walk around in the pouring rain? When I asked Fatima what we were supposed to do for 75 minutes in the pouring rain when Kathleen needed to sit down sometime during that time, she said, “I don’t know. That’s not my problem.”
After our 75-minute walk in the rain (we bought a coffee to have a place to sit), we returned and headed to the Biblioteca Joanina at the University of Coimbra. This is truly a beautiful library, but for me, it was spoiled when our excellent (sarcasm-intended) guide insulted me by calling me out for taking photos in an area designated “no photography.” The problem was that I wasn’t taking pictures, and she called me out on it while speaking to the entire group on our audio devices. So I looked like one of those asshat Americans you hear about. I had my BIG camera at my waist (not holding it up to my face); she looked at me and said, in a very loud voice and on the audio system, “No pictures! You can’t do that!” I turned to her and asked her how dare she speak to me that way. I was in no way taking photos. My camera was pointed down. From that point on, I was the bad guy.
I believe she had a chip on her shoulder about me because I asked her what we could do for an hour in the rain. She was condescending to Kathleen when we told her that Kathleen would not be able to walk up or down the set of stairs to enter the library. All she needed to say was that there was a handicapped entrance (where a local guide helped her in and to sit down while we climbed up and down stairs), but she knew how much I did not appreciate her and had to take it out on my bride.
OK, there were some really good things we liked on the ride north. We stopped for a nice lunch in Coimbra, which was very good for a banquet-style lunch. They included an excellent Fado (the traditional music of Portugal) performance. It’s much better than the one Kathleen and I had seen in Lisbon last December. We are now back on the bus and on our way to the ship. Thankfully, our dear Fatima will be returning to Lisbon and is not a guide we must put up with for the rest of the cruise. And here are the photos I took today. Look at ’em any way you want. Phone, computer, tablet, I don’t care. That’s how ticked off I am right now.
The downtown in Coinbra.
An incredible bakery in downtown Coimbra.
With the world’s largest fruitcake.
And lots of rain and umbrelllas.
And a really cool street.
And a great street leading up to it.
And a cool wall mural
And some great statuary.
Not so much this guy who lost his nose.
But the chapel was pretty.
With a heck of an altarpiece.
And lots of other incredible decoration and art.
Including an organ…
…that we got to hear being played.
Outside there was a view of a cool bridge.
And a very nice square.
Help! She’s talking, and she won’t shut up. —Me, about our Viking guide Fatima in both Lisbon and all the way to Porto
by Jim Bellomo | Oct 16, 2024 | Uncategorized
So we just arrived in Portugal, one of my new favorite countries, but I am not ticked off at the entire country, just their bleeping national airline, TAP-Air Portugal. Why am I so ticked off? Because, as I mentioned in a previous post, I have requested wheelchair assistance for Kathleen on all our flights. Today, we were with TAP, and as soon as we checked in at the Madrid airport, they sent us to a little room where a woman rudely waved at us for about five minutes before acknowledging that we were even standing there. Then she told Kathleen that we would have to wait 20-30 minutes until someone with a wheelchair could come and take her to the gate. She had to sit in a very crowded and tiny waiting area until someone came to take her to the plane. It got so bad that she texted me (there was not enough room for me to sit there with her, but I was nearby but out of sight just outside the room where she was) that maybe she should walk. And it didn’t help that the other four in our party were texting how much they were enjoying the Priority Pass Lounge and its many amenities.
After about half an hour, we finally got someone to take us to the gate. Thank god she had not elected to walk, as it was pretty far out in the terminal and would have just killed her knee. The gentleman who took her out there got us to the gate and left us about a 90-minute wait because our plane was delayed.
But this wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was when we landed in Lisbon. They met us on the jetway just outside the door to the plane. Four people needed wheelchair assistance, including their respective spouses and partners. When all four were off the plane, we were led down the jetway to a (are you ready for this?) freakin’ staircase. They took people who needed wheelchairs down a set of stairs. It was a pretty long set of stairs. Are these people idiots? All four of the folks made it down, but (from the looks on their faces) it was pretty painful. I know it didn’t help Kathleen’s knee at all. Just the day before in Segovia, she had avoided every stair. Then, I made the arrangements for a wheelchair, and they made her walk down a flight of steps. The two people who accompanied us kept saying, “Sorry…it’s not my fault.” Then who the hell’s fault is it? I will NEVER fly TAP Air again. They are total dumb ass idiots. I can’t wait until we fly home from this airport with British Air and see how they handle it. That should be fun.
