We did a walking tour on our own today by listening to a Rick Steves audio guide. It was super crowded in the city due to the holiday called Day of Madrid. Lots of people dressed up in costume, stands erected for a parade--it was a bit too much for me, as I don't like being in large crowds. We preserved, however, and survived. :) The tour began in Puerta del Sol, which is one of the main plazas in Madrid. We ate a pastry at one of the shops on the plaza that has been around since the 1800's! We saw lots of cool architecture and statues along the way to Plaza Mayor, which is another famous plaza. They used to hold all kinds of events here, including bull fights, executions, demonstrations, etc. Now it's mostly shops and cafes, with very pricey apartments above them. We stopped off in the Mercado de San Miguel to have a look around--nothing like the Capo Market in Palermo, but still a place I want to go back to visit when I'm hungry! Tons of vendors selling all kinds of food, from sushi to pastries, olives and cheeses of all kinds...lots of tapas and pinchos--the worst part will be choosing what to eat! We visited the famous cathedral called La Almudena--one of the most beautiful and spectacular cathedrals I've ever seen. I could've taken hundreds of pictures, but limited myself to just a few. Wow, just amazing! Right across from the cathedral was the Royal Palace, built back in the 1700's as a residence for the King of Spain, but is now open to the public. It has over 2,000 rooms! We opted not to go in because the ticket line was long, the line to get in was long and we were getting tired at this point. Maybe one day soon. :) We finished our tour and decided to take a break at an outdoor cafe for a coke and to people watch. Huge crowds made that an interesting event. LOL We both decided we'd had enough of the crowds for one day and caught the train back out to the apartment. Another absolutely beautiful day and we enjoyed it by sitting on our huge terrace and relaxing.