Tag Archives: Madrid

Goodbye Europe, Hello NYC!

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We woke early today and, miracle of miracles, we both woke before our alarms went off. (More of a surprise with me than with Dan.)

Packing was quick. Deciding to check luggage after all was rather speedy as well. Roller bags are just not as pleasant to deal with in the overhead bins, and it also meant I didn’t have to consolidate my purse with my Cabin Max bag. I do, however, feel a bit of a failure when I do checked luggage. Go figure.

Our drive to the airport was easy, but communicating to our driver wasn’t. She initially thought we were going to terminal four, even though we said one a number of times. She then dropped us off at the far end of terminal one and we had a bit of a walk. It wasn’t really a problem, being as we were there much earlier than necessary. We were so early, in fact, that they hadn’t opened the luggage check area yet. That opened only a few minutes later, though, and we were second in line so that was quite speedy. Then it was a walk to the the A gates.

Not speedy was finding the lounge! We had mixed messages when we looked online. One suggested the lounge I thought we should go to was closed for renovation. Dan’s info said we should go to B6, but we couldn’t even find B6! Eventually we saw a sign and, sure enough, “my” lounge was where we were to go. It was quite nice, and I loved that we could go outside. Had the weather been warmer we would have sat out there.

After a few hours (that, for me anyway, seemed to speed by) we saw on the board that we should go to our gate. So off we went.

I’m sure we could have left the lounge 10 or 15 minutes later, but I do like getting to the gate on the early side.

This plane’s seating is different than we’ve experienced before. We can’t sit together, as no Polaris seats are in pairs. Because of this we chose window seats. Dan is in 7L and I’m in 9L (8L didn’t have a window). It’s rather fun to look outside — something we’ve not done on an international flight since we moved to Polaris. (I like to have the map on the screen so I can see where we are.)

(The final image is probably over Porto.)

One reason to get Polaris is, of course, so we can put the seats back and actually sleep, but first … dinner. Or what they call lunch. Seemed more like dinner to me, and it was actually quite tasty.

Soon after eating I decided to try and sleep, and I think I slept for over an hour — perhaps even two hours. Then it was the typical just hang, do whatever … and look out the window when we finally saw land again. First it was Canada, and later Massachusetts.

The landing was maybe the smoothest I’ve ever experienced. After landing we saw a lot of emergency vehicles. Hmm. We figured some plane must have had an issue. And, indeed, one did. Ours! We were informed that a tire had some sort of a problem and we were stuck for a while as they had to decide if the plane could proceed to the terminal or if it needed to be towed. Finally we moved again (no towing), and arrived. Going through passport control was SO easy, because we have Global Entry. Gotta love it. Luggage was retrieved and we opted to use Lyft rather than take the train.

Maybe that wasn’t a wise choice. Traffic was ghastly. But so it goes. We finally arrived at the Hotel Belleclaire. It’s rather funny that this is the smallest room we’ve had on this trip. Maneuvering around is a challenge. I am somewhat convinced that I get smaller rooms here when I book through Expedia. I had written to the Belleclaire to see if they would match Expedia’s price, though, and they never replied. (Their site says that they will match a price. Hm.) But we arrived safe and sound and I won’t complain. We unpacked, rested a bit, and then went out to meet family.

And it was COLD. Funny that this is probably the coldest weather on the trip. Who knew?

Next up: meeting with Brandon, and later Jameson, Meghan, and Lia. We ended up eating at Amsterdam Ale House, which is sort of a go-to place when we stay at the Belleclaire. Only one photo, shot by Dan., and it’s not exactly his masterpiece, but how wonderful to be with these four tonight!

At this point it is 3:48 AM in Spain. I think I’m handling the time change fairly well, but tomorrow will tell the real story!

G’night!

Final Day in Madrid

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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!

Saturday, December 21

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We got started very late today. But hey, we aren’t on any sort of schedule so that’s just fine. First we had our terrifically exciting powdered coffee, but to add to the fun we opened one of the small panettone boxes we received on our IRYO train ride. (And we have one more so maybe it gets eaten tomorrow.)

We both knew it was a shower day, so I decided to wash my pjs as well as myself. Doing the small amounts of laundry I do is even easier if I do that in the shower.

