We took the bus to Beziers and then the fast train to Madrid.
The journey between Beziers and Perpignan is always interesting: we cross an étang which often has flamingos. They are not easy to take a photo of when you are speeding along, so these came out well.
Although we have been having very good weather recently, the Canigou is cloaked in snow and dominates the skyline as we approach Perpignan.
We can see the Canigou from home, although not from our terrace.
Just in front if us in the train. This lady had a seat and table to herself all the way from Beziers to Barcelona.
Once you leave Barcelona and pass Zaragosa, there are farmed areas, currently pink with blossom as well as empty countryside. Some scenes from the train.
In Madrid, there was a noticeable security presence - it was only then that we realised that we were on the eve of the Atocha bombings, 10 years ago.
We booked into our hotel, which we had last stayed at in January 2009 when it was freezing and there was snow all over Spain. This time it was very spring like . The hotel is well situated, close to the centre of Madrid. We wandered into the Puerto del Sol which, true to its name, was sunny, unlike some of the occupants.
Another occupant, King Charles II
In the main square, Plaza Mayor we encountered enormous bubbles. Ernie would love them!
In the evening, we wandered around the tapas area La Latina and found a really good tapas bar where we enjoyed a variety of small dishes including a tortilla (potato omlette), cod in a creamy sauce, aubergine and ham, cheese and tomato, 'egg and bacon' and chicken in a salsa sauce.
Scenes from the night.
- Pat and John on tour