Then we get to the hotel (we are staying at the Corinthian in Lisbon—which is not our choice but Vikings) and go up to our room, and the bathroom stinks to high heaven. It’s like the person who cleaned the room took a massive…well, you get the picture. Luckily, when the bellman brought our luggage up, we asked him to smell it and see what he thought. He pretty much turned green and immediately got us a new room. We did appreciate that, but I was already ticked about the flight, so this just pissed me off a little more.
I am also not very thrilled at Viking’s choice of hotels. Not because it is a bad hotel. It’s very lovely. But it is out by the airport and a very long way from downtown, where there are places and things to do. And we are here for two nights before we transfer to Porto via “luxury motor coach” with only a three-hour excursion tomorrow. Other than that, we must take a cab/Uber/Bolt into downtown to do anything. The real problem with that is if Kathleen wants to come along and her knee or neuropathy kicks up, she has to come back out here and can only join us later for dinner if I go out and get her. It’s just not a good situation. Not to mention the noise of jets taking off and landing outside our windows.
Thankfully, when we return from the cruise and stay for four days on our own, we will be at our choice of hotel, The Hotel Portugal. We stayed there last December, and it is right in the heart of the city and in the middle of everything you want to see. It’s not a big chain like this, but an excellent little boutique hotel. Mike found it four years ago when he stayed in Lisbon with his son. I am genuinely looking forward to being back in the center of Lisboa.
So, thanks for sticking with me as I rant. It really helps me calm down because when they asked my bride to walk down those stairs, I wanted to throw the smarmy woman, who kept saying it wasn’t her fault and there was nothing she could do, down them first.
PS: I have written to TAP Air via their website complaint form. I will let you know if I even get a response. Thank god they didn’t ask her to walk UP some stairs.
Get mad, then get over it. —Colin Powell
by Jim Bellomo | Oct 15, 2024 | Uncategorized
This was another long day—a very long day. Mike had found us an outstanding tour guide who would take us north to see two incredible places: the monastery at El Escorial and the town (with castle and more) of Segovia.
To start the day, I slept in. I know—me? Sleeping in? Well, it was only until 5:45, but that’s late for me. What was GREAT for me was getting a full night’s sleep after waking up the day before at 1:45 a.m. But that’s why your post for yesterday was delayed.
We met for breakfast at the hotel at 8:00, were picked up by our wonderful driver, Guillermo, at 9:00 and were off in Madrid traffic to our destinations today—the monastery at El Escorial and the town of Segovia. Word of warning here: I took a lot of photos yesterday, and I could not decide which ones I liked the most, so you will be seeing a lot of them.
Guillermo got us to the monastery on time, and our guide for the day, Coral, met us. Her name is Coral (like reefs are made from), but it is pronounced like the OK Corral. No matter how her name sounded, she was excellent. And we had her for the entire day (except lunch), making our experience more personal and engaging.
I could spend a lot of time telling you about the monastery, but it would be easier if you were interested in its significance in Spanish history and checked out their website by clicking here. I will give you the rundown through my photos, and hopefully, that will intrigue you enough to get you to research a little more or perhaps be lucky enough to tour it with Coral someday. So, without further ado, here’s El Escorial in my photos with captions. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
We arrived to find the monastery draped in fog.
But I kind of like the spooky look.
Right inside the door you can see in the previous photos is this courtyard…
…decorated with the usual bunch of…
…interesting, Spanish statues…that seem to have an attitude all their own.
Then we went into the basilica itself..
It is magnificent. This is the enormous organ that was exactly the same on both sides of the church.
The ceiling (as are many ceilings in Europe) was exquisite.
The details is amazing. I thought it was one of the best ceilings I had seen until…
We went upstairs to the library.
Talk about incredibly vivid colors.
We learned that painter, Luca Giordano painted (as did DaVinci) with both hands.
I don’t care how many he used…
…this is incredible.
Here’s some of the beauty close up.
Amazing.
