| The Cybele fountain stands in the roundabout fronting the Palace of Communications |
 |
| Erin's Madrid Journals 6-16-02, Part 1 This was Sunday, and we had planned a few things out for the day. Glenn is a big fan of flea markets, and the guide book spoke of a large one in a nearby district of Madrid. So that would be first on our list. Then, I wanted to see a photography exhibit that was purported to be in the Parque de Retiro (big city park we'd seen already), called "Playing with Fire." After that, the afternoon was supposed to by taken up at the Thyssen-Bornemisza, which was a private collection from some of the local royalty. So on the way to the flea market, we looked for a good breakfast spot. Glenn loves bread, so I was watching for a bakery. Sure enough, we found one, and it must have been good since there was a long line out the door. We got in and got a couple of pieces of bread for him and a croissant with ham & cheese for me (yum!). We also shared a big box of orange juice. No jugs here, apparently. We sat in a park across the street to eat, and watched some dogs play, as well as the unofficial beginning zone of the flea market, which was mostly sellers of drug paraphanelia. The Flea Market was just huge, encompassing a large wedge of neighborhoods, with the streets lined with booths of everything from the garage sale crap of the one in Sevilla to the chic new clothing you'd find in stores, to artisan works of metal & wood. We wandered through for over 2 hours, and by the time we felt we'd seen enough, the sun was really getting hot. I was annoyed already, as I tend to get when we're packed into a tightly bunched, slow moving crowd. Also, I'd just caught a woman trying to pickpocket Glenn right in front of me, and was kinda angry about that too. So we figured getting out of there would be good, and cooling down our first order of business. We found a shop for ice creams and sat on the steps of a church until they kicked us off. They always let the beggars sit there!! Why not a couple of non-bothering spectators?!? Anyway, ok. Then we found a McDonald's with a very good air conditioning system and had lunch until the sweat dried. Afterward we walked toward the museum district, keeping our eyes peeled for a computer store or internet spot that could put my digital photos onto a cd for me, as I was almost out of space and would soon be unable to take more pictures without deleting some of the others. No luck. |