We decided a visit to the Prado Museum would be a good thing to do, so I purchased tickets and we readied ourselves for a 25 minute walk.

Up to Gran Via we went. But wait, what is that horrible noise? And what is with all the Santa suits? Turns out it was some sort of motorcycle thing and you wouldn’t believe how many there were (with police escorts). Sadly I wasn’t able to get a good video, but I got what I could. (I tried editing it, but I guess that didn’t quite work for this. Sorry!)

These motorcycles, though, were painful on the ears. It was so very loud we opted to get off that street and go back down to Plaza del Sol to get to the museum. The crowds were easier to manage than the noise.



We went into a little place for some lunch. Typical of me, I ordered too much. I really should just get an appetizer. This is before our food came: just something they put out to eat and our “sin alcool” (without alcohol) beers.



Then on to the museum we went. We’d purchased the audio guide as well, and could choose which one we wanted they had one for a short hour tour all the way up to nine hours. We opted for the three hour one.

I’m not sure what they were thinking when they put it together: rather than moving logically from room to room we sometimes had to go nearly the full length of the building for the next painting or sculpture. We stuck it out for a good amount of time, but eventually we both hit the wall. So we purchased cookies and water for those awful museum prices, and agreed after that that we were through.



Walking back to the hotel the masses of people were again insane. I simply had no idea how crowded it gets here. The police presence is obvious, but I think about the recent Germany tragedy and think it only takes one person to go off on a rampage. I’m really not sure it’s safe to be out in these crowds. We all felt that way in Munich as well.

Back to our hotel it was, as usual, rest time. One reason we wanted to get back and be well rested is because tonight is our Flamenco and Dinner event. We have great memories of the show we saw in Seville, and I’m hopeful this will be equally enjoyable.

When it was time to leave we made our way to the location for Tablao Las Carboneras. As is so often the case I managed to go the wrong direction a few times, but we had left ourselves plenty of time so it was no biggie. Plus we saw this projection thing again. We now know (from our tapas tour guide yesterday), that this is a convent. Makes sense that they’d be playing sacred music and projecting these images.

Arriving at our destination we were checked in and seated. There was a bit of a mixup — at first they didn’t think I’d paid for a full dinner — but that was eventually cleared up. I think there must have been two Patricias or something. Truth be told we would have been fine with the first course that they initially thought was what we were to get. I’m rather sorry, in fact, that I bothered to eat any of the second course!

The show was fantastic. I’m so glad we went! One “oops!” from me: they said photos and videos were allowed as long as the videos weren’t long and we didn’t use flash. So I started a video … who knew that the light comes on for those automatically? I sure didn’t! I quickly put my hand in front of the bright light and then turned that off. Eek! I only shot a few things. We were there to watch and listen, after all, not use cameras! (The internet at our hotel is awful, and I’m not sure if the videos will even work.)

Then back home we went. Something was definitely happening on the side of the opera house: we saw people lined up down the building, some in funny outfits. I think Madrid is a wacky place this time of year!

Tomorrow is our final full day in Madrid. It is, in fact, our final full day in Europe. So far we have no plans for the day, so who knows what it will bring. It will be Sunday, so I’m assuming much will be quieter and closed down, but at this point, in this particular city, who knows?

Adios!

December 20th Adventures

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When we woke we noticed no clouds in the sky. No complaints from me about that. It was cooler than yesterday, though, so we were back to our down jackets.

Our first goal was to find the meeting spot for tonight’s Tapas Tour. Our tour guide is Andrés Jarabo and he runs Old Town Madrid Tapas and Wine Tour. I’ve read many good reviews of his tour and I’m looking forward to our evening.

The meeting spot was located, and we then moved on. We aimed toward the palace, but also looked for a place to have coffee and a small bite.

Mission accomplished.

Then we walked over to the palace. We weren’t really interested in paying 13€ to go in, so we just walked around part of it.

(Side note: There are people dressed up as various characters and animals. I took no photos because then one is expected to give them money. But it’s all so very strange. I realize this is not just here, but everywhere. Just seemed that there were more of them around the palace.)

We had a pretty nice view near the side of the palace.

As we went away from there, we saw a cathedral and headed in. It had lots of more modern looking stained glass. It had some really beautiful pieces. (And it makes me sad that we Protestants so frequently neglect art. Do we not care about beauty?! We seem to have given up on good music … and art … and, well, I’m rather sad and frustrated about that!)

