Madrid Day Two - part two

 

 

Some of us had trouble sleeping last night and were up too late! We got off to a late start, leaving the hotel at about 10:00am. We found a local cafe on the way to the museum complex and had a long breakfast of cafe con leches boccadillos, and mixtos. Then off we went. Lee and I went to the Naval Museum 'cause he is not a fan of art museums. I humored him. Peg and Sharon went to the Reina Sofia. The Naval Museum was certainly interesting but not my cup of tea, lots of models of ships and displays of cannon and pistols, rifles. There were some figureheads from the prows of boats, but they were all mounted a bit too high to appreciate.

After the Naval Museum we all went to the Reina Sofia. We walked right past the Prado. I'm sure it is wonderful, but we really do not appreciate art before Impressionism. Sharon and Peg were able to reuse their tickets so we only had to get two more. We headed upstairs to take a look at the Picasso mural Guernica. It is easy to see how it has become a symbol of the horror of war. It was moving. We took in a number of other rooms seeing paintings by Dali, Miro, Braque, etc.

Time for lunch! We went to a cafe with a menu of the day and had a simple, filling meal. Nothing fancy, just basic food. The we were off to Parque del Buen Retiro. This is a large public park filled with trees and loving couples, some a bit too loving. High points were the Crystal Palace, pictures to follow, and the Palacio de Velazquez. Both had art exhibits open to the public. The artist was Nacho Criado. Mostly displayed were installations which include glass. It was now sometime after five and we were all tired. Back to the hotel.

Up to the roof cocktail lounge. I had a Cuban cigar brought from Glen Ellyn to Spain after first traveling from Cuba to Switzerland then to Glen Ellyn. We had gin and tonic and then then the ladies switched to Champagne and Lee and I had another round. All of us used the hotel WIFI to check email and Facebook etc.

8:30 and off to dinner. We were in a rut and went to the same place as last night and it was again a winner. Wonderfully prepared and plated, nice wine list, and all at very good prices. Again, a very nice conclusion to our day.