Madrid Sept 27

Some views of the stunningly comtemporary cathedral in Madrid

An official function was happening next door at the Palacio Real

And of course you gotta clean up after all those horses!

The Retiro Park

This morning I walked to the modern Madrid cathedral, which I mentioned yesterday. It is built in a neo Gothic style with all the heavy columns and soaring arches of the older cathedrals. The interior, though, is refreshigly different with clean and simple modern lines, bold colorful designs, and bright, somewhat abstract but very recgnizable paintings and stained glass. I loved it and think they really got it right for a contemporary cathedral. I was able to take a lot of photos and hope to have them posted in a few days.

Afterwards, I checked into hostal #2, just north of Gran Via. In the afternoon, I took a walk along Gran Via and Alcala to the north end of Retiro, the large park in Madrid. I walked through the whole park, stopping in a few different spots to read my book. Afterwards, I went back to the Reina Sofia museum again to see what I missed last, plus to view the rest of it again. This museum has Picasso's most famous and moving work, Guernica.

I am still doing a lot of walking, 9 miles yesterday and 12 miles today. I plan to take the bus to Àvila tomorrow.