The Bald Heretic – Short, bald dude with a goofy beard

We’ve expended a lot of energy over the last few days. And we still have Las Fallas in Valencia to look forward to. With that in mind we took it rather easy today. We decided to catch the subway to go see the monument to Miguel de Cervantes, writer of the world famous story of Don Quixote de la Mancha and his trusty squire, Sancho Panza.

From there we made our way to the Naval Museum for a nice dose of Spanish naval history. The museum is very nice and well laid out. I was especially fascinated by the models and miniatures featured in the museum.

After visiting the Naval Museum we found our way to the Barrio de las letras (the literary district) to take a walking tour of the neighborhood which is filled with wonderful old bars, restaurants and shops decorated with ornate tile work.

While we were there we stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Miau where I discovered that I really like grilled pulpo (octopus).

We wandered the area at a leisurely pace and once we had our fill we headed back to the hotel and had a nice, long siesta.

When we awoke from our siesta we relaxed in the hotel room before heading out to find some dinner.

All in all, a very nice day and a chance to regain our strength as we get ready to wrap things up here in Madrid.

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 Chocolatería 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.

We woke up to rain this morning. We decided we would go to Atoche Station and get our train tickets to Valencia. As we made our way there the sun came out and blue skies were punctuated with moody clouds.

We walked around the train station and wanted to see the Atocha station memorial which is a monument 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, but it was closed for maintenance. We hope to get back and see it. The 11 March 2004 bombing is the equivalent of the 9/11 attack in the U.s. and the anniversary is coming up on Monday so they are making ready for that.

Since the sun was out we headed over to Retiro Park to take in the sights. We visited the Fallen Angel Fountain, possibly the only monument to The Devil in the world.

After the fountain we visited the Crystal Palace which is a spectacular glass structure in Retiro Park.

We wandered over to the Monumento Alfonso XII after that.

After touring Retiro Park we took the subway to Puerto Del Sol and walked over to Plaza Mayor.

Right off the main square of Plaza Mayor is a restaurant called Casa Rua which serves the best squid sandwich you can imagine.