Carlos

I'd spotted the emporium of Don Carlos on the way to the bus stop this morning and I made a mental note...

So, bus from our neighbourhood into the centre of Madrid, befriended en route by a very friendly English-speaking young woman who made sure we knew where we were going. We actually knew exactly where we were going but, good impressions and that, we chatted to her along the street until she went her way to her work, and we went along to the Museo Nacional Del Prado where we pretty much spent most of the day. An absolutely staggering amount of stupendous art with whole rooms (I think almost a hundred rooms in fact, oh boy) devoted to the likes of Titian, Velázquez, Goya and Reubens but, really, nobody quite pullled the crowds like Hieronymous Bosch (or 'El Bosco' if you prefer the Spanish). I don't think I've ever seen quite so many people gathered around a painting as the veritable throng surrounding his (admittedly quite magnificent) 'Garden Of Earthly Delights' triptych.

After all that art, there was just a bit of present- buying for our girls, a couple of drinks in the evening sunshine in Plaza Mayor and the bus back to ours where Don Carlos was waiting.

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