In another room, more of the same.
What a ceiling.
And now down to the crypt where most Spanish monarchs are buried. The first group are the queens who died childless.
Then the graves of royal children who died at birth or while young.
Sad but amazing.
Next different queens and consorts that had produced heirs.
Followed by some special royal family members who got their own special tombs.
So many dead people, so little time.
We then moved up to other rooms in the monastery where we saw this puzzle box.
And a lengthy hallway filled with paintings of a battle or a war…Steve asked but I am still not sure what the answer was.
Zooming in.
A close up of the previous photo.
Back outside the fog was starting to lift.
And blue sky was showing above the monastery.
I need to mention that the most amazing room (for me) was down a narrow, winding set of stairs to the actual burial chamber of the most important Kings and Queens of Spain. No photography was allowed from the time we started down the stairs until we came back up again, but I did steal this photo online so you could see what you missed.
If you’re interested at all, please make sure to click the link to the monastery I posted above.
After we finished touring the monastery, it was time to travel to Segovia, where we would have lunch next to a Roman aqueduct and see the most fantastic castle. The ride from El Escorial to Segovia took about 45 minutes (the ride from Madrid to El Escorial had taken about an hour with traffic). Coral did not come with us in the van but said she would meet us at the restaurant right after lunch.
When we arrived in Segovia, we were going to lunch at Mesón de Candido, a very old restaurant…probably the most famous in Segovia because it sat right at the bottom of the Roman aqueduct. At this point, it is time for some aqueduct and Segovia square photos because words can’t describe it. Maybe my captions can.
It is just an amazing site.
From both sides.
Looking either way.
Mesón de Cándido. The aqueduct is just barely to the left of this photo.
Looking back up the stairs to the center of the village.
A view between two of the pillars.
After lunch, the rains came back…but only for a few moments.
Lunch was wonderful. We ate outside. The only drawback to eating outside in Spain is the smoke. Cigarettes are still prevalent here, especially when around Asian tour groups who seem to have no problem surrounding you with smokers. We were seated under umbrellas in the square, and at one point, when it started drizzling, non-customer tourists surrounded us, many smoking like chimneys. It’s kind of a sad way to ruin a good meal.
After lunch, Coral found us again, and we told her how truly impressive the Segovian aqueduct was to us, and she said, “Just wait.” She wasn’t kidding. Our next stop was a short break to an incredible site below the Alcázar de Segovia castle. This was an authentic medieval castle, but when you see it, you start thinking that maybe someone in Segovia ordered up a Hollywood castle, just like you would see in the movies. Well, it’s not a set. It’s real, and it’s incredible. Not only was the castle impressive, but from there, the views in every direction were astounding. (I know, that’s a lot of superlatives, but look at the photos and tell me I am exaggerating.) Here are the rest of the shots I took in front and inside this amazing edifice.
Once we got in front of the castle, the skies just blew me away.
And you could see them beautifully beind the village.
With the tower of the basilica framing them, just perfect.
See what I mean.
Amazing stuff.
Sorry for so many cloud photos.
It also shows you the weather to the north.
It looked cold and dark.
But wait until I have gotten sick of photographing clouds.
And villages to give you a view in the other direction.
The castle…in the sunshine.
And views in the opposite direction.
The castle demands your complete attention.
From every direction and distance.
But still behind you is the amazing village.
But that castle…
Looking down into the left side of the moat.
And the right side.
And up to a glorious blue sky.
And inside to the armory.
And beautifully tiled rooms.
With incredible stained glass.
Ceilings that went on forever.
Some with Moorish influence.
Finally to the actual room where Columbus presented his plans to Queen Isabella.
The view from the back of the castle.
Reminded me of Tuscany.
This painting of Isabella was impressive.
As was this ceiling.
And ths statuary just beneath it.
All kings but these three.
And more Tuscan-like views.
And amazing altar pieces.
Parapets leading to the smaller towers.
The original city wall can be seen where the modern dirt has slid away.
Below were the formal gardens.
Looking back as we left.
Another tower peeking out.
A group of girls decided this was the perfect place for a fashion photo shoot. Really?
Ah, that village again.
And exiting the castle, the village came into view again.
