May 8 - 9, 2010 -- Madrid

Madrid is a great city and its museums reflect the fact that it was the wealthiest and most powerful European country from the fifteen through the eighteenth centuries. Certainly the Prado Museum reflects this status. They purchased art from Italy and the Low Countries and they attracted artists from these places as well. They identified with classical Rome and classical motifs are evident throughout the royal buildings. We got great exposure to Velesquez, Goya, Rubens, Titian and others at the Prado (spent 7 hours there).

This morning we visited El Rastro, which has to be the world's biggest flea market. It extends for about a kilometre up one street but spills out on parallel and side streets; thousands of stalls and hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists. We left all of our valuables except the camera at the hotel and wandered about the market for an hour or so, which was definitely enough -- one of those once in a lifetime experiences.

From there we toured the Royal Palace and it was over-the-top sumptuous! Although the royal family does not live there, the palace is still used for state occasions such as the signing of the European Union agreements. The conscious attempt to connect the Spanish monarchy to classical origins is obvious in virtually every room. The display of medieval and early modern weaponry in the royal armoury was amazing.

We had dinner for the last two nights at the Mercado de San Miguel, a large Movenpick-type restaurant that is absolutely packed from about eight o'clock to midnight. The tapas are excellent. Crowds are four or five deep at the counters. We were jammed in and became quite friendly with our neighbours on both nights.

The first three couples were from Brazil; their English was pretty good and we parted good friends. The reason that there are only men in the photograph is that the women were off getting tapas for the men. Duane obviously could use a good South American wife!

Tonight we met a couple from Panama and Argen- tina and again hit it off well. Adrian spoke German and Spanish and Monica spoke Spanish and some English so our conversation was trilingual. Of course Duane exchanged cards and invited all of them to visit us in Canada.

This is our last night "on-the-town" in Spain and it is sad to be leaving. We have truly loved our Spanish Sojourn.

May 6 - 7, 2010 -- Madrid

On Thursday we reluctantly left our monastery at Segovia. That wonderful hotel was exceptional in every way, including price, 83 euros ($110 Canadian) per night, which included parking (often this is 20 euros extra) and a superb buffet breakfast (not usually included).

We drove from Segovia to Madrid where we returned the rental car to the airport and took the Metro to our downtown hotel. Although we had two transfers, we managed without a hitch as the underground is well signed and easy to navigate.

After checking into our hotel we decided that a walking tour of nearby Plaza Mayor, Peurta de Sol and Gran Via area was a necessary first step.

Madrid is a large, vibrant city and a mecca for tourists, mostly from Spain. We window shopped on a pedestrianized street, people watched at the Puerta de Sol, strolled to the Plaza Santa Ana for tapas and returned to the hotel. Again and again we noticed young women out with their mothers, shopping or just walking and enjoying themselves.

Today, Friday, we had a light breakfast in the hotel and Duane went shopping for a fuse (which he found just up the street in a little shop that specializes in fuses, batteries and bulbs) for our Kindle. Duane is absolutely loving having the Kindle with us as he reads the Toronto Globe and Mail and the New York Times every day. It's especially wonderful to stretch out with that at night when one is absolutely too tired to take another step. (NB: Carol would use the Kindle as well if Duane would let her get her hands on it.)

We then walked to the Museo de Reina Sophia, which has quite an extensive Picasso collection including the amazing Guernica and numerous individual working studies which informed that painting. There were also many Salvador Dali paintings, one of which is included here.

We spent about four hours admiring the wealth of artistic treasures, had lunch in the museum restaurant and then returned to another floor of the museum where we saw the more modern works of art.

After leaving the museum we took a bus ride to the north end of town, through modern Madrid, with its office towers and government buildings. Madrid is extensive and it has a wonderful mix of old and new.

April 30, 2010 -- Off to Madrid

Friday was a travel day. We vacated the Frigiliana apartment at 11:00 am and mailed the keys to England, then visited Nerja for morning cafe con leche and some window shopping.

We have been fascin- ated by the ubiqui- tous clutches of old men congre- gated in plazas in every village and town we have visited. In Nerja Duane asked, mostly by gestures and body language, to join one group for a photo op and the men were agreeable -- at least we think they were. The day was lovely -- 27 to 30 degrees as has been usual -- and we meandered along the Mediterranean coast through a number of little villages which now seem to be mostly English enclaves.

We drove to Malaga, left our rental car in the public garage and walked to the new and very commodious Malaga airport, still somewhat underutilized and barren. After leisurely tapas in the airport we caught the Spanair flight to Madrid where we took the hotel shuttle to a marvellous four star Hotel Husa Neuvo Boston. We have found really good deals on some of the better hotels, depending on the day of the week, and this was one of those good deals.