Back in Madrid

After our quick trip to Barcelona, we had a few more sites we wanted to see in Madrid. I set the alarm to get up at 9 but decided to change it to 10 and see if Elizabeth noticed. She obviously did not since the 10 a.m. chime was the first she knew of morning.

First on our agenda was finding breakfast. I had seen a small crepe shoppe on my solo excursion earlier in the week, and amazingly I navigated us back there with ease. Nutella and dulce de leche never tasted better than inside a warm crepe.

I think she's in Heaven!

not much left

The Museum of Costume or Museo del Traie, located in the university district, was first on our sightseeing list. Elizabeth plotted our route on the metro, and we were quite pleased at our success in finding it. We also enjoyed walking in a different area. The museum features "costumes" or articles of clothing dating from the medieval times to the 1990s. We both commented that the staff seemed especially pleased that we were there. It is off the beaten path and a little difficult to find so I am sure that when Americanos arrive they get excited.

Obviously the fashions of the 2012 will not go down in history

The next stop was back to the cathedral. We wanted to confirm that the "lost" wallet had not been accidentally left there when Elizabeth paid for our tickets. Unfortunately it did not magically appear so we moved on across the street to the royal palace.

Palacio Real de Madrid is quite large -2300 rooms - but only the bottom floor is open to the public. Its many rooms are small but extravagantly appointed. We were also able to visit the armory, which made us wonder how in the world those knights ever got up on the horses.

ladies at the palace

Having become experts at the metro, we set out for the Chueca district - kind of the SoHo of Madrid. We located the central plaza and an outdoor cafe where we enjoyed a wonderful pizza while soaking up a little sunshine.

I wish we had these back home. All you do is push the button and your waiter appears.

Have you noticed that they don't give you water with your meal - only wine.

Elizabeth taught me today that you can use a knife as a mirror to put on your lipstick. Now where has she been all my life?

We're not really sure what these are, but there were mighty pretty.

The top right is what you get when you cross broccoli with cauliflower. I'm thinking you'd just get a lot of gas!

Just in case you would like a hare for dinner

The supermarket where you can buy just about anything. The top floor had restaurants all around the perimeter.

Walking in the Chueca district

It was now time to do some power shopping. Gran Via is the main avenue that runs from the heart of old Madrid to Chueca. We meandered our way back to town this route but were disappointed to discover that this Avenue had all the stores we have back home. It was like the Renaissance on steroids. We did stop for a diet Coke and use of the free wee-fee (WIFI) at McDonald's.

Gran Via - a shopping mecca

A chance encounter with Jack Sparrow was a delight


Once back in old Madrid, we found a couple of shops that had items we wanted to purchase. Seeing as Elizabeth had no money and I was now bankrolling this trip, I decided it would make things easier if we did separate credit card transactions for each of our purchases to make bookkeeping a little easier. This worked fine until we made it to the third store. Elizabeth made a transaction, then I made a transaction, then I decided I saw something else I wanted and tried to use my Visa again. Now, I'm not sure if Visa thought fraud was taking place or what, but the receipt spit out those word you never want to see, "card canceled." Fortunately I had an American Express so we were able to make our purchases.

On our way home we decided to try to use the card one more time just to see if it would work. Of course, it did not. Thank goodness for my sweet banker at BankPlus. With a phone call and a few text messages back and forth, and a plea for him to hurry up because it was 9:15 at night and we were starving, finally we were back in the financial business.

So what do we do? Go to dinner, of course!!

tuna tartare - topped with guacamole

fried potatoes with relish and caprese salad


Over dinner we made our plans for our last day in country - a road trip. Stay tuned for the next post and follow us as we explore the countryside of Spain!

Briefly in Barcelona

Cherie and I decided to strike out and try a train trip to Barcelona on Wednesday. Cherie was particularly interested in going to Barcelona -- though it ultimately was not what she anticipated-- and I was excited to check out a different city and ride the high-speed "bullet" train. We set an alarm to catch the early morning train, and we were able to see the moon over Madrid on our walk to the station.




The train ride was very interesting. The train itself was very nice, a smooth ride, friendly staff, and it is was fascinating to see the changing landscape. We drove through a lot of fog, an area with, I would guess, 3 inches of snow covering the ground, vineyards with rows of pruned grape vines, and farms of olive trees. It was beautiful.

