Madrid again

This is a late posting.

This morning we decided to visit the Museum Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sophia. It’s a huge place and there were lots of groups, which made it difficult to wander around. However, we did manage to see the things we wanted, the main one being Picasso’s Guernica. It’s a huge painting and very striking to see. We walked up and down lots of stairs, which helped with our exercise for the day. Afterwards we headed towards the Palacio Real de Madrid, stopping for coffee and a piece of apple crumble cake at the delightful little Brown Bear Bakery along the way. At the palace the queue for those without tickets was longer than the one for those with tickets, but not by much. We got talking to a mum and two lovely daughters in the queue ahead of us, who come from Nelson at the top of the South Island in New Zealand - what a coincidence! MrMacD also had a long chat with a lovely young man from Palestine. It’s what we love about travelling - meeting people from all around the world. We eventually managed to enter the palace and walked through all the available areas. The thing that always strikes me is, living in such luxury and such over the top surroundings, how on earth are the “royals” even able to imagine life for ordinary people?

After leaving the palace we walked up the hill and stopped for a drink at a café that had a couple of free tables. Once again, it was a great place to sit and watch people at adjoining tables and walking by. Having enjoyed our refreshments we walked further up the hill to the Plaza Mayor (Major), which was buzzing with people. We decided that, as it was our last night in Madrid, we would eat at a café in the square. We managed to find a table and sat down. We felt rather pleased with ourselves as the crowds were building up and tables were filled as quickly as they were vacated. We enjoyed a lovely meal of croquettes, tempura aubergine slices with hummus and salmon. We were then extremely naughty and shared a slice of cheesecake. MrMacD enjoyed a glass of rioja and I had a glass of cava. Afterwards we walked back to our hotel via Calle Mayor and Puerta del Sol. We were staggered at the thousands of people out and about socialising and enjoying the evening. All the streets were thronged with people. The Spanish certainly know how to enjoy themselves.

I am way, way behind responding to lovely comments and dipping into blippers’ journals. There hasn’t been much spare time. Apologies if I don’t catch up for a while.

The blips show sights from the day. The tuk tuk is included in the collage of the Palacio Real de Madrid as it was parked outside waiting for customers. I managed to get two photos of the interior as we walked in, but after that photos were strictly prohibited.