The interior of the palace was magnificent! Each room was meticulously themed and each unique. The ornately decorated walls and ceilings with matching curtains, many in red and gold, displayed best the image of royalty. It was a pity photos weren't allowed inside. There were eagle-eyed guards in every one of the rooms to make sure no one tried that or did anything funny.
left: Palacio Real
right: Real Armeria (the royal armery)
left: the stairway leading up to the rooms
right: a sneak shot of one of the lavish rooms
Catedral de la Almudena - the exquisite cathedral opposite Palacio Real
We bought food from Burger King and some pastries from this famous patisserie and found a nice sunny spot in Campo del Moro, one of Madrid's huge parks, to have lunch and admire the greens surrounding us.
Our next destination was Templo del Debod. Over 2200 years old, it was a gift of gratitude to Spain by the Egyptian government.
Getting there required us to climb quite a bit. I realised how much my stamina had depleted when I started panting long before we reached the top! The worst thing was that they were trying to fertilize the soil in the vicinity with cow dung and each breath I tried to catch brought in a huge waft of the horrid smell!
Templo del Debod
From there, we made our way to Casa de Campo, Madrid's largest park via the teleferic. We bought a return ticket on the cable car but upon reaching there, we realised that there was a metro stop which serviced the area which was proved to be a more convenient alternative. Nevertheless, during the 11 minute ride on the cable car, 4 over-21s morphed into little kids, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the gorgeous scenery below =)
At Casa De Campo
There seemed to be a fest of some sort over there, with loud, thumping music, open-air hairdressing and hawkers with their humongous woks calling out for business! Happening man! We tried a plate of mashed potatoes and pork knuckle which looked mouth-watering! Not sure if it was at all hygienic though. The hawkers picked out the pieces of pork with their fingers before placing it on our plates. Still, it tasted heavenly and no we didn't get food poisoning! (phew)
what's a day in spain without a siesta? We took a nap by the lake and let ourselves bake in the sun.
As night fell, we headed back to the centre and did a leisurely stroll around.
left: the closest thing to a pasar malam I've seen so far! baked sweet potatoes, corn on the cob and gao lak!!! hahaha
right: this guy is talented and a barrel of laughs
The dancing robot
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