Ten Lanes of No Traffic

One of the things we're doing to learn more about Madrid and the people here is exploring the various barrios (neighborhoods) at different times of the day during different days of the week.  So, as part of this, last Saturday evening I was wandering around Chueca, which is the barrio east of where we live in Malasaña.

As I came to the eastern side of Chueca, I noticed there were quite a few police around.  So, obviously I have to check this kind of stuff out :).  Therefore, I walked south to the Plaza de Cibeles and found the street shut down!  Which rocks, because I could take neat pictures without the risk of getting hit by cars or buses or scooters.

Palacio de Comunicaciones

Fuente de Cibeles

Standing in the middle of the street - not getting run over!
Kids, don't do this at home :)

Puerta de Alcalá

Here's what traffic usually looks like in this area.

Streets are clear for the Carnival parade!

People lined up to watch the parade.  

It got too dark for me to take parade pictures, but I did get a few videos so I'll see if I can figure out how to get those posted.  Until then, I leave you with a picture of the fountain at night.  Madrid certainly knows how to turn on the charm sometimes.

Impressive in the daytime, possibly even more so at night.