Spain, Day Two

Madrid is a huge city and there is a lot to see. We were lucky enough to have a friend living there to show us around.

We were supposed to meet him at the very famous statue of a bear with the tree. Now, when someone says the words "bear" and "tree" I imagine something huge. However, such big statue, as it was in my mind, was nowhere to be found. We looked and looked but we couldn't find it. We asked everyone but no one knew these words in English. I even tried to explain to people by mimicking the bear and saying "Grrrr".

http://www.ctspanish.com/communities/madrid/bear.htm

Eventually, we met our friend at some square and asked to show us this famous bear. To my surprise, this was a very small statue, surrounded by thousands of tourists. No wonder we weren't able to find it.

We went to a cafe at the top of the department store called El Corte Ingles in the Gran Via street. The view from this cafe is amazing. You can watch the breathtaking view from the glass wall of the cafe or go to a small balcony. The coffee is also good, although there are a bit cheaper places in Madrid. I should also mention that it s a self-service kind of place.

When our friend Bella arrived, we had another stroll around the city centre and of course tried some of the famous churros. Almost every cafe sells them, usually with a chocolate cream.

If you get tired of all the amazing architecture, there is a park called Parque de El Retiro. The park is grand, and in the centre of it, there is a very nice lake and a Crystal Palace. You definitely need a couple of hours to go through the entire park.

After visiting the park we went to Centro Centro Palacio de Cibeles. This building is a museum, but since we were leaving the next day we didn't have enough time to visit it. We only went to the top floor for another breathtaking view of the city.

I wish I also experienced the awesome night life of Madrid. Our plan also included going to this seven storied club that is very popular now. However, after whole day walking it was just not possible.

Instead, we went to the bar that was beneath our apartment. The bar was called "Il morto che parla" which I believe translates as "The dead man who speaks". We drank wine and ate tapas which is basically a portion of couple small sandwiches. I soon found out that almost every bar in Spain has their own version of this snack.

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