I have to say, though, that the “candles” that are no longer real candles leave me a bit cold!

We saw the front of the opera house. No, we aren’t going to an opera, though. We have the tapas tour tonight and a Flamenco dinner show tomorrow. I think that’s plenty!

Then it was back to the hotel for a moment, and then up to a different area of Madrid called Malasaña. I had read that it’s less touristy and that locals eat up that way. So up we went. Of course first we had to cross the most popular street, Gran Via. It was very crowded, and clearly is where all the shows are. I saw Lion King, Book of Mormon, and more.

For lunch we found place with a board outside that featured the daily menu. We had read to order that way rather than from the printed menu. Turned out to be far too much food (and we’d been told by Andrés to go light on eating before the tour. Oops!). The server didn’t really speak English and we muddled our way through. I’m so glad people here are patient with us!

Then, again, back to the hotel. This time it was a longer time so we could do some computer stuff (like starting this entry) and nap a bit.

After our bit ‘o rest, we again went out and just rambled.

I have enjoyed seeing the fabric stores, and have shared them with Kelsey since she has started sewing. She would LOVE these stores!

Eventually we aimed toward the meeting spot for our Tapas & Wine tour, and met up with the group. There were eight of us plus Andrés. We were the first there (hey, I’m on oboist and we are always first to arrive!), but shortly after two more (Rose and Taylor) came, and after that it was four more and how frustrating that I can’t remember all of their names. One of the younger men was a student at Santa Clara University, though, so we chatted a bit about that.

This tour … well … what can I say? Um … if you are in Madrid DO IT! Andrés is fabulous. He fills you in on things as you walk. He brings you to great places. We ate and drank some amazing things. (The dessert wine was so darn yummy and I want to see if we can find that before we head home, although that might mean we have to check a bag. OR we do the duty free thing, which is something we’ve never done before. ) I’d go on this tour again in a heartbeat. So thank you SO VERY VERY MUCH, Andrés! I’m so sad that we didn’t do a photo of all of us, but you are THE BEST! (Please, readers, feel free to contact me if you want more info about the tour.)

After our tour, which lasted until something like 10:30 (and began at 7:00), Dan and I walked back to the hotel. We both agreed it was a wonderful evening.

So far we have no plans for the day tomorrow. I guess I need to think about that. Do we go to a museum? Do we wander aimlessly (which I love)? Who knows? Check in tomorrow to find out what we did. 😊

December 19, Part Two

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Sooo … we got settled and went out. Um … HELLO?! What is this wet stuff? We had to go back into our room and collect our raincoats. We had no idea it was raining, because I’d closed the shutters. Oops!

So then we went out yet again, and walked toward the opera house. It’s amazing to think they perform eighteen operas a year. Crazy! We do four. SF Opera has cut back to six.

The rain, though, was getting heavier, so we quickly went in to a local spot and had coffee and cake. Not healthy, but hey, it’s vacation! (Of course the rain then stopped.)

After that we walked some more. The person at the hotel desk had said something about the crowds. Little did we know!! It is absolutely insane here. Who knew? Certainly not us!

We finally went into Mercado de San Miguel to have a tapas and vermut. Big yum. And great memories of the first time we visited Madrid.

Then more walking. And the crowds became even more insane. (To the point of, “Is this really even safe?!”)

And then there was this (this should be a video, but I’m not certain it is loading. Maybe later …?):

Eventually we decided to get dinner before the crowds did. It appears they don’t eat until 9:00. Too late for me, for sure. We chose an Argentinian spot that said it was 19.90€ for a full meal including a drink and dessert.

We sat down, and the menu said 175€. Um. REALLY?!?! Turns out we had to go to the bar area for our deal. Which we did. We aren’t interested in a huge, more meat than you can eat, meal. (At home we don’t even eat meat!) Nor do we need a fancy table. So we moved, apologizing to the people there (but I’ll just bet they are used to this), and placed our order. Even with the smaller, less costly meal, we couldn’t finish. SO much food! TOO much, actually. I think tapas work better for me.

