Sean's View of Madrid

Of the two of us, Sean is the real photographer. His assignment on this trip was to photograph me (LOL!) and make me look like a traveling starlet (LMAO) in the gorgeous city of Madrid!

Here, Cristiano and I enjoy some Spanish coffee before we go to the Prado Museum. As I recall, the service at this particular cafe was abominably slow. Unlike the Zurich Cafe that Sean and I went to in Barcelona. When we arrived there, no tables were in the shade. So, we moved one. Little did I know that we had left Spain and were in Switzerland. The angered waiter came over and shouted "MOVE!" We had to move to another table in shade that had just opened up. I asked for a croissant with jam and he misunderstood and thought I meant a filled one. He replied "NO!" Apparently they were out of them. He reminded me of the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld. But, we were served extremely promptly, unlike this cafe, where I was sure the wait staff forgot about us, only to learn that we were in between shifts. Oh well, it gave Cristiano and I time to catch up.



"Yada, yada, yada..." "Where's our refill?"


It was cold and drizzly waiting for the Prado tickets. But I was well prepared for any weather with my Tilley hat and wind breaker.


The Prado has merged old and new, adding a new wing that encompasses an old church.


Here is a close up of the mating of the buildings. Discuss.


Here are some lovely buildings that we passed on our way to the Prado.


A close up of the Institute of Cervantes.


More really neat buildings.


Great art deco details on this building. Look closely at the glass enclosed balcony and the awning over the door.


The street signs in the old part of the city were made of tiles and were very charming. However, they were not conducive to being read from a car. Maybe there is a message there.


This lovely old building was across the street from our hotel. It was at one point being used as a movie theater. Now it seems to be abandoned.


Now this is an entrance.


Here we are back with beautiful doors. There were quite a few in both Madrid and Barcelona.




Even the newspaper kiosks were pretty. This one is a work of art.


Here I am north of the Gran Via, posing in front of some baroque decorative stairs dating from the 18th century. The stairs are still in use and a fountain runs at the bottom. Click to enlarge.


Here is a shot I took of the Casa de la Panderia in the Plaza Mayor. It was built in 1509 and the fresco was completed in 1922.


We went to Atocha station to catch the Renfre high velocity train to Barcelona. I was very impressed the tropical garden in the center atrium space. Look at the size of it!


I couldn't wait to see if there were fish in that healthy looking pond. But no, it was infested with turtles. The water was brownish with turtle offal. Yuck! No wonder the plants are so green.



The high velocity trains were quiet, comfortable, and clean. Here is what the world looks like at 300 KMPH:




Next: Sean's View of Barcelona!