Grant had booked us into a bike tour for this mornings entertainment. We first breakfasted in the hotel which was a more traditional breakfast than what we have been eating. It consisted of two types of meats, two types of cheeses, freshly squeaked orange juice, fresh water melon juice, beautiful bread, jams, chutney to go with the meats, and of course coffee. The beauty of not understanding Spanish is that it is always an adventure to see what you get given. When we thought we had finished we were presented with trays of freshly cut up fruit.
Once we were sated with breakfast Trish set a blistering pace as we walked to where the bike tour was to commence. Our group of about 18 consisted of people from the U.S, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, us four Kiwis, and a couple of quiet Asian girls. The tour was outstanding.
We re-visited several places that we had gone to yesterday which highlighted what a good tour guide Grant was. However this time we were provided with a history from our tour leader who was obviously very knowledgeable and very passionate about Madrid. A good deal of the tour was off main roads and it made for easy biking around the narrow cobble stoned streets. Madrid is blessed with excellent artesian water and is therefore a very green city. As a result it has amazing parks, the largest one having been originally designed for the King and cronies to enjoy. Madrid is a beautiful city and biking around it with a guide is the best way to see it. The area we in also contains cycle lanes on the busier roads so makes getting across busy intersections a lot safer. The bike tour took 3 1/2 hours and well worth the money. The temperature was 26 degrees before we even started, and 31 by the time we finished.
Following an afternoon siesta to avoid the heat, although Michael entertained himself at the nearby Naval Museum, we eventually headed out to dinner for beverages and tapas. By 9 PM the restaurant was starting to get busy with the locals settling in to watch Spain play their first game in the football World Cup against Holland. Trish and I nearly made it to half-time before we left for the quick stroll back to our hotel. Spain were up I-0 and looked to be dominate. Michael and Grant stayed to watch the full game and came back to report that Spain lost 5-1 and that the restaurant had quieten down somewhat in the second half. There is likely to many unhappy Spaniards today as they reflect on their dismal result.
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