After finishing we had to find our way back to the hotel. My phone navigation system wasn’t working at all (my phone barely worked earlier as well). Turns out I was on something called “Movie Star” rather than the typical “Oxygen” service. Now really … I know I appear a bit like a movie star, but this was a bit much. I’m glad, though, that I figured out the problem

So now we are back in our room. I’m hoping to sleep tonight, but these late meals do make it a challenge, so we shall see how it goes.

Buenas noches!

Moving On …

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Today began with a shower, packing, and a final view out our window, which included the moon. I will miss this nice view!

Our train departure wasn’t until after 1:00, so we had time to go out, get our cappuccinos and croissants, and walk for a short time. One more walk through the market, and down a few streets, but not much time to make photographs.

As we were ready to catch our taxi, our new found friends, Sharon and Bill came out the door as well. Turns out they were on the same train to go to Madrid. We thought we might catch a taxi together but that didn’t quite happen. Our ride was in a Tesla. I think that’s my first Tesla taxi.

We arrived at the station, thinking we could hang out in the IRYO lounge, but looking at it there really was nothing there! So after wandering to see if maybe there was another lounge, we went back to the security line to get to our track. You might guess who was also there — yes, Sharon and Bill! So we hung out for a time, waiting for the train to arrive. They have traveled much more than us so I do believe we will have to play catch up. 😉

When the train arrived we got into our carriage, which was the first one. It was quite nice, which is good since I (probably foolishly) purchased the “Infinita Bistro” ticket. This meant it was first class and they fed us. Rather ridiculous, as the ride was about 1 1/4 hours. But whatever. It was fun to have the little meal.

We arrived at our next and final European city … HELLO MADRID! We made our way out of the station to the taxi line.



Um, one guess as to who we saw there. Heh. I regret, though, that we didn’t get to say goodbye, and I didn’t grab a photo, as I’m not sure we’ll run into Sharon and Bill again. (But maybe they’ll read this and drop me a line … hint, hint ….)

A little taxi ride later (and it does appear that there are crowds here now) we arrived at Hotel Medinas, where we will spend the next four nights. We are on the fourth floor and we could stand out on the balcony and even jump off if we were so inclined. This means, of course, that I cannot go out there! Me and my acrophobia! I do like opening the window, though, getting fresh air in and hearing the sounds of the city.

Speaking of air … it was a whopping 57° when I checked the temperature after getting settled. Plus I saw blue sky (albeit with some clouds as well). Pretty darn warm!

Another shot of the bathroom amenities. This time we get toothbrushes with the tiny tubes of toothpaste. Those might come in handy since our tube is running low.

I cracked up at the note we have — the typical “we don’t change sheets every day unless you ask” — that begins “DO YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT ENVIRONMENT?” Hm. Are they trying to make me feel guilty? But yes, we care, and no, we don’t need our sheets changed daily.

I will post this now, and then update later for the remainder of the day … stay tuned!

A New City

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This morning we woke up, had coffee and croissants at the hotel, and went back to our room. We finished up the packing and said goodbye (not literally, mind you), to the hotel.

Then we took a taxi to the train station (I nearly typed a train to the taxi station … I’m sort of tired!). Of course we were early, but I’d rather be early and not worry. We did have longer lines both for security and to get on to the train, so the early bit was maybe a good thing. Then off we went …

to Barcelona!

We are in a rather funky hotel in the middle of the action. I think it will be fine, but it’s probably the lowest rated of all that we’ve stayed in, and it is older and somewhat odd, but honestly we don’t spend enough time in a hotel room to really care as long as it’s clean and safe. We spent time figuring out our Gaudi plans (I foolishly hadn’t made reservations earlier but, as it turns out, we ended up getting better deals in a strange way: Dan was online and plugged in one destination and I did the same. It was cheaper on his phone than it was on my computer or phone. We made reservations for two places on his phone. For the next it was cheaper on my computer! Very, very odd, but we did get things done and then headed out to check out the area.

We wandered in a rather random way and ended up at a Gothic cathedral. I knew it had to be important … heh … but didn’t realize this was the Barcelona Cathedral. (Via Wikipedia: The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia (Catalan: Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia). I love how we just randomly end up at important spots … it happens in nearly every city! I have to admit the clowns and other people dressed up seemed so odd in front of what many would think of as a rather sacred space, but what do I know?!

