Woke up early enough with aching feet and grateful hearts. We have had such a wonderful Camino experience. However all good things must come to an end we need to get back to Madrid. We have a flight out Saturday night. We head to Paris and have an 18 hour lay over before our Sunday flight to Boston.
We are taking two days in Madrid to see the sights since Dan has never been.
As cities go, Madrid is one of my favorites. Well I guess there are very few cities I don’t like. Madrid is a fashionable well laid out city. It has the classic European architecture that can take your breath away. There are green areas, fountains, and lots of outdoor cafes.
I was able to score a room at the Double Tree Hotel near the Prado Museum. It is easy accessible to all the main sites.
Our 3 1/2 hour bus ride to the city took us through more countryside and parallel to the Camino for a while.
As we rode the bus, my heart was with those many pilgrims who were continuing their journey. I was looking at the beauty of the road they were traveling and wishing I could be experiencing the flowers, the sunshine, the view close up as opposed to from behind the glass window of the bus.
We arrived in Madrid a bit after lunch time. We made our way to the hotel and checked in. We were greeted by the doorman who smiled broadly and asked if he had just finished the Camino. We told him we had and he seem excited and happy to greet and help a couple of weary pilgrims. During check in, we were told that we had been upgraded to a king suite and a couple of other perks. It was nice to see that membership has its privileges. However, it also seemed that the more we assimilated to this new stage of our trip the farther away we were leaving our Pilgrimage.
I was feeling I was internally divided between the comforts and to some luxuries I am used to and the simplicity of living as a pilgrim.
Once we had secured our room, we headed out to explore and grab a bite.
I was so excited to show Dan the Real Madrid. We walked the short distance to the original “patatas bravas” Restaurant where this typical Spanish dish is believed to have originated.
Our meal was delicious and soon we walked around getting to the sites and sounds of a buzzing city.
After waking we headed back to our hotel and we took a siesta and woke up refreshed.
Madrid like most European cities begins to come alive later on as the day gets later. In the evening we had made reservations to go to a typical Spanish “Tablado” where we would watch a group of Flamenco Dancers.
Growing up in El Salvador for the first 10 years of my life, I got to experience a lot of the influence of the Spanish culture. I remember playing that I was a Flamenco Dancer/Bull Fighter.
I have seen Flamenco Dances live several times and I love the passion and precision it takes to tell a story through the art of dance.
As the show began at 10:30 pm, we were lucky enough to have a table close enough to the front. As we enjoyed a bottle of wine, the dancers, guitar player and singer took to the stage the excitement within me grew. Once the few first steps pounded on the wooden floor in rhythm with the guitar I also felt my heart beat in time.
I looked over to Dan and he was just as captivated as I with the beauty of the dance. The experience was beautiful and exhilarating. It was well after midnight as we made our way through crowded streets to our hotel. The streets of Madrid were alive and well with crowds of people enjoying a typical Thursday night.
As we walked into our room ready to get a good night sleep, I realized that we are now a pair of travelers in a new city. We had completely left our pilgrim ways behind.
Tomorrow, we have a new adventure planned. 
NY RedRose 