Our last full day in Madrid (sad face!) and we did make the most of it!Yesterday I was stupid enough to wear my really good walking boots with really crappy socks, meaning that by the time we got back to the hotel my feet there on the verge of blisters and looking worse for wear. I've only got tiny feet as it is, all of my lovely curves on dainty feet don't really mix!! Safe to say today there was no way I was wearing my snug walking boots so the only other option was my lovely flat brown shoes that are no good for walking and pinch my toes. Safe to say that the word of the day has been: dolor! (pain!).
We started off at around the same time today as we did yesterday as most places don't open until 10am anyway. I love the Spanish. We made our way straight into town to visit the Museo de Plazo! We jumped off the Metro in central Madrid at Benco de Espana and it looked a bit like a war zone when we arrived! There were police everywhere and M said he saw a bomb squad vehicle, not to mention the sound of what we thought was gunfire, pretty scary I must say. Thankfully, after a few minutes or sanding around wondering WTF was going on, we saw it was a protest that was actually quite calmly moving through the centre. They were throwing smoke grenades which was the reason for the loud bangs and smoke, but the reason behind the protest was fairly innocent and to do with the Uber protests. More on the story here: http://venturebeat.com/2016/02/18/spanish-taxis-block-central-madrid-in-uber-and-cabify-protest/
We avoided the protest and wandered up the road to the Museo de Prado. The Prado is an art gallery type museum instead of a museum as we would think with artefacts etc. instead this has lots of classic paintings in it. We spent about 2-3 hours wandering around the various galleries, and saw some incredible pieces. The Flemish section was really interesting, and had lots of paintings dating back from our period of re-enactment too (1460-1485). My sister, Teapot, will be really interested with the painting I sneaked a photo of because of the little white do that looks a lot like Princess! :)
One of the most amazing paintings we saw was that of Mary Tudor! The standard painting that everyone has seen in books and on TV etc, we got to see it in real life. That was a pretty incredible experience! We even got to see the really famous painting of her husband, Philip!
When left the Prado, I was not even trying to pretend that my feet were's absolutely killing me and we headed for the shopping district down the road. We wandered past Prada, Versace, Diesel, and lots of other brands... but I am far too cheap to spend 200E/£200 on a pair of trainers, despite the pain in my feet!! The hobble down the road for a few miles did allow us to see some gorgeous architecture though, I really love the shutters and little balconies at the windows. I love Spain!
We gave up in time for Tapas! I'm loving this idea of tapas! Lots of delicious dishes for not very expensive price! M got to have his Cafe Bonbon and I got to try gazpacho soup... which was interesting! I knew it was a Spanish soup usually tomato based, but I'd totally forgotten it was cold until I took the first spoonful!!! Definitely different!! The meatballs in curry sauce were nice though!We realised pretty soon that we were not going to find me some trainers in the shopping district (as I refuse to pay 200E for trainers...) and hopped back on the metro (literally hopped, so much pain!) and headed towards Gran Via which is another main shopping district... luckily this shopping district is much more my type and houses a HUGE Primark!! So excited about that!
I grabbed a cheap (and I mean cheap, 8E!) pair of trainers and some fresh dry socks from Primark and muddled through with poor Spanish at the counter. Next stop the Farmacia for some ibuprofen from the very good looking pharmacist with the lovely accent and a quick swap over of uncomfortable shoes to trainers that were two sizes bigger than I normally take! Luckily really comfy trainers! The ibuprofen worked double quick time and by the time we landed at Sol station I was feeling 80% more comfortable.
Outside Sol station is a big area that reminds me of Trafalgar square as its full of tourists, street entertainers and pickpockets. M caught LARPer poor thing and I had to peel him away from the strangely dessed person before we headed down the road towards the Mercado de San Miguel.
The Mercardo de San Miguel (Market of Saint Michael) is one of the oldest covered markets in Madrid (possibly even in Spain) and sells all sorts of tapas type foods such as meats, shellfish, cakes and of course lots of wine! I love Spain... we spent a while wandering around the market before deciding on a plan for dinner: buy bits from the market and some wine from the petrol station near our hotel and then eat back indoors as the market was really crowded.
We purchased chorizo, parma ham, anchovies, breadsticks, and two slices of tortilla (Spanish Omelette) and took them back on the Metro with us, 100% planning to have a quiet dinner and maybe head to the pub for a night cap. Events however took another turn and we were completely stuffed after dinner and didn;t actually move! Early(ish) night instead, nursing the blisters on my poor toes, and we'll be ready for the long journey home tomorrow.
I really don't want to leave... Its been a lovely 48 hours in Madrid, I've been impressed with how much Spanish I have remembered from years 7 & 8 and how well I've muddled through (with LOTS of help from Google Translate!!). This little trip away has actually cemented my mind that I need a new job and a new direction, so watch this space as plans are afoot!
Until tomorrow, adios y buenos noches!
