LACruiser88

Last few photos on our last day in Madrid. It is a beautiful city and the people were extremely friendly. We will definitely return! Now to start re-packing...

Will do!

Nicola Furlan, he boarded on Oct 8th and will stay on until January. He moved over from the Regal.

It should have been unless you were married prior to 1894! 🤣🤣🤣

The "La Mallorquina" bakery is a must stop when in Madrid. It is ALWAYS crowded, but definitely worth it. It has been open since 1894! It is in Plaza del Sol. They have been working on erecting this Christmas tree all week in Plaza del Sol. I don't think we will see it finished before we leave Sunday morning.

Today we spent half the day inside the Prado Museum. AMAZING!!! Btw, no photos allowed.

Thanks for the updates, we board on Sunday.

We used Julia Tours. Yes, it was around 9 hrs. It was a long day, but it was worth it to see both locations. We slept well last night!

Madrid, day or night!

Today we had a very busy and long day! We visited Ávila and Segovia. Ávila lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m above sea level, the city is the highest provincial capital in Spain. It is distinctively known by its medieval walls and the birthplace of Saint Teresa. It has complete and prominent medieval town walls. Outside the walls of Ávila Entrance to Ávila Ávila Cathedral Saint Teresa City of Ávila Our next stop was Segovia, known for its elevated aqueduct built by the Romans. The stones are stacked without the use of any mortar. Queen Isabella I was proclaimed queen of Castile in the Cathedral of Segovia in 1474. Cathedral of Segovia The Palace, it was the influence for the Disneyland Castle The Moat, now dry Throne Room All this walking made me thirsty!

Thank you for the kind words! Have a great time in Rome and we will look forward to meeting you! The cruise will be fantastic! 🛳

Going back some years, when Princess owned their own art program, we made quite a few purchases. At that time, their prices were great on quality art work.

Hi! Hope you are enjoying your time in Madrid. I purchased the tickets for Marilyn and me from the website you quoted. For liverno to Florence. It’s Marilyn’s first so she needed the classic ticket for tour guide information. We will see you at the shuttle or liverno bus stop. Thanks again. Flying out of florida tomorrow. Staying in Barcelona 2 nights. Same hotel Gaudi where we stayed last year. See you for cocktail hour on board. @Marshyone Great, we will see you two onboard! Safe travels!

We do it all the time.

Today we made a day trip to the former capital of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain & Portugal), Toledo. The city sits atop a steep-sided mountain surrounded by the Tagus River. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was built in 500 BC by the Romans. We spent quite awhile inside their extremely impressive Cathedral. Having been inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican numerous times, it takes quite a bit to impress us. We were impressed! There are at least a dozen Cardinals entombed inside the Cathedral. No one has an exact number. The Cathedral's spire between the foreground buildings. The front of the Cathedral. The famous ‘Monstrance’, the Custodia de Enrique de Arfe; an extraordinary priceless work of art dating from 1515, made of gold, silver, pearls and other precious gems and weighing in at over 160 kilos! The double organs, on both sides of the photo, and where the choir would sit during mass. The horseshoe shaped choir seating dates back to the 1500's.

So far, we have been in four El Cortes Ingles stores. They are huge! That is where I bought the Turron and my black hat. I have kept Debbie off the level with the high-end bags! 🤣 See you onboard! 🛳

After our food coma tour today and 5 miles of walking, we choose to have dinner tonight at our hotel. We both had grilled octopus in a mole sauce and a very nice tempranillo. Tomorrow, we go to Spain's former capital, Toledo.

Thank you! I no longer travel with a camera. Photos taken with my Samsung Galaxy S21 phone.

A few more photos from today. Plaza Mayor in the background. Plaza Mayor.

Today we had a fantastic time with our Devour Tapas Tour! We visited ten different locations and ate our way throughout. We started with hot chocolate and churros. The chocolate is very thick and not too sweet. The churros were piping hot. This is a typical Spanish breakfast. At Moega, we had traditional Spanish empanadas. Sorry, I forgot to take a photo. 🤷‍♂️ Next stop was the Mercado Anton Martin which has been around for over 100 years. In the Mercado, we started with an olive tasting consisting of 8 different types of olives. Next, Iberian ham. For us pescatarians, it was Manchego cheese. The top end ham was only 189 euros per kilo! Next stop was Casa Gonzalez for a cheese and wine pairing. Luckily for our next stop we walked for about 30 minutes thru Plaza Mayor to the very popular and crowded Casa Revuelta for Spanish tortilla and beer. We needed to walk for awhile to shake off the food coma that we were experiencing! Another 10 minute walk took us to the La Campaña, for their famous calamari sandwich. There were two lines here, each with at least 50 people in each one. Our guide had pre-ordered and brought the sandwiches out to us. We each shared a sandwich, they were DELICIOSO! Our final stop was at El Riojano bakery. The original owner (over 100 years ago) was the private baker for the King of Spain at the Royal Palace. He convinced the King to allow him to "share" his Royal deserts with the masses. The total tour took 4 hours and we had a total of 8 people. Our guide, Andrea, was extremely knowledgeable and shared lots of history as we walked. I would highly recommend Devour Tours. They now have tours in many European cities.

Vines, our favorite! 🍷 Enjoy!

Yesterday, while Debbie was shopping I did some shopping of my own. Whenever in Spain, I stock up on a traditional Christmas treat from my childhood. My maternal grandparents emigrated to Cuba from the Canary Islands in the early 1900's. They always made sure to have "Turrons" available during the Christmas holidays. My parents did the same. Turrón is a southwestern European nougat confection (hard and soft), typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts, and usually shaped into either a rectangular tablet or a round cake. It is frequently consumed as a traditional Christmas dessert in Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Turron always brings me right back to my early memories of Christmas. Thank you for indulging in my Happy memories!

No extra suitcase needed as of yet! 🤣 I'll keep you posted on the remainder of the week!

Hola Vines amigo! That is exactly where we got off the HO-HO bus for the Royal Palace. Amazing location!

Tonight, we had a spectacular tapas dinner! Based on the recommendation of Madrid expert/food critic, James Blick, we dined at La Casa del Abuelo, established in 1906. It is a seafood Lover's paradise! The shrimp in garlic & chili peppers (the house specialty) was truly amazing. As were the grilled baby langostinos, aged Manchego cheese, and house red wine. I would highly recommend this restaurant!!! Debbie was hiding in this photo, behind the wine glass. Btw, even Debbie ate the langostinos whole, tails and heads! I was very proud of her!