Madrid
One of our main reasons for coming back to Madrid (or so we keep telling ourselves) was to use the third portion of some art museum tickets that we bought last fall when we were here. At that time, we used the portions for the Prado and for the Reina Sofia museums. This time we visited the Museo Thyssien-Bornemiza which is located very close to the Prado. We walked down as it was a lovely morning and on the way saw many of the preparations for the Royal Wedding which is tomorrow. (Prince Felipe is marrying "former TV anchorwoman" Letizia Ortiz in a ceremony the likes of which haven't been seen in Spain for almost 100 years.) After the wedding, which is in the church at the Palacio Real, there will be a procession through the streets of the city. We think we might check it out just for fun.
Anyway, we spent close to three hours in the museum, which was great. This is truly a wonderful city for art lovers. On the way back to our apartment we stopped for lunch, setas con jamon to start, followed by sepia a la plancha then flan for Steve and croquetas caseros and coffee for Susan.
After a short siesta we went on another small shopping trip, looking for a few wine-related supplies to take home. Eventually we hit a few of our favourite haunts for tapas. At Casa Poli (or the "red bow-tie place" as we refer to it) we had a particularly yummy version of patatas a la brava along with the usual bread with blue cheese and anchovy that they always seem to give us there. At Taberna Ultreya they fed us hazelnuts and tortilla with chorizo and peppers and in addition we ordered a tapa-sized version of their calamares a la romana which are really good. All washed down with wine, of course! Our late night snack at home was pear and cheese with wine which was delectable as usual.
Weather-wise, it was a pleasant 2.0 on the Knowmark Weather Scale as we did encounter a bit of rain. But there wasn't too much of it and the temperature was just right. Not too bad at all!
Anyway, we spent close to three hours in the museum, which was great. This is truly a wonderful city for art lovers. On the way back to our apartment we stopped for lunch, setas con jamon to start, followed by sepia a la plancha then flan for Steve and croquetas caseros and coffee for Susan.
After a short siesta we went on another small shopping trip, looking for a few wine-related supplies to take home. Eventually we hit a few of our favourite haunts for tapas. At Casa Poli (or the "red bow-tie place" as we refer to it) we had a particularly yummy version of patatas a la brava along with the usual bread with blue cheese and anchovy that they always seem to give us there. At Taberna Ultreya they fed us hazelnuts and tortilla with chorizo and peppers and in addition we ordered a tapa-sized version of their calamares a la romana which are really good. All washed down with wine, of course! Our late night snack at home was pear and cheese with wine which was delectable as usual.
Weather-wise, it was a pleasant 2.0 on the Knowmark Weather Scale as we did encounter a bit of rain. But there wasn't too much of it and the temperature was just right. Not too bad at all!
posted by Steve at
11:00 p.m.
