Breakfast! The most important meal of the day! We had a morning tour scheduled so we got a delicious breakfast across from the hotel and meandered the short route to our meetup.
We met Lexi for an historical walking tour. She is the owner and only guide of her little business. I read about her first on a discussion board on Rick Steve's site, and I'd encourage anyone visiting Madrid to do her tour. Just book early because she keeps her groups pretty small and sells out quickly. Lexi comes from Manchester and is the most adorable history nerd you'll ever meet.
Madrid has been inhabited since the Stone Age but the first documented human activity was a Muslim settlement called Mayrit in the late 9th century. In 1083 Christian king Alfonso VI captured it and the set about fighting to convert the Muslims to Catholicism over the next 800 years. Muslims and those who "converted" were the majority of architects, engineers, and builders, so there is still a strong Muslim presence in the city's architecture as well as in the Catalon language.
The city of Madrid grew when Philip II decided in 1561 the capital needed to move from Toledo in part because he didn't like living so close to the church and high clergy. It was a super sudden decision but because kings get their way, it was decided. Philip's court thought they were just humoring him when they brought him to Madrid because it was so obscure, but he liked the spot. Turns out it was well placed defensively between forests and mountains, with ample water from underground streams. So as the new capital, Madrid went from 20,000 to over 100,000 by the end of the century.
We took a short walk and grabbed lunch before our next visit to the Palacio Real Madrid.
The Palacio Real has an interesting history we also learned from Lexi. The original castle was a 9th century fortress that the people of Madrid loved but the new king Philip V hated. Philip V (grandson of Louis XIV) took the throne in 1700 but he abdicated to his son in order to return home to France. His son died shortly after and Philip V had to return to Spain, not at all happy about it. After ordering the palace be torn down to build a new one he was warned the people would revolt... a couple of years later there was a mysterious Christmas Eve fire in which the palace, empty for the holiday, burned to the ground. Philip V ordered the new Palace built in the identical style and footprint as Versailles, but bigger. He was his grandfather's boy! Ironically he died before it was finished. The original fortress was designed by Muslims, and the lion, a symbol of power and courage figures prominent in Islamic art and architecture and can be seen through the palace.
i would say it is a very toned-down version of Versailles. It is still the official residence of the royal family but is now used only for dinners and ceremonies.
After two weeks watching all the youngsters find their perfect shots, I've learned the pose... trying to keep up with the influencers getting in our way!
One of the extra perks from our tour with Lexi was a Google map with pins for her favorite spots, less touristy. We crammed our way into a little tapas bar--Matador--just around the corner from our hotel--so good!
And Tony tried the Chocolate Caliente! On my list tomorrow!
When we returned home to our hotel we discovered it's set the clocks ahead night! We have to do that AGAIN! They don't like it any better here than we do. But since we have no idea which way is up timewise, it shouldn't bother us too much...
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