1980 Madrid (7/21/1980)

Monday, July 21, 1980

Arrived in Madrid much earlier than expected, by 09:00. Went first to the restroom to get cleaned up, then had breakfast of melba toast and water. Dry! We took the long hike to the Metro station and Metro'ed into the center of Madrid.

Madrid Metro ticket

We first looked for a hotel, and found one almost immediately. Got settled, then went off to the Prado for more art immersion, including the great variety of Goya.

Museo del Prado ticket

Postcard of Museo del Prado

Statue of Velazquez in front of the Prado (TAT)

We walked up to the El Retiro Park to eat a lunch of tuna fish sandwiches and huge raisins with seeds and stems to crunch which we had bought with a huge bottle of Coke at a tiny store. In the park, workers were hosing down the trees with firemen’s size hoses. We then took a walk towards a small museum of artifacts, but halfway there we realized it would close before we reached it. So we stopped in at a Sears Department Store, and checked out the bikini sales. We took the long hike to the Plaza de Toros, site of the bullfights, a "neat" looking building, but it was closed up.

Plaza de Toros

Plaza de Toros (TAT)

We found a café for Cokes and a restroom for Kathy. Then we Metro'ed back to the center of the city, and wandered through the shopping area to waste the siesta time. Fortunately a couple of the larger department stores remained open during the siesta; we priced souvenirs and even looked for the shop where I had bought Spanish soap last year, but the shop was now non-existent. We walked to the Plaza de España where Kathy and Terry soaked their feet while I ran up to the Burger King to get milkshakes.

Kathy and Terry soak their feet in Plaza de España

Then we walked to the Palacio Real/Royal Palace, where guards, waved us away.

Palacio Real

So we wandered into the nearby gardens where some travelers were resting and wading in the pool. We took yet another long hike to see Goya’s tomb, which was a one-room "museum." Not much, but...

Goya's Tomb ticket

We then walked back to the center of the city passing through Plaza Mayor which kind of looked like St. Mark’s Square in Venice. We returned to El Corte Ingles department store to buy a supply of soap as souvenirs which I charged. We took a break drinking sodas and eating potato chips while listening to a street violinist. I didn't realize it was already dinner time because my watch had stopped. When I discovered it was almost 19:00, we went off in search of a restaurant on Barco Street as recommended by the $10 book. We found a restaurant serving the recommended gazpacho, but it wasn't to open until 20:30. So we took a walk to find the flamenco theater which we found rather quickly. We walked into a nearby department store, the Preciados, to check out their bikini sales and to waste more time. We finally ended up sitting on a bench out on the main avenue for a half hour until it was time for dinner.

Kathy hanging out (TAT)

As we sat looking over the menu, we overheard at the next table a fellow asking in English for a typical Spanish meal, but the waiter didn't understand. So I thought I might be able to help by suggesting a couple of typical Spanish items, such as paella and gazpacho. This guy wanted to know what these things were but I could only explain paella since I didn't have the slightest idea what gazpacho was! Unfortunately the restaurant did not have paella that night. The waiter finally got a dictionary to help. This guy was Arabian who was studying in Colorado. A couple other Americans came in and heard us talking and tactlessly asked what he thought of the Iranian situation. He wisely withheld comment. We haphazardly ordered the gazpacho, a tortilla Españole, and the menu of the house. The gazpacho was a very cold vegetable soup, and the tortilla was like an omelet with potato, and Kathy got cream of bean soup, Spanish meatballs, and watermelon. Then we went to the flamenco place, but were scared off by the fanciness of the doorman. So we went to another Burger King for milkshakes. We returned to the hotel, took cold water showers and went to bed.

Map of Madrid

Next: Torrejon.