And so it is ending. It all went by far too quickly, and I so wish we could continue, but that simply isn’t possible so I had to face the fact that we board a plane tomorrow. But hey, we did have this one last day, so there’s that.

It’s a Sunday. This means some things are closed, but not as much is closed in Madrid as in smaller towns. Dan (jokingly, I’m assuming) said we could go to mass. Now, in all honesty, that might be somewhat interesting, but I suspect it would be more uncomfortable than interesting. I don’t know the rituals in a Catholic Church. And then there is the language issue. So it would be a bit odd, I think. Sadly that meant we had to skip going in to one church: we both felt it was inappropriate to go in when people are attending a sacred service.

I did look up things to do and one suggesting was a market. Not just any market, mind you, but El Rastro, a flea market that has been going on for 250 years. Neither of us are flea market sorts, but it seemed like we might as well go have a look-see. So we walked there in our leisurely manner.

And Oh. My. Goodness! The thing is huge. It runs for blocks and blocks, with side streets also full of stuff. The crowds were, well, similar to what we have seen in the plazas. The “hang on to your purse and iPhone” kind of crowds since we are well aware these are perfect spots for pick pockets. (Truth is, I hate being distrustful of others and it makes me so uncomfortable, but the reality is one has to be attentive and careful.) I took a lot of photos, some without looking at the phone to see what I got, so things may be askew. (Which is fine because it allows me to use the word “askew” which I really love. Hah!) We probably saw around 50% of the market, if not less.

From the flea market we rambled a while.

Eventually we ended up, surprise, surprise, at “the” spot for churros, called Chocolateria San Ginés. Now whether or not the locals would agree, it’s certainly the place tourists get told to go to, and from the abundance of photos on the walls famous people go as well. I saw the infamous —and yes, I mean infamous, rather than famous, due to his treatment of women‚ Placido Domingo, and a photo of Sophia Loren. But not knowing famous Spaniards I didn’t recognize anyone else on the walls I could manage to see.

We then figured we’d go to another market that I read was open from 11:00 to 5:00 on Sundays, called Mercado de la Cebada. Unfortunately nearly every stall was closed. We still looked around, and it would have been a fabulous place had things been open. (Later I read that they had a street market today, so maybe that was outside nearby and we simply missed it. Rats!)

More wandering took us, finally, to lunch. I am happy to report I finally ordered something small. Funny thing was it cost more than some of the larger meals I’ve had. Go figure.

And then it was back to the hotel to start this blog entry and to rest up.

When we went back out, we decided to head toward a spot that was so crowded these past two nights there was no way to see what the big deal was. This time we came from a different direction, and … well wow! There it was. Tons of people. Loads of kids on parents’ shoulders. And it was quite the spectacle. I’m hoping I can get the video up here soon, but we’ll see. Once again my connection is pretty awful. In any case, just think crazy, sort of Disney-esque but not quite, and in Spanish.

After that we went toward Puerto del Sol one last time. It was just as crowded as ever, so we headed back to Mercado de San Miguel, since that’s where we planned to have our final dinner. First, though, we went through Plaza Mayor.

And finally, hello Mercado de San Miguel! Hello to our final vermut, olives and other treats, and a final small sweet delight. I realize this place is a touristy kind of spot, but it is still great fun, and it was nice to visit several times this year. The last time I was here was right after I lost the hearing in my left ear and I’d yet to learn how to deal with the issue. It really was no problem with these visits. (Hm. Not sure the photos below are loading either: silly connection!)

Getting back to our hotel, we packed as much as possible. Tomorrow is a 6:00 AM early wake up call, and I don’t want to have to deal with a lot of packing.

And for now … buenas noches!