TeleMadrid


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In our downtime we’ve been checking out Spanish TV.
The only option in English is a European version of CNN which covers a LOT of information about the global market (yawn) …

There’s one station that has taken very odd American shows and dubbed them into German … ???

Cynthia’s currently hooked on a TeleMadrid show called Metro a Metro, a game show that uses the Madrid Metro as the the playing board and the contestants advance by answering questions about the City.

Cynthia shouts out answers in Spanish and has been getting some of them correct, including one about the Metro itself.

It’s rather surreal…

Lazy Day


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Today we decided we would go to the store and buy some supplies. I needed razors and Cynthia needed contact lens solution. The store to buy ANYTHING in this town is El Corte Inglés.

When I say anything, I mean ANYTHING. The store occupies several buildings over several blocks right off the Peurta Del Sol. If you go in one door it’s electronics, another door it’s books and so on. It’s like a US mall but all the stores are one company.

We got what we needed, but will return just to have a look around. It’s always fascinating to me to wander a department or grocery store in a foreign country.

After dropping off our purchase in our hotel room we made our way to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

The Reina Sofia is a world renown modern art museum and houses many great paintings by Picasso and Salvador Dali just to name the big ones. We were there specifically to see Guernica, the piece done by Pablo Picasso depicting the Nazi German bombing of Guernica, Spain by twenty-four bombers on April 26, 1937 during the Spanish Civil War.


Image taken from The Elegant Variation

You read about this painting, you see it on TV or even in the occasional movie, but there’s nothing that compares to actually standing in front of it and gaping in slack-jawed awe at it’s larger-than-life magnificence.

As I’ve heard it said before: You know, I’m no art critic. But I know what I hate..

In many ways, my going to these art galleries is like cultural chemotherapy. Hopefully the exposure will have a positive and life enriching effect.

I did see some amazing things and there are more art galleries to come.

We’re back at the hotel now and it’s siesta time.

One last note, I wish I could have all my prescriptions filled here for the rest of my life…


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The tile work is amazing…

Night Life


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Cynthia has never been a night owl. She’s usually down for the count by 9:30 or 10:00 pm and would certainly NEVER consider going out for a bite to eat at 10:00 on a Sunday night.

Not so in Madrid. This town has changed her.

We got back from Segovia and I was beat. I laid down and napped for a few hours only to wake up to the sounds of Cynthia changing clothes. She said she’d like to go out for a walk and maybe have a bocadillo (sandwich) and maybe a sangria.

I got up and got dressed and we headed out. The evening weather was absolutely perfect. No coat was needed and we were perfectly comfortable.

We walked over to the Plaza Mayor and found a table at the restaurant we discovered the previous night and sat down. We ordered our food and sangria and sat to watch the worlds go by.

Many, many people wandering the square. Young lovers walking hand in hand, a group of old ladies all sitting beneath one of the lamps in the square who I would bet are there each Sunday night, odd groups of tourists here and there. Simply magical.

And the music! There was this band starting to play near us. Just 3 guys. I got up to take a picture as a 4th was arriving.


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I figured since he had an upright bass and there was already an upright bass player he was just going to talk to someone and move on.

Nope.

By the time I took this picture there were 3 upright bass players.


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By the time we moved on there were about 12 musicians in total. Horns, percussion, guitar and the three bass players. And they were good, too! Swing music with heavy Latin overtones. They would be a huge hit at the Continental Club for sure!

Indulging Myself


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Segovia – addendum


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When we were reading about Segovia in the Rick Steves’ guide he mentioned something called the House of a Thousand Beaks. As bird lovers this caught our imagination. Rick Steves didn’t give any details about it other than it’s location so I went online to see what I could find out about the House of a Thousand Beaks.

Surprisingly, I came up emtpy.

Still, we sought it out while we were there and we found it and I think these pictures show clearly how the building got it’s name


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Being a Sunday, it was closed. Or maybe it is just a house. Still, it is my hope that this post will help others who try to do an Internet search for the House of a Thousand Beaks…

Segovia


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Today was our first “day trip” during our vacation.

Segovia is located about 50 miles northwest of Madrid and makes it an ideal one day visit as it only takes about an hour to get there by bus.

I was particularly interested in Segovia because I wanted to see the Roman aqueduct that still stands there.

To get to the bus station we had to take the Metro, the underground subway system in Madrid. No big deal, right? WRONG!

I don’t think I fully appreciated Cynthia’s fear of the underground until today. I knew she was not fond of the subway from our trip to Paris but I learned the hard way that Cynthia’s literally terrified of being underground. She’s got no problem being up on a rickety ladder hanging a quilt or whatever, but get her in a subway station and she can get rather freaked out.

To get to the bus station we would have to catch the subway train to the Principe Pio stop which entailed one transfer. It was quite a journey with poor Cynthia nearly hyperventilating the whole way.

Once we reached Principe Pio she was fine. The fresh air reinvigorated her and we headed over to the bus station, bought our tickets and boarded the bus to Segovia.

We were laughing and having a good time when all of a sudden the bus entered a tunnel. It was quite a long tunnel and again Cynthia was a bit freaked out.

We cleared the tunnel and before long we were pulling into the bus station in Segovia.

The weather was threatening to rain all day. Menacing clouds gathered above the mountain tops and the day bounced back and forth from cloudy to sunny. I think this made for an interesting day of photography.

Right as you walk into the city center you see this wonderful old church


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If you look in the upper right-hand corner you can see the cathedral in the background


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All very nice, but the main attraction IS the aqueduct


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So exciting that even William the Sheep needed to have his picture taken in front of it

We checked it out and then walked on to have a closer look at the cathedral. It’s more Gothic than you can imagine!


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From there it was on to the Alcazar


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We opted not to pay the entry fee to take the tours and just enjoyed the spectacular weather and scenic views


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After that, we headed back to our hotel in Madrid. Cynthia did much better in the tunnel and on the subway. I think that now that she understands it a bit better we’ll have less trouble. This is good since we have to utilize it for two more day trips from Madrid alone…

Paseando


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After our day at the museum and a brief siesta we decided to have a walk around the Plaza Mayor.


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At night it is a very lovely place. The weather is holding and it’s very soothing to be out and about.

Cynthia had read in her Rick Steve’s guide book that the Casa Rúa offered a tasty bocadillo calamare for 2 euros.


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Yup, a squid sandwich! YUM!

All kinds of characters roam the plaza. This group of ladies were all sporting light-up bunny ears.


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I’m sure they were having quite the good evening.

As we strolled past the various restaurants and shops we saw something that caught our eye and caused us to both stop dead in our tracks.


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There’s a message here, I’m certain.

We stopped to take a couple of portraits. This one I shot of Cynthia


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And this one is Cynthia’s first successful no-flash night shot


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We headed off for a night-cap of churros and chocolate at San Ginés Chocolateria


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After that, we returned, tired and happy to our hotel

Tomorrow, Segovia!

Madrid – El Dia Segundo


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We stayed up a bit late last night. It was fun to wander the streets and take in the sites after sunset. I am happy to have access to several Starbucks as it’s a great value on a huge cup of coffee.


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This morning we woke up much later than we anticipated. It seemed that it should only be around 7:30 am but was, in fact, 9:30 am. We were obviously more tired than we thought.

We got up, got dressed and walked past the Palacio de Comunicaciones on our way to the obligatory visit to the Museo del Prado


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The line to get into the museum was not too bad, even at the late hour. I was most pleased to see The Garden Of Delights by Hieronymus Bosch.

Now we’re back at the hotel for siesta and contemplating our next move.