All I can say to sum up this wonderful day is WOW! From start to finish, we had a fantastic time. A great driver, a very comfortable van (not a “luxury motor coach”), a superb tour guide, a great lunch and so many incredible sights. It was just a totally WOW day.
In Spain, the dead are more alive than the dead of any other country in the world. — Federico Garcia Lorca
by Jim Bellomo | Oct 15, 2024 | Uncategorized
So far on this trip, I have been a very frustrated photographer. It’s not that I haven’t been able to take any photos. On the contrary, I have taken more than 1,000. But what is frustrating is that I have been unable to do my early morning photo walks and get pictures when the light is at its best. Regular readers know I love to shoot during the “blue hour” and the “golden hour.” Well, those barely exist in Madrid or in all of Spain because of a little-known time anomaly. It seems that sometime in the past, the Spaniards were trying to make peace with the British and one of the things they did to show how much they loved all things British was put themselves in the same time zone as Great Britain when actually they should be about a time zone and a half further east. So, if you fly straight north from here, you would be in Warsaw, Poland, but the time here correlates to London. This means that sunrise today was around 8:30 am. That’s too late for me to be out shooting photos when we have to be heading our on tours at 9:00. Yesterday, I was about a mile away and thought it was still around 6:30, and it turned out to be 7:50, and I was supposed to meet the rest of the group for breakfast at 8:00. YIKES…so I walked really fast and barely made it back—only a little late. Let me toss in the early morning shots I did get right here. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
The Four Seasons Hotel. According to their sign, one of the top 50 hotels in the world.
Another building with horses on top.
And a street scene
And another street scene
And another.
And another.
The place for the best hot chocolate and churros in Madrid
A clothing store for the Wicked fans.
The bear and the strawberry tree. Our meeting place for our tour later on.
After we finished the breakfast that I was late for; it was time to leave the hotel for a one-of-a-kind Madrid experience—churros and chocolate. We had heard (YouTube videos) that there were two places famous for their churros and the hot chocolate you dip them into. The oldest and most famous is Chocolatería San Ginés. I found it on my early morning walk, so I led the gang down to try out the churros dipped in what is pretty much melted chocolate. It was awesome. But on the way down, Kathleen’s knee and neuropathy started giving her problems, so she and I walked back up to the hotel (the nearest Uber or Bolt was 20 minutes away) while the rest of the group walked ahead to find our guide for the day.
Speaking of walking, I did a lot of walking yesterday. My Map My Walk/Run app shows that I walked more than ten miles. Some of my walking was for exercise and photography reasons, but we had also booked a walking tour of Madrid through a company called The Tour Guy.
The Tour Guy company is a tour broker who books tours with different companies worldwide to do tours in a particular place…in this case, Madrid. Mike had used them before in other locations. Those who have read my posts in the past, you know that I am a massive fan of Tours by Locals, but since Mike had booked with them before, we went with them. I made the booking because if you are booking with The Tour Guy for the first time, you get a discount.
Our tour was assigned to a company called Touring Pandas. Even though we got a local guide, I did some checking this morning and the tour company we were brokered out to is based in Korea. That in itself is interesting.
I say all this to preface that we had a good tour guide. Her name was Taylor, and she is from Newcastle, England. She spoke with a beautiful British accent and has lived in Madrid for four years. She knew all about the city and shared great tips with us for food and drink after the tour.
The two anchor spots of this tour (places you really want to see and learn more about) are the Royal Palace and the Prado Art Museum. So we started by walking around, catching fun and exciting parts of Madrid between our meeting spot in the Puerta Del Sol and our big morning stop, the Palace. Everything was great right up until that point.
Then, the big surprise. Taylor told us that after we got in (with our pre-paid tickets—buy yours before you go because otherwise, the wait is very long), we could rent audio guides that would take us through the entire Palace. Mike said, “Well, we won’t need those since you will give us a live tour.” Taylor said, “No, I don’t come in with you. I’ll leave you here to tour the Palace and then have lunch on your own. I will meet you in a park on the other side of Madrid at 3:00 pm. We will tour the park, and then I will take you to the Prado, where you have pre-reserved tickets, and you will tour The Prado on your own as well.” You could have knocked me over with a feather. I know Mike was surprised as well. We had paid for an eight-hour tour (it says that on our reservation), but this meant we were getting about a three-hour tour.
