Madrid

The Spanish do fountains well, and there is a fountain for every important time, place, event, and person in Spanish history. If there is a monument, rest assure, there is a fountain around it to make it prettier. Madrid is no different than the rest of Spain in that respect. There is a fountain or water feature about every 10 feet or so because that is how much history lies within the city boundaries of Madrid. I like fountains as much as the next person. In fact, I would say I like them more than the average person. When I was 10 I checked out no less than 7 books from the library on water gardens and fountains. But I think the whole country of Spain has me beat on love of water features. I didn't think it was possible. I was wrong. All joking aside, Madrid has sooooooo much history. It was incredible, beautiful, and I am continuously blown away by how much history the cities and towns have here. The architecture is unreal and impressive.

Needless to say, Madrid was awesome. I was there for two and a half days but, thanks to my wonderful friend Simon, I was able to see a lot of things in the course of one really fun afternoon.

I met Simon two years ago when he was riding his bike from Fairbanks, Alaska to the tip of Argentina. He couchsurfed at my house in Chanute, KS where I lived at the time. It was so cool to see him again in Madrid. From small town Kansas to Madrid...who would have thought?! He was the best tour guide I could have asked for. Not only is he a fountain (haha...a figurative fountain, not literal) of historical knowledge, he has an impeccable sense of direction (most of the time), and he is really good at monopoly.  Admirable traits, although apparently not sufficient enough to impress flight attendants.

I honestly can't remember the name of everything he showed me, nor can I remember even close to everything he told me about what we saw. I can remember that he pointed out a bank and said that it is unique because if someone tries to rob it and manages to make it past the laser sensors, when they attempt to leave it floods within 10 seconds and the thief drowns.  He also showed me a 3,000 year old gift of temples (naturally surrounded with water and a few fountains) from the Egyptians to Spain. I would tell you more about it but I was mesmerized watching a man blow smoke into giant bubbles while kids popped them. But everything we saw was beautiful and I had a great time. I also went to the Prado and the futbol stadium of  Real Madrid.

Madrid

Food

Cathedral 

Me with a fountain and a palace.

Simon navigating the streets of Madrid.