We have arrived in Madrid! It was sprinkling rain, but warm, so we had a nice walk through the historic city center. We stopped for some rather amazing fried bacalao at a wood-paneled tavern dating back to 1860, where political rabble rousers of the 19th century plotted against the government, and where the cellar was used as a bomb shelter during the the 1930s Civil War.

We visited the Royal Collection, which included the Caravaggio painting of Salome and the head of John the Baptist, and saw the huge lines leading into the nearby Royal Palace (cuz the admission was free from 4 p.m on today!) Madrid is a walkable city – we passed a plaza where bullfights were once held, a convent where the cloistered nun sell cookies “incognito” via a turntable, and a 15th century square where the hero of the Battle of Lepanto of 1577 has a statue – see above. So much history, so many King Charleses and Ferdinands and Phillips that we will have to get some rest and try to sort them out tomorrow.!