Plaza de la Puerta del Sol was one of our first stops. The "La Latina" area of Madrid is famous for its tapas. Tapas is actually many or any kind of food which is served in a small portion with a drink. The most common tapas found all around Spain include manzanilla olives, jamon iberíco, queso, and croquettes of all kinds. Usually you get tapas while your waiting for your lunch, or to tide you over in between lunch and dinner since Spanish lunch is usually from 12 to 2pm, and dinner isn't until around 9pm. Madrid was a beautiful city to just walk through, there is a lot of street art, and endless plazas with mouments, merchants and city goers.
We planned our every move with the expert advice of our Lonely Planet travel book. My sister -in-law Jenny introduced me to these books, and now I want one for every country in Europe! They make it so simple to find all the coolest things to see, with maps, tips, itineraries and more. The METRO system in Madrid is AWESOME! There is pretty much a train to take you anywhere you want to go, you may have to change lines a time or two but it really is an efficient and affordable way to get from point A to point B.
After some delishious tapas we were ready to tackle the Palacio Real. Unfortunately for us the when we tried on Friday to get a tour we found out that the palace was closed for the weekend! The outside, the courtyard and the gardens were still very beautiful and worth the walk from the metro.
Departing the palace courtyard; we stumbled upon the Cathedral Santa María la Real de la Almudena. This cathedral is dedicated to the Patroness of Madrid. Its was over 100 years in construction, starting in 1883 and culminating with a Papal consecration in the year 1993. The final architects used the Palacio Real as inspriation for the finishing touches so the two buildings would stand together harmoniously.
The interior of the cathedral was absolutely breath taking, lined with Stained glass windows, chapels housing religious sculptures, and all framed in beautiful stone work.
To round out day 1 we took a turn through the famed Museo del Prado which houses a very large collection of religious art, and sculptures. It was not a museum trip for the faint of heart, make sure you take water, wear comfortable shoes, and maybe bring a snack. The collection seemed to go on forever! 
On our second day, the weather was not the most cooperative, but the Parque del Buen Retiro was still quite picturesque. It definitely wasn't crowded and that was a treat. 
Located in the centre of the park there is an imposing glass palace modeled after London's Crystal Palace. It was built 36 years after its London counterpart in 1887, and designed by the architect Ricardo Velásquez Bosco who worked on such prestigious restoration projects as the Mezquita in Córdoba (See Los Patios entry for pics) and the Alhambra in Granada ( Haven't been there yet but its on our must do list.)
The Palacio de Cristal, in the shape of a Greek cross, is made almost entirely of glass set in an iron framework on a brick base, which is decorated with ceramics. Its domed roofs makes the structure over 22 metres high. The glass palace was created in 1887 to house exotic flora and fauna as part of an exhibition on the Philippines, which was then still a Spanish colony. The palace is used today for contemporary art exhibitions organised through the Reina Sofia Museum. For us the palace simply provided a shelter from the rain and a few chairs so we could rest our aching travelers feet.
When we were recharged after our short break in the palace, we continued strolling through the park and found a beautiful courtyard with stunning rows of ivy wrapped columns and peacocks strutting around.
After the all the traditional art we saw at the Prado we were excited to take a turn through the Reina Sofia which is packed with modern art pieces; from sculptures to room sized exhibits. It was a great way to spend a few hours on our last full day in the city.
On Monday we got up early to try and get a tour of the Palacio Real which had been closed all weekend. When we got there we found out that a special historical exhibit was open to the public but that tours of the palace its self would not be available until the afternoon! Since we didn't have time to wait for the tours to start; we headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags and start our long metro journey south to the outskirts of Madrid, a little town called Arganda del Ray. After 45+ minutes on the metro(23 stops!) and a 27 euro cab ride we finally arrived at our hotel for a little down time before we headed out to the concert.
The concert we were invited to was ¡Rock in Rio! It was a huge out door venue and the performances took place every couple days over the course of two weeks. We got tickets for the June 15th show, whose headliners included Sober (a Spanish rock band), Motorhead, and the big mama-jamma METALLICA!!
Due to fear of getting my camera confiscated I I only have a few pics from our friends phones, but they are enough to show that we had a great time.
When it was all said and done we were back in our hotel room with ringing ears and 3 am staring us in the face. Morning came all too early, followed by thrilling 6 hour drive back to Rota....needless to say, I need a long weekend to recover from that long weekend.
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