Madrid!

We were hoping to get by with only 1 night stay in Madrid, but all our clothes were dirty and we had to find a laundry. The one recommended by Rick Steves was out of business, so we went to another. Then we wanted to do the Royal Palace tour. This famous palace is on a par with Versailles and Vienna. But, when we got there, they were having some sort of official function, so it was closed to view-visits. But the function was actually much more interesting. They had marching band, marching soldiers, several horse troops all decked out, and a beautiful coach. They all moved up and down in front and side of the Palace and even through the streets, so everybody could enjoy the scene. Such beautiful Spanish horses, moving in unison, was much better than the palace tour. There's a video at the bottom of this posting. If it doesn't show up, scroll around a bit to see it, then click the play button.

Anyway, we had to extend our stay for another night, and every extra day in Spain means one less day in Portugal. Next we go to Granada to see the Alcazar, 2 nights-- then > Seville > Lisbon as fast as possible. Getting to Portugal is probably an overnight on the train, which is either expensive or not fun.