La Riondaz - Switzerland - My First Summit

Since the weather has been amazing we decided that we should take the opportunity to climb to the top of one of the mountains and achieve our first summit.  Riondaz sits at 1980 m and is a nice trek through the hills.  A casual climb till close to the top where you feel like you are walking a tight rope.
The conditions were good, sunny and warm however some of the snow was a little unstable and with one wrong step you could end up waist deep.  One fantastic sight was some paraglider and a glider.
I of course was improperly dressed in jeans but that is nothing new.  If I go for a hike in appropriate clothing it will be the end of civilization.  Below are some wonderful pictures along the way.

Madrid - Spain - Art & Park Life

Last post from Madrid.  Below you will find some pictures of a couple parks in the city.  The main park, Parque de El Retiro is massive and very busy.  There is a lot to do and see and it is well worth the time. Inside you will find the famous piece by Ricardo Bellver, The Fallen Angel, Standing 666m above sea level we can see Lucifer falling from Heaven.  Controversial and award winning.  

The second is on the Palace grounds and is nice if you want a quiet moment to get away and sit under a tree.  Photos 1-3 are from the Reina Sofía gallery.  I had to post the second photo as I loved the piece. 4 - 12 are from El Retiro & 13 - 17 are from the Palace Park.  Turtle, Turtle. 

Madrid - Spain - Around Town

These are some photos taken around town.  The Egyptian ruins, The Temple Of Debod, was saved from Flooding and a gift to Spain in 1969.  It has been reconstructed as it would have been found in Egypt.  Below are some fun pictures around town.  We ran into a "Parade" of sorts one day as well as that lovely man on his lit up bike.  He was selling things to all the people enjoying a drink.  That was taken at about 1am and it was still as busy out as it was at noon. In the 7th picture down notice the Quebec licence plate.  Canada is never far away if you just keep your eyes open.  I had to highlight the fantastic street signs in Madrid.  So much more fun then just slapping up the name.

Madrid - Spain - Around the Palace & Cathedral

When you need an injection of city life there is no place better than Madrid Spain.  Madrid really does have it all and it all, is going on, like donkey kong.  I was worried that I wasn't going to like Madrid.  I like to be by the water and hadn't really looked into what the city was like.  I can honestly say that Madrid is one of my favourite cities Ive visited.  If you want busy, crazy, fun, culture, meat, fashion, shopping, international, friendly, food, walkable, clean (in the day time), safe ... This is the place to come.  Its got just the right amount of naughty and nice and everything spice.  The pictures below are around the Palace, Cathedral and grounds.  There will be more photos of Madrid in a second post.