We continued wandering after our meal. Plaza de la Villa was the plaza for the town hall and is now a pleasant thoroughfare.
We then came upon the Cathedral of Almudena. When the capitol of Spain was moved from Toledo to Madrid a cathedral was promised by the monarch but other things took priority. The cathedral was started in 1883 and completed in 1993. It was built on the site of a mosque that was destroyed in 1083.
The bronze doors were huge and filled with lots of detail.
The Royal Palace of Madrid was just next door to the cathedral. It was built on the site of a Moorish fortress which burnt down, was rebuilt, burnt down again after expansions and renovations, then the current structure was completed in 1755. I has had additions and renovations twice since. It is the largest royal palace in Europe. It is open for tourists but we did not go this time in Spain.
The Plaza de Oriente is another nice area for people to congregate or saunter through.
We took a break at Helederia Bajocero, an ice cream and hot chocolate shop. We each had the Spanish chocolate which is nice and thick.
We then carried on with our walkabout. Each new street and alleyway had its own uniqueness.
In the evening we had booked a four hour history and tapas tour with Devour. It was our first time using this company for a tour and Issac, our guide, was an exceptional host. We went to a variety of places for some lessons on Spanish and Madrid history mixed in with some tasty delights in a variety of places...including Maison de Champinon! It was delightful and entertaining.
Issac even timed our tour with a wonderful viewpoint for a sunset.
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