| It was nine o’clock on a Saturday morning, and I was about to check out of my hotel in Madrid. My flight from Barajas Airport wasn’t till 6 o’clock that night. So, how was I going to fill in the intervening day, considering that I hardly knew the city at all? The guide book had some suggestions. I don’t want to give the impression that art galleries, museums and cathedrals bore me, but I really didn’t want to spend such a lovely day shuffling around them. ‘Why don’t you try the Madrid Vision?’ suggested the hotel receptionist. The Madrid Vision is a fleet of open-topped buses, offering, as in many cities around the world, a tour of the city’s sights for visitors. The open-topped bus began its career in Britain, when the early horse-drawn ‘omnibus’, developed from the stage-coach, carried passengers in the ‘cheap seats’ on the roof ... a practice which continued as the buses became motorized. Gradually, though, newer vehicles with a completely enclosed top deck replaced these buses. But, passengers on the lower deck still sat ‘inside’ while those on the top went ‘outside’. One or two open-toppers were, however, retained, usually, for a victorious local sports team to show off their players who had just won a coveted trophy. But, when it was realized that they were ideal for showing tourists around, some of them were brought out of mothballs … and brand new ones purpose built. The receptionist told me that the nearest stop was just in the next street and he could sell me a ticket. What that ticket brought me was permission to ride all the buses on all three routes for all of the day. And, I could board or alight from the bus as and when required; the buses usually ply the routes at between ten and twenty-minute intervals, depending upon the season. I thought, at first, the buses would be grand photographic platforms, but this proved not to be the case. You had to shoot between the safety bars, or to stand … not recommended by the company … and shoot over them. And, the bus tends to stop and start without warning. Nevertheless, I did get some reasonable pictures, and, if I wanted better, I could get off the bus and catch the next one, a short distance behind. On the bus, I found each seat had a headset, through which a passenger could hear a recorded commentary. The controls on the back of the seat were badly worn by many fingers, but I soon deduced that I could control the volume with one, and choose which language I wanted to hear the commentary in with the other. According to the map the guide on the bus gave me, the three routes intersected at two places; the Puerta del Sol, where all of Madrid meets, and near the Prado Museum … the Madrid Vision Information Centre is near the latter. This is where many people choose to transfer from one route to another. The routes were rather unimaginatively called Routes One, Two and Three, but had the alternative titles of ‘Historic Madrid’, ‘Modern Madrid’ and ‘Madrid Monuments’ respectively. Of course, these tours aren’t a complete way to see any city in themselves. But, they do give an excellent orientation of what’s where, and the sights that can be visited at greater leisure later on. And, they were a great way to occupy a day! Keith Kellet is a professional freelance travel writer and a regular contributor to The Traveler
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