Nov 12th - 17th - Madrid

Next stop, Madrid.  We took the train from Seville to Madrid and saw why Spain is the world's biggest producer and exporter of olive oil.  Miles and miles of olive trees.  Half of the world's olive oil comes from Spain.  Also, I have to mention the station in Madrid which is a mini oasis when you arrive.

Madrid is a much bigger city with grander, more majestic buildings - befitting a European capital.  As we explored we discovered nuns selling cookies at their monastery.  They are cloistered, so the whole transaction happens via a large (and old) lazy susan.  Clearly they are cloistered and are unaware of the climate change issues because our cookies came ready to carry in a plastic bag! (In Europe it is becoming extremely hard to find plastic carrier bags).

It seemed everyone had decided to visit Madrid when we did with people everywhere.  Even the huge park (Parque del Retiro) was teeming with people taking a stroll, boating, cycling, enjoying a puppet show, jogging, having a drink, practicing yoga...well just about anything.

Another curious thing was the line to buy lottery tickets.  There were many vendors selling tickets, but one shop consistently drew a crowd.  One time the line of people waiting to enter wrapped around the block and must have been at least 0.5 mile long.

My final take-away from Madrid was the number of statues of men on horses.  There were a lot!