City of Lights (if you can stay up late enough to see them)

"The life of the tourist is hard' said our landlord in Madrid, and he was not kidding. It takes a lot of effort to explore a city this big, even if you knew the language all the maps and signs are printed in. I would estimate we have put in over five or six miles every day since we have been here, and when you figure we are officially senior citizens (at least I am; Jayne must wait another week) the effort is Herculean. We have tried to rent bicycles to take some of the stress off our feet, but the stress of the traffic more than makes up for it. Yesterday we found a huge park on the city's southeast section which had miles of bike trails. There we had the leisure of peddling around without worrying about becoming a hood ornament. That evening, after we got home and had dinner, we went out again AFTER DARK!!!!!

A very big concession for us, I can assure you. We saw the Eiffel tower all lit up, with sparkling lights alternating with a nice yellow outline. Today we went to see a free museum at the Petit Palice, art which Rick Steves says is second tier. It looked pretty first rate to me, and the price was right. The Louvre and the other big museums are not open until tomorrow, so that is why we went to this place today.