Now, I'm a bit of a planner. [See first blog post.] I bought a book about Madrid in October, I had things in mind that I wanted to see there, etc. Barcelona was Cherie's baby and she is much more of a free-wheeling, fly by the seat of her pants traveler. I wanted to be one of the cool kids, so I went with it. In short, we went to Barcelona with nothin'. No plan. Just a backpack (yes, you read that right -- a backpack, as in backpacking through Europe) in case we wanted to spend the night. In case??? In case??? Be a cool kid. You can do this, be a cool kid.
We arrived in Barcelona (sans plan) and opted to buy a ticket for the bus tour around town to orient ourselves to our new city. On our first jaunt, we rode the bus up Montjuic hill and around the port area.

On the bus tour --- "Cool Kid."

Stomachs growling, we were intrigued by tales of seafood (i.e. not jamon) at the many restaurants around the port area. So, we hopped off the bus, walked around the port area a bit, and settled on a wonderful outdoor cafe for lunch. The food was outstanding.

Cherie strolling the port area.

Stomachs growling, we were intrigued by tales of seafood (i.e. not jamon) at the many restaurants around the port area. So, we hopped off the bus, walked around the port area a bit, and settled on a wonderful outdoor cafe for lunch. The food was outstanding.

Cherie enjoying our lovely lunch outdoors.

Ditto.

First Course - steamed mussels. Rock on.

and "Fish Soup," seafood in a tomato-broth. Outstanding.

Grilled Salmon and Sea Bass (not pictured).

We omitted a picture of dessert. It was only fair.

Lunch was truly a treat.

So, after lunch, we headed to catch the bus for more of Barcelona. At the stop, we met a woman visiting from California who had been in Barcelona since Friday. Great! We are here for one (or two days) -- what do we need to see??? She said she had mostly been riding on bus tours. She had gotten out at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, but the line was too long, so she got back on the bus. She also told us she "heard" the Cathedral was not that great inside and walking around the outside was plenty. Ok . . .

We rode the bus through the 1992 Olympic Village area. Much of the Olympic sites were also viewable on the drive around Montjuic. When our bus entered the Gothic quarter, we hopped off to explore, particularly the Cathedral. We took a chance and went inside (against the advice of Ms. California). It was breathtaking. Cherie and I both took a lot of pictures. A sample...

,

Cathedral entry

Cathedral (restoration ongoing)

Stained glass inside.

After the Cathedral, we wandered around the Gothic quarter, which was lovely. Barcelona has a public bike system, where bikes are parked all over the city, you borrow one and return it to any rack around town when you are finished. Neat. In an attempt to be photo-artsy (think "cool kid") I took a photo. (Heidi C. watch out!)

Bikes are everywhere in Barcelona. These are provided to residents as part of their taxes.


We continued on through Madrid to Sagrada Familia, a cathedral designed by Anotonio Gaudi. Work on the cathedral began in the 1880's and IS STILL ONGOING. There are estimates that there is another 40-70 years of work left, depending on funding. Seriously? It is unusual and quite a site. It has almost a sandcastle appearance. And it also has these odd details, words, baubles - for lack of a better term-- and it's rather strange to look at. Gaudi and his work are synonymous with Barcelona, and we saw a lot of his creations throughout town.

f

Sagrada Familia

Our next stop was the Palacio Real de Pedralbes and its gardens. It was used a royal residence in the early 1900's, and our visit was pleasant. We strolled the gardens and contemplated what we were going to do next.

Palacio Real de Pedralbes

Beautiful gardens at the Palace

Notice the backpack - what are we, 20?

We hopped back on the bus, made the rounds at Barcelona's soccer stadium, and contemplated whether to stay the night or go back to Madrid. We reviewed some of the "big" attractions for Barcelona. Aquarium - nah. Zoo - nah. Soccer museum - nah. Art museums - Cherie's done with those. We decided to head back.

Now, some of you may say, "I can't believe they went to Barcelona for the day." Frankly, I can't either. But we did. And it was fun. I don't regret it one bit. Cherie wanted to see if, but I think she expected more of a quaint, charming little seaside town. Barcelona is big, and in my opinion, not as pretty as Madrid. It was not what she was expecting, and that's ok. I'm glad I got to see some of Barcelona. Heck, I saw more than Ms. California had and she'd been there since Friday. I took off my "planner" hat for the day and rolled with it, and it was fun.


Off to the train station we went. Bought a ticket home and arrived back in Madrid by 11:15 p.m.

Finally, I know what you are thinking --- what did they have for dinner?? We enjoyed a light dinner of tapas at a wine bar about 3 doors down from our apartment.

Potato omelet, beef tenderloin with a mushroom cream sauce, pork tenderloin with caramelized onions and brie. We also shared a green salad with tuna and olives and a slice of warm chocolate cake. After dinner, we crashed. Ready to sleep in and resume our routine of Madrid sightseeing. We heart Madrid.

C'mon Cherie, keep up!