Day 3 in Spain - My 29th birthday

Saturday, May 22nd, just happened to be my birthday and also the day of the Champions soccer match between Italy and Germany.  I knew that the day would be fun because not only was it my birthday but mom and I had reservations for a flamenco show that night to celebrate.

In the morning we decided to hop back on the Madrid Vision double decker bus and go do some more sightseeing.  We got off at the stop for the Plaza Mayor, Madrid's most famous square.  The plaza was so massive and packed with tourists on this Saturday morning.  There are lots of little restaurants that serve food and there were also lots of little vendors selling their products to all the tourists set up everywhere.  The plaza is definetely a tourist place and not too many citizens were there that morning.  I took a ton of pictures but mom and I decided not to eat there or buy anything at that time. 
One side of the Plaza Mayor with the Spanish flags

The Statue of Felipe III that sits in the middle of the Plaza Mayor

You can see all the people in the square and the vendors that morning

After walking around the Plaza Mayor for a while and taking some pictures we decided to leave and go check out what was around the area.  We found the Mercado de San Miguel right down the street and stopped in there for a minute.  This market was packed with people and the different stalls sold everything from tapas to wine to cakes and vegetables.  We didn't stay long because I don't like crowds all that much and it was really hard to make your way through the place. 

Inside the market.  The cafeteria on the right is selling tapas.

This shop in the front on the left was selling some very yummy looking cakes and treats.  See all the people in that place?  Crowded.

After the market we headed down the street and eventually headed back to the Palacio Real area.  Mom wanted to check out the gardens next to the palace that we missed on the day before.  Before we stopped at the gardens though we checked out the area right across from the palace called the Plaza de Oriente.  It was really beautiful and people actually get to live right in this area.  So lucky. 

The statue of Felipe IV in the middle of the Plaza de Oriente.  That's the Palacio Real in the background.

Mom and I posing in front of the statue

The beautiful housing in Madrid

The gardens in the Plaza.  So beautiful.

We made it to the palace gardens eventually and they were so beautiful.  These gardens called the Jardines of Sabatini hold the palace stables and are open to the public to walk around and just relax or have a picnic.

The beautiful gardens

Me above the gardens

The palace from the gardens

This post is getting quite long with all the pictures.  I will do a second post on my birthday celebration.