Today we took an excursion into Madrid and will find a hotel for the night and return to Toledo tomorrow. We simply did not want the hassle of trying to find a camping spot in the Madrid metroplex, and once we learned that there was a fast train available that covered the 46 miles in 30 minutes (maximum speed 270 km/h or 168 mph) and cost only Euro 12.50 per person the deal was done. So why Madrid ? For us ( or should I say Nina the culture fiend ) the big attractions were the National Palace (Palacio Real), Guernica exhibition in the Centro de Arte Reine Sofia and the Prado.

The National Palace is generally recognized as the third greatest after Versailles and Vienna's Schönbrunn. The current structure was built by Phillip V who wanted his own version of Versailles the French palace built by his grandfather Louis XIV. After touring the place one cannot but agree with Rick Steve's comment todays palace is ridiculously super-sized - with 2800 rooms, tons of luxurious tapestries, a kings ransom of chandeliers, frescos, priceless porcelain, and bronze decor covered in gold leaf. To say it was impressive would be an understatement.

The Centro de Arte Reine Sofia is a modern art gallery. It had a nice small collection of Dali's work plus works by many others that I had never heard of (not being well educated about art). But the highlight and main attraction is a large display of Picasso's work related to his Guernica work depicting the horrors of the Spanish civil war and in particular the bombing of the northern Spanish village of Guernica in which Hitler "test fired" his blitzkrieg in support of General Franco's dictatorship.

The second last photograph is a Miro sculpture in the garden of the Reine Sofia

Nina also visited the Prado, a museum of more traditional art. It is reputed to be one of the great art galleries of the world with perhaps the greatest collection of European Masters anywhere (3000 canvases).

We found a nice little hotel (thanks to Rick Steve's guide) for Euro 55 for one night.