Thursday, May 28, 2015

May 14 - a day to explore Madrid

As we departed the hotel for our day of adventures, we noticed that each floor had some historical artifacts.  Here is Patty trying to use one of the old style phones.




Thursday morning, we went to VIPS for a hearty breakfast.  VIPS is a chain restaurant that has good value and reasonable prices.  It was obvious that their menu in English had some issues with translation.  I am sure they mean the customer can choose the beverage, not the restaurant.


We took the metro across town to the Atocha Train Station stop and then walked through Retiro Park.  We came across many noisy magpies.



We stopped to smell the roses at the rose garden.  Rather than competitions like the Roseleda, this is more permanent display.



We went north and visited the Crystal Palace - the walls are all glass.  They regularly change exhibits there.  This time it was "Tuiza: The Cultures of the Bedouin Tent" by Federico Guzmán.  "Tuiza is work that is carried out in collective solidarity.  It refers to the act of gathering, participating, and constructing something with everyone's involvement."




We then went to the Velasquez Palace, also in Retiro Park.  They have changing exhibits from the Reina Sofia, Museo Nacional de Arte (nearly all of their art is modern art, as opposed to the Prado which has work going back many centuries).  Here we saw Carl Andre's "Sculpture as Place" - it was a bit strange.

We exited the north end of the park, and as we walked to the nearest metro station, we passed a bakery that my sister Helen would love.




We took the metro back to the hotel for a respite, then went out for dinner.  We went to Terra Mundi to meet my friend Carol Prada.  She suggested this as a great place for Galician food and wine, and we were very happy with the choice.  Besides the unique decorations, we had excellent starters of grilled cuttlefish and broiled scallops.  Patty had pulpo (octopus) and Carol and I had bacalao (cod) accompanied by Albariño wine, and followed by ice cream.








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