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Today is March 11 and is the 9th anniversary of the terrorist bombing of the Atocha Train Station in Madrid. The explosions killed 191 people and wounded 1,800. The official investigation by the Spanish judiciary found that the attacks were directed by an al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist cell.
At the Atocha station there is a memorial dedicated to the victims of the explosion.
From Wikipedia:
The Atocha station memorial is a memorial monument located at Atocha station in Madrid, Spain, that commemorates the 191 victims of the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings and the special forces agent who died when seven suicide bombers blew themselves up on 3 April 2004.
The 11 m tall (36 ft) cylinder stands above Atocha station, the destination of the four trains that were attacked. Thousands of messages of condolence made in the days after the attacks are inscribed on the inside of the tower. The messages of grief can be seen from a chamber beneath the hollow monument.
It was a somber experience visiting this memorial on the anniversary. Something akin to visiting Ground Zero in New York, I would imagine.
From there we walked over to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum to view some more art. Because when you are travelling in Europe, you can’t see enough art. Visiting the Thyssen completed our Madrid Museum trifecta.
After this we were fairly tired and headed back to the hotel to readjust and then get some lunch. After lunch it was back to the hotel for a nice siesta.
When we woke up we made our way west to watch the sunset and take some night shots of the Temple de Debod, an ancient Egyptian temple that was rebuilt in Madrid.
It was cold and windy and we were anxious to get back to town where it might be a little less breezy.
Having had a rather substantial lunch, we were not all the keen on a large dinner. So we opted for some Churros con Chocolate at the famous ChocolaterÃa San Ginés which first opened its doors in 1894.
It was delicious, in case you were wondering.
After that I wanted to stop by the La Torre del Oro which is a bar dedicated to bull fighting. Many bull heads on the walls and photos of fighters getting gored quite gruesomely. It’s an interesting experience to say the least.
After that we we’re pretty much spent. Tomorrow is another day.