We cleaned up, then headed out in the cold, drizzly weather to the Plaza del Oriente, in front of the Palacio Real (royal palace). Madrid is fairly small as far as capitals go, with the Ritz sitting among the museums and a vast park, Buen Retiro, on one side of the city and the Palacio Real on the other, with Old Madrid in between. The plaza was actually built by Napoleon when he was briefly ruling Spain (and most of the rest of Europe). His plan was to build a Champs Elysees type boulevard through Old Madrid, ripping most of it down in the process, but he didn't get very far before the war turned against him, so this pretty plaza is all that remains of the plan. The smallish Opera House is located here, as are 44 statues of Spanish kings and queens, which were originally meant for the palace roof, but were too heavy so had to be placed around the park instead.