The first stop on our trip, Madrid Spain

Our trip to the Iberian peninsula Spain and Portugal allowed us to make our own connections of the walled cities, of centuries past, and the flourishing and exiting metropolises of today.
As our plane descended into the capital city of Spain, Madrid an old ballad began stirring in my mind, "Madrid, Madrid, Madrid, en Mexico se piensa mucho en ti"...a song of my youth composed by one of Mexico's greatest composers Agustin Lara.

Madrid, Madrid, Madrid in Mexico we often think of you...

 In Madrid we took a sightseeing drive along Paseo de la Castellana with its famous fountains in Plaza de Cibeles, a sublime blending of culture, architecture and art.
 

Oh yes, I forgot to mention, Velázquez is a very popular name in Spain, streets,
avenues, parks and buildings are named Velazquez. One of the prominent artist
 of Spain is  Diego Velázquez... just thought it was worth mentioning it.

Before long, we ran into Don Quijote, an old acquaintance of mine, whom I had not saluted since my early years in my Spanish literature class at California State University, Los Angeles. Don Quijote in his outlandish adventures along with his squire, Sancho Panza always tried in is his arbitrary manner to dispense justice.

photo from plaza de España

Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra, the maximum figure in Spanish literature brought his masterpiece Don Quijote de la Mancha to life in 1605 and completed it ten years later.

After an exhilarating  first day in Spain, we returned to our hotel and readied ourselves for a night
in the town and  an exceptional dinner of  "manjares Ibericos".

A typical manhole on the sidewalk, this was is for traffic signals,  We were very impressed;
pedestrians have the right of way and drivers are most courteous.  The traffic lights offer plenty of time
to cross the wide avenues..

Madrid was originally called  Mayrit during the Moorish occupation. In 1083 King Alfonzo I, took Christian control of the city and all symbols of Muslims were removed. In 1561, the Spanish Court was transferred from Toledo to Madrid.
Today it is the seat of the Spanish government,a very lively city and the nerve center of Spain. We found the Madrileños to be warm hearted, helpful and friendly people. They always took time to help us find places or guide us on the right direction. We will have to come back for a longer stay.