Salamanca and La Latina

We went to two totally different neighborhoods today in Madrid. In the morning we went to the Salamanca barrio, which is the upscale shopping and living area. The buildings are nicer and people are dressed to the T. If you are not carrying a Louis Vuitton or carrying a shopping bag from LV, then you are not in the know. People are that fancy on a Wednesday morning! If we moved here I would live in the Salamanca and rock athletic shorts everyday.

We went to the Museo Arqueologico Nacional. They have pieces of ancient history including Egypt and Rome. There were a lot of school groups walking around, but we were mostly happy to be in the air conditioning for an hour and a half while we saw the exhibits.

Some Egypt

For a snack I got the most deliciously gigantic cherries I have ever seen at the Mercado de la Paz. They have more than just fruit including meat, bread, and fish. I took this picture of the shrimp because my dad has talked about how big the shrimp were when he visited Spain. They are definitely bigger than at home.

Mercado Entrance

Giant Gambas

While the city was siesta-ing we went for a swim in our roof top pool. It is up on the 8th floor of our hotel.

In the late afternoon we walked down to the La Latina district. La Latina has a much older feeling with brick buildings crammed together in a small space. We wanted to see the Real Basilica de San Francisco Grande. The nice man in the gift shop sold us tickets and told us to wait by the alter. He said a tour would be coming by in five minutes.

Unfortunately, right after I walked in I noticed the no shorts sign. AHH! But no one said anything, so I kept carrying on with the tour and taking photos. Apparently the Spanish are less strict than the Italians.

The Basilica is one of the most impressive that we have seen on our trip. There are 6 alters off to the side of the main alter. The most famous has a Goya fresco that is still in its original state. The tour was in Spanish, but Syd "translated" for me. I think we both understood about 5% of what was going on, but I did pick up the names of the saints, ect.

Our Spanish Tour Guide on the Alter

Syd Translating

The Frescos on the Ceiling

St. Francis is Featured in the Goya

We have spent a successful three days in Madrid, crossing off all the things I wanted to see. Our plan is to take the train back to Barcelona tomorrow for one night before going to see Vanessa this weekend.