Sightseeing: Madrid

My last day and with blisters on my blisters I decided to spend the morning on the tourist bus, doing the lazy way to see the city.

and being on the open-top bus just happened to be on the coldest day of the year, which only the severely stupid bothered riding on the top deck.

A cool statue on the top of the Metropolis building. 

The Basilica

The bear and tree again, this time in the Playa del Sol.

Playa del Sol is another big square in the city. Unlike Plaza Mayor this one is much more open and a more popular gathering place.

Atocha station again. It looks like everything, whether it be bus, metro or train, comes here.

  

A giant frog for no reason.

Why did someone stick their keys here?

The Palacio del Comunicaciones is a large administrative building

The Alacala Gate photos better from the bus than on the street. It was quickly becoming apparent that the tour bus was visiting all the same sights I'd hit on foot the day before.

In the Plaza del Colon is a nice statue of Christobel Colon, who we know in the UK as Christopher Columbus. 

More cool buildings, this is on the Grand Avenue which is the main road through the heart of the city on which the theatres reside.

The remains of the city's Christmas celebrations and decorations still existed.

Some nice old shool graff.

The only attraction I saw on the bus that I missed on foot and I had researched and forgotten about was the Egyptian Tomb. It was so cold the water had frozen over.

A far off shot of Abismo way off in the distance. Yay for zoom lenses.

The tour finished at Playa del Sol where some "artists" had now appeared to make some cash off the tourists. I have to admit the guy on the bike was a novel twist on the floating Romanian Yoda that we have in London.

So it was good to do the bus tour but a little disappointing to have done most of it on foot the day before. I'm sure that's more a reflection of how much walking I do when I'm away and not casting dispersions on the bus company.