Unfortunately, Beth's digital camera suffered a fatal accident (getting drenched with water) on our first full day in Madrid. This means no pictures of nearby Toledo, which was an awesome little town. By the time we replaced the camera on our last day in Madrid, we really only had time to photograph a couple of the hot tourist attractions.
The bear at the strawberry tree is the symbol of Madrid. It's on everything from city building signs to manhole covers. This statue is in a busy square near the center of the city and is probably photographed by more tourists every year than anything else in Madrid.
This neon sign advertising a particular sherry is also a popular subject for tourists' pictures, as the sign has been a feature of the square for a very long time.
On one of our rambling walks from Point A to Point B, we discovered this. It was closed both times we saw it, so we suspect it is a nightclub. The first time I saw it, I collapsed into giggles for about five minutes. Five people in the world will understand why. Once we got a new camera, we took another rambling walk until we found it again so we could bring back evidence. Given the source of the inside joke, it seems fitting that fate should have led us to it twice rather than having to rely on something like knowing where it was and how to get there.
This amused me because I thought Scientology was a phenomenon limited to the U.S. Clearly, I was wrong.