Madrid Day 9

Day 9

Madrid

Got up early – down to the lobby by 6:45 to be sure to catch breakfast by 7:30 and our ride to the train by 8:00. All went well. Caught our train on time. Pleasantly surprised that we were given seats in the Comfort Car (formerly known as first class) This meant that the seats were larger, there was more leg room and we had a food and beverage service. The ride was quite smooth and for most of the trip averaged nearly 200 mph. The countryside enroute was another surprise. Although it appeared some of the land was being farmed, much of it looked arid, no trees to speak of and what bushes we saw were low and stunted. Expected more greenery.

Arrived at our new hotel H10 Puerta del Alcalá. This is a much busier, much more modern hotel and its halls are much darker than our previous hotel. The room is ROOMIER all the way around. Took time to settle our things then struck out to have lunch. We settled on hot hamon y queso sandwiches and cervesa (ham and cheese sandwiches ‘n beer). At twelve Euros for two it was reasonable. We then visited the local park. A block away

Finding the Park Retiro entrance, we rambled in to explore. It was Domingo (Sunday) so everyone was out either enjoying the sun or the shade the park provided. The park was semi-crowded and semi-hot (about 85 degrees). The setting was lovely and seemingly endless we wound up hiking five miles, to and back and still did not take it all in. We saw numerous commemorative statues, many were dedicated to Spanish possessions, Cuba, Honduras, etc. The largest and most spectacular of the monuments was in honor of Alphonse the XII The peacemaker. Had to look him up – Spanish king in the latter part of the 19th century. He rose to the throne after a revolution deposed his mother. When we stumbled on his massive semi-circular monument we thought we had stumbled a great Roman ruin. Alphonse sits as an equestrian statue 100’ high surrounded by lions, mermaids and about 40 20’ high columns.

Moving on we saw so many families at play and so many loud birds. We tracked the squawkers down and learned that they were large Monk Parakeets. Many people rented pedal carts. Many fathers were sorry that they did, for the fathers wound up pushing a lot of those pedal carts that the kids refused to pedal. We saw a number of musician buskers. A violinist played a marvelous rendition of  “Ode to Joy” Simply marvelous. I stopped to listen. She followed it with her version of “My Way.” We saw a gentleman play “Dance of the Sugar Plum Faeries,” on his glass armonica. We walked just beyond the park and saw a man playing amazing Spanish guitar just outside the Predo. We also saw a bagpiper who was readying his pipes to play … and laughing, we ran back the way we had come.

Wearied, we made our way back to our hotel along Alphonso XII Way. Once we were rested up, we changed and headed for the 8th floor where there was an alleged swimming pool. There was – sort of - no more than 8’x12’ by 4’ deep, encased in glass. Just for show. On the other hand, the aerial view of Madrid was superb and the wine we drank there, excellent … though a mite expensive.

Headed down our micro elevator, smaller but far faster than the one in our Barcelona hotel. We scouted out the basement where breakfast was to be served. There we found a very impressive dining area with buffets on either end of the room. With stomachs rumbling we struck out to find dinner … well, pre-dinner wine first, then dinner. We did not have far to look. All we had to do was cross the street. Sitting down, we ordered an acceptable chilled red wine and people-watched. It’s fun being on vacation without any real schedule watching others bustling about making sure they stay on schedule.

Eventually, we wandered down the street to our restaurant destination, El Perroygaletta (The dog and the cracker?) Ordered Beef tataki and tacos al pastore, and a bottle of the finest red wine we have yet had. The food did not look like it would be that filling, but it was. We scared up old memories, reminisced and dined. Dreaming of future adventures. When the bill came we learned that our waiter was Ukrainian and we had a grand time toasting to the victory of Ukraine. Which reminds me, yesterday on the streets of Barcelona I was wearing my ‘support Ukraine’ shirt when a woman came up behind me saying “Excuse me – excuse me – excuse me, your shirt, I want to tell you - I want to thank you. I am Ukrainian. Your shirt – thank you!” Memorable. As was meeting our waiter who said loudly as he walked away. “SLAVA UKRAINE!”

That’s it for tonight. Sleep well. Buenas Noches my friends.

I am posting a selection of the thousands of pictures we took on Facebook. Look me up there and see what we saw!