We attempted to find streets that were less crowded, and happened upon an event that was just such fun … double reeds included. I wish I could post the video, but it didn’t work, so you only get stills, and it’s nearly impossible to see much. Sorry!

We also headed to the water.

Then it was back in search of dinner, but going slowly both because it was a bit too early for dinner and because people just walk more slowly here.

As always it took us a while to find our dinner spot, but we did finally find a place, and enjoyed a tapas assortment. Prices here are definitely higher than other cities, but we were prepared for that. By this time the crowds were just enormous. And it was 9:30 or so.

Now we are back in our room and as soon as I post this I think I’ll try to sleep.

Day Trip to Toledo (Not Ohio)

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We decided to go on an adventure today and see Toledo. It’s only a 35 minute train ride, so that seemed doable. Dan and I walked to the train station, which was a mere 1.6 miles (downhill), so that was pretty easy. Then we had to figure out how to use the machine to order train tickets. Well, we just weren’t quite sure we were doing it right so we found a Renfe ticket place and stood in a long line only to find out that was for the local trains. The person there directed us to where we had to order our tickets, but we were confused and finally decided to try the ticket machine again. No biggie … tickets were easy to get! We killed a bit of time since the earlier trains were no longer available, getting coffee and a somewhat light breakfast. Oh … and the bathroom was pretty darn funny and worth the €1 it cost: they had some sort of ambient sounds with birds and whatnot. Dan shot me a text of what they (“One Hundred Bathrooms) are about so I must share it here:

When I came out of the bathroom I told Dan I was just so relaxed. Truly a magical experience. (I’m joking, I’m joking.)

Then it was off to Toledo on a lovely train. (Dear United States, you need to get your act together and have better trains!)

As I was telling Dan, trains, planes, and automobiles cause me to fall asleep and, sure enough, I slept a bit on the train. Still, I did manage to see some things out the window for a time. Unfortunately I only took one iPhone shot, though.

We got off the train and headed up the hill to the old part of Toledo. In hindsight we might have opted for the rather inexpensive taxi that would give us a bit of a tour of the area, but the walk was probably good for us. I guess I didn’t take iPhone photos on our walk — I had pulled out the Fuji at that point— but below are images from the station.

Then … well … walk, walk, walk. Plus lunch (I had gazpacho and bread). And more walking. What a fun little area! So much to see. I also went into a shop to see if I could find a dress. I really want a linen dress with NO waist (because I think I’m rapidly losing my waist on this trip). I didn’t see just the right thing, though. The funny thing was the shop clerk asked me something in Spanish and I told her I only spoke English and she said, “Just looking?!” I suppose she’s heard that a lot from us English speaking folks.

Here are a lot of photos from the day:

When I hit the wall we stopped and had a snack of olives, iced tea (well, I think Dan maybe had sparking water), and ended with coffee. Then we ambled back to the train.

Our train was listed to be on track 1. It was on track 2. Go figure. And yes, I slept … nearly the whole ride this time! We got back to Madrid, took a taxi back to our hotel (it was uphill and we were tired!) and by then it was time for dinner. We went back to the Mercado and had a bit to eat, and after that kind of spoiled ourselves with dessert. Now I’m stuffed, and quite exhausted.


Tomorrow we are off on another train ride to our next destination. Stay tuned!

And now goodnight.

Thursday Happenings In Madrid

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(And yes, if you subscribe I DID write “Milan” at first. I tend to do that but usually correct myself before publishing. Oops!)

Today was a garden/museum sort of day. But first … breakfast! We indulged in the churros from what I think is the oldest churro spot in Madrid. We had to figure things out — ordering inside, but trying to get a server’s attention then to hand him our order. NOT an easy task! But it was fun to try “real” churros rather than what we later learned were most likely thawed frozen ones we had earlier. I can’t say they are something I’d want to have a lot of, but hey, when in Madrid … do as the tourists do?! (Hah!)

(Churro shot by Dan.)


We then walked to the Real Jardín Botánico, and enjoyed not only the flora, but also a few photography exhibits. The garden itself had very few flowers, but I enjoyed seeing the variety of trees they had. I think we’ve confirmed that a tree we have is, indeed, a laurel tree — just not a bay laurel as I thought when I bought it many years ago. The exhibits were okay, but nothing to rave about … aside from that cute guy looking at them!

