The trip to Madrid was actually the main reason I even went to the conference in Seville. I was going to meet with the Librarian at the American School of Madrid and spend a day with her at school, learning about a new (well, for me - new) resource: LibGuides.
I arrived to the hostel early afternoon and was happy to find that, like the website said, it was right on the main street of the city - Gran Via. After dropping my things in the room, I went for a walk... my goal was to find the palace and the cathedral - thankfully, the walk was successful!
The Plaza de Espana was the first major 'site' I saw beyond Gran Via's shops and restaurants.
The main monument within the plaza is of Miguel de Cervantes - a novelist, poet, and playwright, alive during the mid-1500's to early 1600's.
I walked through the Sabotini Gardens on my way to the palace and cathedral.
Below is the view of the palace from these gardens (...probably considered the 'back' of the palace):
Sunday Palace Posing:
The front of the Royal Palace / Il Palacio Real de Madrid
The cathedral is just to the left when looking at the photo below. I was there on a Sunday and it was a city holiday... something big was going on with the flower donations ahead...
The top of the Almudena Cathedral (which sits facing the royal palace):
