Some advanced information for anybody that finds themselves in Madrid on October 12th that Spain celebrates a national day ( commemorating the discovery of America in 1492 ) . There will be a huge military parade throught the Plaza de Colon in the presence of the King and other members of the Royal Family , as well as all chiefs of the regional governments of Spain . They'll also be impressive military air displays .
Infact today they started practicing the air display and from now until the 12th my apartment will be constantly buzzed by all kinds of warplanes and transporters etcc ... I love it !!
The military display is always transmitted live on Spanish TV .

A wikipedia link is :

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiesta_Nacional_de_Espa%C3%B1a

Steve .

Oooh will i get the day off work? Ill have to check!! i sincerely hope so.

Oh how disappointing, its a sunday!

WOW, I'd love to be there for that....I'll have to find it on line some where....

Kipper , I wish I could promise some photos , but we're having a party here at my apartment to honour the National Day ... Actually i've never been to the parade , only watched it on TV . A few years ago I was staying at an Hostal in Puerta del Sol with a Spanish friend ..We turned on the Tv and saw all these soldiers etc... And suddenly they showed the Royal cars ( Rolls Royces ) driving towards Plaza de Colon . My friend said , wow - they're gonna pass right infront of the hostal so we got dressed quickly and rushed downstairs ... The whole of Sol was eerily quiet and my friend asked a policeman - " Is the King going to be passing by ?" - The policeman said he couldn't answer the question so we took that as a "yes" . 10 minutes later they arrived .. The King and Queen with loads of police outriders and security cars etc ... I got a video of it ... Pretty exciting , AND the only time i've seen the Spanish Royal family in person .. !! ( I've seen my own royal family often ) .
Anyway our party will be full of Spanish flags and patriotism .. jejeje .. Our guests will be from UK , Spain , USA , Argentina , France , Austria etc.. United Nations hahaha

How fun this sounds, take pictures at your party....hehehehe....I would love to be there for this special day! I guess I'll be there soon enugh though, I can't wait for my trip again this year.

SURELY TVE1 or maybe even TeleMadrid will be showing part of the parade. You can watch Telemadrid SAT online/live.

Saludos, MadridMan

One amazing display that I know of happens in Sevilla, in the Cathedral, when the mumified body of king Ferdinand (Fernando) is displayed,,, um, ...cant remember the number,,, but I do recall that he wasnt the first (I),,, I last saw him displayed some 25 years ago, so pardon my memory lapses and lack of historical details,,,anyway, King Fernando is buried in the Cathedral of Sevilla, close to the entrance by the Giralda and the plaza with the fountain. (If you were to use this entrance his capilla is immediately off to the left)

On this day, the panels on the king's "coffin" are removed, leaving only a clear glass enclosure where visitors are allowed to approach the display in a single line fashion and walk around up close at a slow pace where you have plenty of time for close viewing.

To me its amazing for several reasons; the mumified remains are very well preserved, you're looking face to face at a deceased king from a medieval era, someone who is in history books and played an active dominant role during our past history, you see his burial clothing, crown?hat?, sword, rings and jewelry from when he was buried centuries ago,,, it's the closest thing to time travel and for a few seconds and with some help from my own imagination I'm taken back to many centuries ago,,, I can see him raise his sword and order about, most powerful man in the world,,, during that period,,, and then he lays there, ever so still, as he has been for many centuries past, next to a wide eyed peasant staring in, just a common man and his vivid imagination,,, to Your service, Your Majesty.

If you happen to be there during that time, it's well worth the visit.

We have been lucky to have seen the parade three times. It was very exciting and worth while. Twice we have been near enough to Colon to see the entire Royal Family. They are all very tall people and quite elegant. They do indeed arrive in a Rolls Royce. First, they greet all the dignataries in the stand. After the Royal March is played, the King leaves the stand alone and crosses the Colon Plaza to pay homage to the Spanish flag which is near the Colon statue. (I think that is what he is doing.) Then there is a fly-over by military planes with red and yellow trails. Then the parade which was led by a unit of about 50 Harley-Davidsons. The King and the Prince review the entire parade and salute each unit flag. The crowd was enthusiastic and there were shouts of "Elena! Elena!" I don't know why she was singled out, but she was. One year the Queen kept fanning herself furiously--what wrist action! She was either overly warm or agitated. The next year whe was cool and collected. A group of classy young ladies distribute program booklets and small Spanish flags to the crowd. I don't know who they are, but they are all dressed alike in jackets and skirts. Wonderful memories, I just had to share.

So how was the Holiday, reports please....teehee

Good question!

On TV, I was only able to see the raising-of-the-HUGE-Spanish-flag ceremony with the King of Spain on the Plaza de Colón. While the flag was raising and the National Hymm was being played, the 6 fighter jets flew down the Castellana and released their Red, Yellow, and Red powder, creating the stripes of the flag of Spain in the sky.

That's all I saw but was glad to see that much at least.

Saludos, MadridMan