Next up was lunch, so we headed to a place near the museum we were going to. We made our order (sandwiches and sparkling water), ate, and then attempted to get the attention of a server for coffee. THAT was a huge challenge! I would have thought we were just doing something wrong as Americans, but the family next to us, who spoke Spanish, finally left because they weren’t getting served, so maybe it was just the place.

Lunch:


In any case, we finally did get our coffee, and then went right next door to the Museo Reina Sofia. We were mostly there to see Picasso’s Guernica, but of course we spent a good long time seeing even more. Now I need to read up on what exactly occurred between 1936 and 37 … but really even more than that. My history knowledge is rather pathetic, I’m sorry to say. There are no photos of the inside of the museum, but I did take one of an inside hallway and a bit outside.

Then it was back to our hotel for a bit of respite (yes, I snoozed ever-so-briefly!). I also have a sun rash now, which is something I’ve avoided for years since I always wear long sleeves on my walks when I’m at home. I had gotten sunburned (missed a bit of skin on my left arm) the other day and that means the sun now causes me to blister. It doesn’t hurt a lot, but it sure looks rotten! Tomorrow I will wear my long sleeved linen shirt, no matter the temperature.

Lovely, right?

Finally we went to a restaurant, El Pato Mudo, I’d read about that was very close to our place and had good reviews. (And now I’m laughing! I ran “El Pato Mudo” through Google translate and it says it means “The Dumb Duck” — how appropriate for an oboist! (The decor included tons of ducks but sadly I neglected to take a photo. Doggone it! Or is that “Duckgone it”?!) We had paella, with chicken, seafood, and some veggies, and it was quite delicious! It was fun to be in this lovely restaurant with barely anyone there yet. The locals won’t go there until much later, I’m guessing, but the tourists are missing out on a lovely place: I saw a number of them walk by, probably going to the tourist spots in Plaza Major where they will have “meh” food. (I know — we were there our first night!)


We aren’t yet sure what we’ll do tomorrow. We could take a train to Toledo, a nearly two hour train ride … but we’ll see how adventurous we are. I’m guessing we should go, but … well .. two hours both ways? I dunno. If we don’t go, I guess we’ll just have to return to Spain sometime. I can live with that.

The Rest of Yesterday

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Well, we did it again: it took us quite a while to find the restaurant for dinner. Go figure.

First, though, we headed down to the Mercado again, and braved it and tried a few tapas (olive tapas were fabulous!), with a small glass of vermut. One other tapas stand and we were ready to leave.

As we left we remembered there was a place to wash our hands nearby so we headed there. A man walked by and commented on my beautiful hair. Sweet. At the fountain he was also there so he started up a conversation. Talked about how he lives in Italy, but he’s from Senegal. Said my yellow top was “like the sun”. Talked about a child but I couldn’t quite catch what that was about. Nice guy. And then … placed a small red elephant knick-knack in my hand and explained how I was to use it, and a bracelet in Dan’s. Heh. Yeah, we fell for the whole thing until then. Of course it was all about getting money from us. So never mind. We laughed, handed the stuff back to him, and walked away. You’d think we’d have caught on sooner, but I’m going to blame the olives.

From there we walked to a busy street thinking we’d find a place to eat. Nope. We aren’t interested in fast food (yes, lots of Burger King spots as well as other junk food), so we headed up, past our hotel. Took us eons to decide where to eat. We finally wound up in a little place where the server spoke no English. We could sort of work things out, but when she came back she asked us a question and we were at a loss. Thankfully the couple next to us spoke English and explained she was saying three of the pintxos were cold but two could be heated. At that point we ended up in conversation with the couple, and Dan ended up giving them his card because they said they’d like to return to our area (they visited pre-Covid). Never know … might see them in California.

Two of the pintxos (they were huge):


Then back to the hotel we went. At that point it was nearing 10:00, I think. The area was buzzing. So many people out and about late at night here, and so many places stay open until midnight if not later.

Today we are planning on another museum — the Reina Sofia, where we will get to see Picasso’s Guernica, but first the Real Jardin Botánico. It’s quite clear there is too much to see in Madrid and we can’t see it all, but isn’t that how it goes everywhere? It seems so.