Tour Bus

Hello to all.
First and foremeost you should all know that my Camera`s battery died when we took the tour of the city today. Its funny because I checked it  and it had plenty of battery but, it then proceeded to die right when we started the tour. As a result, this post will not have pictures sadly. But, hopefully I can give enough description to today´s activities.

Today we started the tour near the center of town. We got to see those two buildings that I mentioned earlier that are tall and leaning in towards each other. Then we hopped on a double-decker bus without a roof. The nice thing is that the bus was totally dedicated to us. We could sit where we pleased and take in the adventure.We then took a loop where we saw various things like the Madrid version of Fifth Avenue in New York. For those who don´t know Fifth Avenue, its where all the big brand name stores are and its where the wealthy live and have large houses, at least in Madrid. It was very beautiful. I liked the houses. They are right in the city.

After that we went through some other palces and even saw the US Embassy which I must admit was a moment of pride. It`s quite a big complex there. It had the first little building and then opened up into a large and open complex with a courtyard and various other buildings within. Along that same road were various other international embassies and dwellings for international leaders when they come to Madrid. They were all very nice locations.

After that, we made our way to a spot that has an old palace and a very large Cathederal. Both date back hundreds of years and were both breathtakingly beautiful. The palace especially caught my eye. I am still amazed that these people built such buildings without modern technology all those years ago. They used pure man power and pure mechanincs. Same with these huge cathederals that they have in various parts of Spain. They amaze me how they managed to do such things without all the things we have today. So that was a sight to behold. The palace was white with big pointed spires that went up on all parts. It also appears to have had a large courtyard if I´m not mistaken. I only saw it as we drove by. It was great though.

After that we passed toward the most central part of town where there are all kinds of stores and all kinds of other crazy things. They have a huge movie theater at the center of town. I swear that its the biggest I`ve personally seen. It had an enormous screen previewing movies on the outside. Next to it and all around were other various government buildings. Many of which have that same architecture from Roman and Medieval times. The city hall is like a giant palace that appears to have been somewhat of a fort in its time.

One of the coolest things we got to see was an egyptian temple that has been there for 2400 years. Its not in its original form but carries some original parts still. It was a gift from the Egyptians to the Spanish because of a good cooperative realtionship that they enjoyed in those times. It was amazing to think that its been there for two and a half milenia. Imagine the things its seen. I really liked that part of the trip. Then we took a break to walk around it and than headed off to finish the tour. After the tour we went and walked around Madrid as groups and saw some things. Various people bought things and others simply took it all in.

It was an exciting day. I think all had a good time. We hope all is well in the great land of Maryland. Talk to you soon.

                              -Johnathan