That’s different from what we were looking for. We wanted what we had the day before with Fernando in Toledo: a guide who was with us from the time we got out of our van until we finished at the end of the day, who took us into museums and cathedrals and didn’t just drop us off outside of them.
But when Taylor arrived on time, she told us a lot about the Plaza del Sol, where the tour started, and the Bear and Strawberry Tree statue where we met. Then we left the plaza and headed towards Plaza Mayor, The Mercado, the Basilica, and finally winding up at the Palace, where we had tickets to the tour that I mentioned above. At this point, I was feeling bad about Kathleen being stuck in the hotel all by herself, and I knew she wouldn’t want to go out to lunch alone, so I decided to buzz through the Palace fairly quickly and head back to the hotel to take her out to lunch somewhere near the hotel while the rest of the group took a leisurely stroll through on their tour. Here are my photos from the morning part of the tour and my zoom through the Palace (the photo at the top of this page is the Spanish throne room). Enjoy, and you know the drill.
A very happy cow on a door next to our hotel.
The Tio Pepe sign, a Madrid icon.
And a statue in the square. Or should I say that every plaza has a statue?
There were signs like this on many buildings, indicating that a famous person had lived there once.
Loved this hotel, one of Madrid’s oldest.
Taylor, our guide.
Street signs in Madrid have related art. This is Elbow Street.
Not sure what kind of business this store does but all they sell is statues of people doing this in various sizes.
Restaurants with a plaque on the sidewalk outside of them have been there for 100 years or more.
A dog outside the Palace.
A great view of the Basilica.
And lion with attitude that I liked.
Inside the Palace, a statue of the inbred king. Too many married cousins in his lineage.
The massive staircase in the Palace.
The grand dining room
Palace Art.
Palace Room.
Another interesting Palace Room.
The Royal Family portrait a few years ago. The older man was the king. He has now abdicated to his son, the tall man on the right.
I should say that it was INCREDIBLY difficult to buzz through the Palace because it has a lot of choke points where the thousands of Asian tour groups just seemed to stop to listen to their guide in their earpieces…but at least they had a guide.
After I finally got out of there, I was off to the hotel and surprised Kathleen by taking her to an Italian place just down the block from the hotel so she didn’t have to walk very far. We had a nice lunch, and then after I got her back to the hotel, I walked off to meet up with Taylor and the rest of the gang at El Retiro Park, which is Madrid’s answer to New York’s Central Park. It is truly a beautiful place, as I hope you will see in my photos. By the way, the weather yesterday was hit or miss. It started out OK, switched to cloudy and cool, the sun finally came out, and within 20 minutes, it was threatening rain again. Go figure.
When I got to El Retiro Park, Taylor walked us around, saying she would take us to the Prado and drop us off there. To be honest, at that point I had been up since 1:30 am, I had walked more than nine miles and I am not that big a fan of Spanish art. So I bid my farewells and walked my way back to the hotel. The other four of our group had a very nice time seeing the Prado and made it back in time for all of us to go out for tapas at another place down the street. They have excellent food and what has become a favorite drink, vermouth on the rocks with lemon. We are sitting on our bed at the hotel (after our day—today—in Segovia—more about that tomorrow), drinking two of them. Let’s finish up our day in Madrid with my afternoon photos. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Saw this group of street musicians on the way back to meet the group in El Retiro Park.
And this lion.
And these cherubs.
They each represent a different virtue of childhood.
Darned if I can remember which virtue.
But they are kind of cool.
Taylor told us this is the “Galapagos Fountain” because the famous Galapagos turtles are in it. Except it’s Galapagos tortoises.
A beautiful, man-made created by a king to hold mock naval battles.
A lion protecting the lake.
Another view.
This musician plays music by rubbing glasses. He was playing the theme from Harry Potter.
But he sneaked a look at me when I tipped him. Always tip your models.
The artichoke fountain.
Another great Spanish statue with attitude.
I used to have friends who owned a store called The Black Swan. I thought it was a myth.
Madrid’s version of the Arc de Triumph.
And the statues around it.
And lastly…the Metropolis Hotel.
