March 19

Madrid


The queue to enter the Thyssen Museum

Museums are very popular here. Groups of students from the very young to the teen age years are regular visitors.  The group pictured was from France and they each had a sheet of paper with opportunities to write answers and impressions about the collection inside. Shirley and Paul had Sara and did not require a study guide or a test.


The King, the Queen and Shirley

The Thyssen-Bornemisza museum is one of the “Big Three” in the art district of Madrid.  The other two are the Reina-Sofia and the Prado. Each has their specialty. The Thyssen boasts very old to very modern and that is where we went today.  Sara took us on a trip of Art History from early Italian to the very modern. The way she explained the journey was through representative artists and works.


The explanation

The tour took almost 3 hours, and we relaxed with a coffee after we saw what we needed to see. We then set out toward the massive park.  Parque el Retiro was a royal hunting area back in the day.  No longer.  It is a well-kept area of public recreation with miles and miles of walkways. We were reminded of Central Park in a way.




Around Parque el Retiro
 

The weather was perfect for a nice ramble. We saw the highlights: the crystal palace, which was undergoing renovation, many buskers and musicians, and the lake where one could rent a rowboat.  We strolled back to the hotel for a snack and a siesta.

After a nice siesta we walked down to Plaza Mayor to the coin shop and retrieved the package for Karl. They just opened when we got there. It is interesting – they closed the shop at 2, then took a nice long lunch and re-opened at 5. This is what they call “siesta culture”. It would take a while for us to adjust, but we understand the benefit. Life is short enough.


On the way we noticed that today is Father’s day in Spain! That fits as it is also the feast of St. Joseph.


The restaurant Los Galayos is one of the oldest establishments in Madrid, serving authentic cuisine. Sara had recommended it to us and so, after the coin store, we had a very nice dinner of aged beef and cod, guess who had what!


Karl’s package was quite heavy and so we decided to take a cab back to the Hotel.  It was very reasonable. Once back we unwound in the Club 27 room and relived the day. The iWatch registered 11,482 steps.  We made it an early night as our car for Toledo leaves early.

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