| Erin's Madrid Journals 6-15-02 Saturday was our first full day in Madrid, and we set out to attack our list of 'must see' items. First we wanted more information and a better map - the stuff in the station is crap! So we went to find the main information office, which just so happened to be near the museums we wanted to check out this afternoon, first stopping to find some pastry for breakfast. The tourist office was much more helpful than the train station outpost, as we gladly found. They gave us some pointers about the flea market, the used bookstores, the parks, etc. as well as a better map, so we were glad we'd stopped. From there, it was a short walk past some really nice 5 star hotels and a Planet Hollywood (which posted the scores of the World Cup standings in their windows so we could keep track of when those games were happening). We turned that corner and I gleefully noticed the Starbucks right next door! I'm not usually a coffee hound, but in 95 degrees, anyone can see the benefits of a creamy smooth icy frappuchino! Even Glenn, who hates coffee passionately, was willing to take a chance on one of the new non-coffee frapps, which is really just an expensive milkshake. But he liked his too, and we indulged in the coffeehouse custom of relaxing in the cushy Z Gallery chairs, sipping our frapps, and reading. Ah, heavenly! After my happy frapp experience (gotta write Janer on this one), we went across the square past a really cool Neptune fountain to the Museo del Prado. No, not Prada, as I first thought...it's art, not clothes. But the good thing is that it's free on Saturday afternoons & Sunday, so we were going to wait for the 2:30 opening to get in. While we waited, we went back to Atocha, hoping to find a new customer assistance agent for train info to San Sebastian and Milano, but found the same grumpy lady as yesterday. So we left instead, had hot dogs nearby, and picked up a couple of used books at one of many stands lining the street near the station (yea!!! Somthing new!!!). We got back to the Prado at 2:30 and joined one of the 2 lines forming. We didn't know which was which, but only waited about 10 minutes to get in. The only difference would have been which floor we started on, and since there was an overabundance of stuff in there, we did just fine starting at the bottom. Whoa, was there a ton! Both paintings and sculpture were on display, but I was more impressed with the paintings. The best pieces, I thought, were the ones by the Spanish masters, but there were great artists from all over the world, some of whom we'd seen pieces from in Italy as well. We went through all 3 floors before giving up in exhaustion, and we were whipped after that. We walked a little more to get to the Parque de Retiro, hoping to find a cooler spot to sit and relax for a bit. We ended up on a nice little park bench near a fountain and vegged for about an hour. Then we wandered through the middle of the park a bit, and headed back out towards the Puerta del Sol, at the center of the city. We had to go through the prostitute district to get there, although I didn't notice much except that the people there looked and dressed much more cheaply than elsewhere, but Glenn warned me not to get separated from him. Not that anyone would be approaching me for favors at this point, looking as drab as I do in these travel pants!!! You've seen the pictures, so don't try telling me I look 'nice!' We found an Easy Everything internet cafe, of the chain we'd enjoyed so much in Barcelona, but we didn't want to buy time there in a block yet as we really needed someplace with a cd drive to help us with our photos, so we passed it up and checked email somewhere else before going to dinner. We were walking back toward our neighborhood and found an alleyway full of restaurants with tables outdoors. We checked over the other people's food before selecting the restaurant on the far end, then sat and enjoyed a huge platter of paella and a pitcher of sangria. We were wary of the nightlife noise after the fiasco of the night before, so we got a few snacks on the way back to the room. Glenn passed out early (must've been tired!), but I couldn't sleep over the noise until around 2am when it all became a loud murmer in the background. The partying downstairs continued until past 7am this time, so we both woke up to it off and on until the construction in the square started the next morning. Madrid is a loud city. |
| The Palacio del Communicationes, near the museum district |
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