That about did it for our day in Madrid. Today (I am writing this at about 8:00 pm on Tuesday), we were in Segovia, and it was AWESOME! We fly to Lisbon tomorrow to start our Viking portion of the trip tomorrow. More about all of that soon.
I never heard anyone say anything bad about Madrid. —Antonio Ruddier
by Jim Bellomo | Oct 13, 2024 | Uncategorized
I know. How can anyone be transfixed by Toledo? When it’s Toledo, Spain, that’s easy. Yesterday, that was our destination. Mike had arranged a tour through Destina Toledo for a full day excursion to Toledo, including round-trip transportation to and from our hotel here in Madrid and one of the best guides we have ever toured with (and that’s a lot of guides!).
We were waiting at the door of the hotel’s breakfast room when it opened at 8:00 a.m., had another excellent breakfast, got our stuff, and our driver met us right outside the hotel. It’s around a one-hour drive without traffic to Toledo, and since it was fairly early on a Sunday morning, we didn’t have any traffic at all. So quick as a flash, we were pulling into Toledo, where we met our incredible guide, Fernando.
Fernando and our driver did a wonderful job mixing touring in our luxury Mercedes van with walking. This really helps in a city built on a hill. Kathleen told me that when she first saw the city from far away, she was sure that she would be spending most of the day in the van. But it worked out reasonably well, and her knee was able to handle the walking that we did. It was pretty sore when we got back, so she iced it up and took her pain pill, and hopefully, she will be OK for today’s tour of Madrid.
When we met Fernando, he first suggested we hop out of the van and take photos of the entrance gate to the city. That’s the photo you see at the top of this post. Then it was back in the van and up the hill to two incredible viewpoints. One that showed us the Tagus River as it wound around the outside of Toledo, forming a natural moat-like boundary that repelled many a historical enemy of the city. Then, it was to a hill where the entire city was visible. Of course, Fernando was also willing to be our photographer by taking the whole group’s photo with this amazing city in the background. 
Here are a few more photos I took at these first two stops. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Our first stop was below the city along the Tagus River
There was an area below the parking spot where I went to get his photo of the group.
The amazing Fernando relates some Toledo history to my little brother.
Looking down the river from this viewpoint.
And back up to the city again.
And again.
And again.
There are so many different ways to view the city from this point.
Then, we headed up to the overlook above the city.
Where the views were spectacular.
We would later tour this cathedral.
Looking down at some ancient Roman ruins.
Fernando told us that this section of the city was the most important because his mother-in-law lives there.
People fish in the river, but swimming is prohibited due to pollution. Not sure I want to eat those fish.
But even though the water is muddy, it is still beautiful.
Fernando explains the geography to a rapt audience.
Of course, we had to take an usie.
After our viewpoint stops, we headed back down the hill on the opposite side to begin our walking tour through the Jewish Quarter of old Toledo. It included some pretty interesting stuff: a Jewish synagogue, Jesus playing with his hula-hoop, a statue in white face, the world’s largest (as verified by the Guinness Book of World Records) marzipan statue and an art museum with a single painting by Toledo’s native son—El Greco. I think I can say this part a whole lot better in photos. You know my spiel. No phones! Slide show…etc.
Our next stop was further down the river next to a very old bridge.
It leads into the upper part of the city.
Very picturesque!
In many ways.
While on the bridge, the sun hit this building on the hill next to us just perfectly.
After crossing the bridge it was back in the car and further up the hill to a church where we saw these shackles depicting free slaves on the outside of a church.
We also saw an unusual statue of Jesus playing with a hula-hoop.
And a repaired statue in white-face.
The walls of the old Jewish synagogue were painted in this pattern.
And the ceiling was simple but complex.
Further up the road we stopped at another church.
This was above the altar.
The dome was beautiful.
This one had some interesting decorations.
Including this captioned saint on what looks like an old billboard.
Some interesting statuary.
As well as an ancient tablet.
Hiking down on our way to lunch, we passed this villa that I took a liking to.
We visited a bakery where we saw this Don Quixote sculpture, made completely from marzipan.
And this long bricked street (yes, street!)
El Greco’s “The Burial of the Count of Orgaz.” A single painting in a one-painting museum.
