From the palace I am heading toward the Gran Vía, which is Madrid’s version of Broadway in NYC. On this street there are large shopping centers, movie theaters, hotels, and countless entertainment venues (I walk by the production of Spamalot). To get there, it is a long but fun walk across countless small squares– including the Plaza de Isabel II, Plaza del Angel, and Plaza del Callao to name a few–with tons of things to grab your attention…

But with the sun gone, it is becoming quite cold. The churches–and there are plenty in Madrid–make great stops for viewing and thawing:

But no matter how tough the weather gets, I have to persevere in order to get the shots of Madrid at night. As it turns out, the entire city seems to be persevering the cold to enjoy the last days of the holiday lights and Christmas markets:

But the shots I’ve really come for are of these two buildings; too bad they come out a bit blurry because my hands are shaking from the cold. The first is the Edificio Metrópolis, an office building built in the grand Parisian style that sits at the very intersection of the two streets Calle de Alcalá and Calle del Caballero de Gracia. Its gold-leaf covered, rounded tower sparkles night and day:

There’s only one word to describe the second building, the Banco de España, and that’s colossal. It takes up the entire block and occupies one of Madrid’s prime real estate, right in front of the Cibeles Fountain and at the corner of the Paseo del Prado where I began my walking tour of Madrid:

I’ll have better pictures of the bank when I come back through here during the day. It’s been a long day with tons of walking. Can’t wait to get back to my warm hotel room!