After our flight was delayed by 2 hours, we were finally off. Lightning strikes all around Miami. The plane looked like it would be struck at any minute, but 9 hours later we landed.

Made our way to our hotel by taxi.
The Hotel de Las Letras is a nice 4 star property located right in the heart of Madrid on Gran Via. Great room, friendly service.

We changed clothes and although we were groggy from the flight, headed out to explore Madrid. Visited Puerto del Sol, Plaza Mayor, walked through the narrow streets going shop to shop and cafe to cafe (isn't that a Joni Mitchell song?).

We finally ended up at the beautiful Royal Palace (the 3rd largest in Europe after Versailles and Schonnbrun).

Walked a few more miles back a different way and came to a great market called Mercado de San Miguel. Photos attached. Each stall specialized in something different: wine, paella, olives, ice cream - very cool.

After a 2 hour nap back at the hotel, we headed out for dinner, which turned out to be Tapas. Fantastic place that the guy at the front desk of our hotel recommended across the street. The jalapeño brie poppers were fantastic. We wound up at a place called La Meson de Champinion (who knows if I spelled that right) which only serviced every type of mushroom known to man. That came after a brief stop in the Museum of Jambon (ham) which was every kind of ham known to man. Each place we tasted small dishes, then ended up back at the hotel around 1 am.

This morning (Tuesday) we are now getting ready to head off to Toledo. More later. Adios..