Hola a todos!!!
Hi to everybody!!!
Herkese merhaba!!!
Me and my best friend Serpil :)
We arrived Madrid at 5 p.m. and took a taxi from the airtport to come to the city centre. At six o'clock we checked in our room on Gran Via 63. It is not easy to find the hotel building, because it is a normal building with no signs on which written a word about our hotel name. After a bit hesitation, we entered the building and the man on the first floor sent us to the fifth floor, which is the hotel :)
It was good, but not what I had expected :(
After we left our luggages to our rooms, we have changed our clothes and we went a sigtseeing around the city centre. We started our tour with the nearest place next to our hotel: PLAZA ESPANA...It is one of the most famous places in Madrid and there were a lot of people around. We blended with in the crowd, it was fun to be there after a long journey.
While we were walking, we saw a green park and walked through in. The weather was sunny, everybody was enjoying themselves and there were a lot of people having great time and enjoying the sun.
While we were in the park
After a while we continued walking, because we wanted to go other famous places which are really near our hotel before the weather gets dark.
And....
Our first destination was PALACIO REAL (Madrid Kraliyet Sarayı, in Turkish:)
It was huge, really huge guys! But of course everybody who goes Madrid should see this building. Because, this building belongs to Royal family. They do not live here of course. However, they sometimes have celebrations and ceremonies here. You can see how huge it is when you look at my photos below:
Next to Palacio Real, you will see another huge cathedral which belongs to Royal family again. The cathedral and the Palace are located in the same square. Its name is CATHEDRAL DE LA ALMUDENA. And if you are curious about the history of it, I can shortly tell you about it.
When the capital of Spain was transferred from Toledo to Madrid in 1561, the seat of the church in Spain remained in Toledo and the new capital had no cathedral. Plans to build a cathedral continued but the construction of this building was started in 1879. The cathedral seems to have been built on the site of a medieval mosque that was destroyed in 1083, when Alfonso VI reconquered Madrid. Francisco de Cubas, the Marquis of Cubas, designed and directed the construction in a Gothic revival style. Construction ceased completely during the Spanish Civi War, and the project was abandoned until 1950, when Fernando Chueca Goithia adapted the plans of the Cubas to a baroque exterior to match the grey and white façade of the Palacio Real, which stands directly opposite. The cathedral was not completed until 1993, when it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II. On May 22, 2004, the marriage of King Felipe VI, then crown prince, to Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano took place at the cathderal.
And next destination was Plaza Mayor... From Cathedral to Plaza Mayor we entered most of the souvenirshops and bought lots of presents for our families and friends. And the most interesting souvenirshop was Gepetto's shop. It was fun :)
Madrid is really a crowded city with its 6,3 million people living here. In fact, Madrid is like Ankara, the capital of Turkey. In the heart of Madrid, PLAZA MAYOR, you will see different people whom you can take a photo with:
You can watch the video of the square below:
https://youtu.be/SkeOIuhFT5A
If you continue walking, you will see Puerta Del Sol. It is anonther famous place in Madrid... You should absolutely see it.
That is enough for the first day, because we were really tired and wanted to have a rest in our rooms in the hotel. Let's go back to our hotel...
Next to Palacio Real, you will see another huge cathedral which belongs to Royal family again. The cathedral and the Palace are located in the same square. Its name is CATHEDRAL DE LA ALMUDENA. And if you are curious about the history of it, I can shortly tell you about it.
When the capital of Spain was transferred from Toledo to Madrid in 1561, the seat of the church in Spain remained in Toledo and the new capital had no cathedral. Plans to build a cathedral continued but the construction of this building was started in 1879. The cathedral seems to have been built on the site of a medieval mosque that was destroyed in 1083, when Alfonso VI reconquered Madrid. Francisco de Cubas, the Marquis of Cubas, designed and directed the construction in a Gothic revival style. Construction ceased completely during the Spanish Civi War, and the project was abandoned until 1950, when Fernando Chueca Goithia adapted the plans of the Cubas to a baroque exterior to match the grey and white façade of the Palacio Real, which stands directly opposite. The cathedral was not completed until 1993, when it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II. On May 22, 2004, the marriage of King Felipe VI, then crown prince, to Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano took place at the cathderal.
Madrid is really a crowded city with its 6,3 million people living here. In fact, Madrid is like Ankara, the capital of Turkey. In the heart of Madrid, PLAZA MAYOR, you will see different people whom you can take a photo with:
You can watch the video of the square below:
https://youtu.be/SkeOIuhFT5A
That is us :)
If you continue walking, you will see Puerta Del Sol. It is anonther famous place in Madrid... You should absolutely see it.
Another great place: Puerta Del Sol
That is enough for the first day, because we were really tired and wanted to have a rest in our rooms in the hotel. Let's go back to our hotel...
Come on people, Madrid is waiting for you :)
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