I was able to trade my Caracas trip for Honolulu and in turn was able to trade that for Madrid. I was really looking forward to flying the trip, since I have only been able to do it once since our base got it back in May. We flew out on Friday night and when we arrived on Saturday, we learned that is was a holiday of some sort and Madrid was like a ghost town. My friend Jan was on the trip with me and she wanted to go to the Sorolla Museum, which occupies the former house of this Spanish impressionist. It is free on Saturdays, so after our naps, we made our way over to the museum, only to learn that it was closed for the holiday.
We did learn that the Prado was open and free to the public so we made our way over to that part of town which was a little more hoppin'. My favorite painting in the whole wide world, El Perro Semihundido by Goya, is part of the permanent collection, and I had not seen it in person since 1999 or so, on a previous visit, so I was glad to get to see it again. It is one of the lessor known paintings by Goya, but something about it appeals to me.
We were getting kind of hungry so we stopped at the Prado cafeteria for some vittles. I had a tortilla espanola and a Pepsi Light, which kind of held me over til we could go for tapas.
Jan and George Ann wanted to do some shopping, and a lot of the little tourist kiosks across the street from the Prado were open, so we meandered around looking at all the junk they were selling. There was this crazy Italian woman who thought that George Ann worked there and she was kind of bossy so George Ann ended up helping her look for the scarves she wanted. I guess the fact that George Ann spoke no Spanish was lost on this woman.
From the Prado we made our way up to Puerto de Sol and the Plaza Mayor. Given that these areas cater to alot of tourists, most of the shops were open for business, although some of the smaller ones were still closed (August is the month in Spain where most folks traditionally take the whole month off and head out of town for vacations).
We arrived at Puerto de Sol, and made our way into the Museo de Jamon for tapas. I am very much against the pork, but they sell beer for 1 Euro, so how bad can it be?
In Spain, when you are done with napkins and wrappers, you just throw it on the floor. The responsible citizen in me still thinks of this as littering, by at a tapas bar that is part of the culture.
The crazy thing that always gets me about the Museo de Jamon is the big pig legs that hang everywhere. The salted legs are actually a delicacy and the ham is brichutto like (so I have been told).... but it still makes me think of Babe, the Sheep Pig.
After the Museo de Jamon we made our way to the Plaza. Ben, one of the guys on the crew, had not been to Spain since 1970, so we wanted him to see this famous landmark in Madrid. Right around the corner is the Meson de Champinon (Mushroom Bar). The place that everyone likes to go to, Plateros, was closed for vacation, so we went there instead. The mushrooms, calamari, and sangria were wonderful. It must also be famous with the airline people, because we saw Continental crews in there as well.
Leaving the plaza, the girls were interested in buying flamenco aprons so they would have something Spanish to wear on the plane, but I put my foot down and said no.
Just down the street from the Plaza, a new market has opened, with all sorts of stalls, ranging from flowers, to wine to food to dessert. I had some Dulce de Leche ice cream that rocked my world! The place was crowded and did not have air conditioning so we did not stay very long.
We took the bus back to the hotel around midnight, which is early by Spanish standards, but we were getting pretty tired. I did not sleep all that great that night, but had first break coming home and was out like a light for my 2 hour rest period. I don't think I could have made it all the way home without the nap!
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