First, we went to Madrid to pick up a friend of Abby's who came to visit us (Amanda), and we spent the weekend there. It just happened to be the time all of Spain and the world was celebrating Carnival--the holy week including Martis Gras.
There were lots of parades, performances, and events going on in Madrid. Among the things we saw were soldiers marching (dressed in traditional Roman costumes and other such groups), dancers from South America and Africa, show horses from Andalusia (southern Spain), and, in general, large masses of people.
Here are some more pictures of Madrid. The first is in Buen Retiro Park. This park is Madrid's equivalent to Central Park in New York. There are several large ponds inside the park. This pond also offers row boats that you can take out.
This next photo is of a street leading into the Puerta del Sol (Sun Plaza, or Square)... which is the center point of the city and the entire country. There's always a lot of people there, and usually when something is going on in the city, like Carnival parades or New Years celebrations, they take place in the Puerta del Sol. The equivalent to New York's Time Square I guess you could say.
The last photo for this post is from the Plaza de Cibeles. This is a night shot with the fountain of Neptune in front and the townhall behind.