After all that touring, we were getting pretty hungry, and to our total amazement (and Fernando’s skill), we wound up standing in front of the restaurant where I had made our lunch reservations at exactly 1:00 pm when they opened. The place is called Clandestine. We were quickly seated, met our server Jamie, and began a lunch that I will rank among this year’s top ten dining experiences. The eatery had come from a recommendation the tour company had sent us before, so we were still determining what to expect, but we got more food, wine and laughter than we deserved. There was so much food that no one ate again for the rest of that day and night. We were too full. We started with a beautiful Spanish rioja. The wine, which we intend to look for at home, was perfect. It was so perfect that we had to order another bottle. They then brought us a bowl of some of the best Spanish olives we have ever had and some whole-grain bread that we could dip into their incredible olive oil (at that point, the olive oil was the star of my meal). Jamie (the waiter—not to be confused with my sister-in-law Jamie) made some great recommendations, and we wound up with some superb entrées. Check out the photos below. Feel free to look at any of our food shots on your phone. That’s how we took them. Oh, and the desserts (which we split) were also excellent.
It’s an amazing wine. If you are serving Spanish food, you must find this wine.
Steve and Mike had the Boar Cheeks.
Kathleen, Jamie and I had the pork. OMG—that sauce.
Then, Steve and Jamie’s dessert, which the restaurant called french toast, was like eating a single piece of bread pudding.
Mike, Cathy, Kathleen and I tried the Manchego cheesecake. I have never had anything like it.
After lunch, it was down the hill to visit our last stop, the main cathedral of Toledo. This was the highlight for Mike because he loves taking pictures of churches. My other best friend (hi Bob) and I love kidding him about all the church photos. If you don’t believe me, wait until we are back and he posts his review/report of this trip, and you will see what I mean. I promise to come back and tell you when he does so you can see more of this incredible church. In the meantime, here are a few photos from your humble photographer ?.
On the way to the cathedral we passed…
this beautiful sculpture at the top of a building…
these three beautiful women standing in the street…
…a nice view of a another church…
a very cool street musician…
another lovely Toledo street…
…a really cool but really BIG door.
How big? My brother is holding the knocker.
And finally the square where we can see the capitol building and if we turn around…
…the processional entrance to the cathedral.
With some interesting sculptures.
With my long lens, I like doing close ups of interesting parts of the sculptures.
For instance, this depiction of The Last Supper.
With Judas and his bag of money.
And these two bishops…doesn’t the guy on the right seem surprised by what’s in the book?
And a beutiful bell tower.
Andems. the church to go along with it.
And some really fun lions.
And then we were inside.
With the many religous artifacts.
Some incredibly impressive.
Stained glass everywhere. This one above the ceremonial door.
Other beautiful art.
Maybe the most beautiful monstrance I have ever seen.
The main altar was behind locked gates. Mike will have a better photo.
This was above the choir loft.
A close up of it.
Also above the choir loft was this immense pipe organ.
Inside the sacristy.
Where there is also a huge El Greco painting.
This is an incredible window with sculptures all around it, letting in light to shine on the back of the altar area.
Truly amazing.
This is where the light from that window shines.
After we were done inside (we were there for more than an hour), we went back outside to the square behind the cathedral to wait for our driver to pick us up. While we were waiting, there were throngs of people all around us, and with nothing better for me to do, I engaged in one of my favorite things—street photography. So here I present random shots of people who, one day (long after I am gone), my kids will wonder, “Who the hell are these people?” ?.
Sorry, no captions. Just the faces of Toledo visitors. Some I liked more than others, but all were good subjects. I took about three times as many as you see here. And one fellow perfectly typified how we all felt at the end of our very long day in Toledo. And here he is. 
We got back to Madrid between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m., and I made the mistake of trying to work through all my photos and then falling asleep before 7:30 (I think we are all still adjusting to the time change). However, that turned out OK because I woke up at 2:00 a.m., finished the photos and wrote this post.
In summary, if you come to Madrid, go to Toledo, be guided by Fernando, have lunch at Clandestine, ask to sit at Jamie’s table, drink the right rioja, and take some great photos, you will (as we did) have had an awesome day.
Spain is a fascinating mix of people, languages, culture and food, but if there is one thing all Spaniards share, it’s a love of food and drink. —Jose Andres
