If It Was Today…

Technology is wonderful … except when it isn’t. We had been thinking of taking the train to Toledo today and decided to book tickets online. I downloaded the app, created an account, and then tried to book our tickets. What could go wrong? Turns out, everything. First the last seats on the train disappeared between the time I selected the train and completing the transaction. We opted for a later train, but then my credit card needed to send a code to my mobile to verify the purchase. The code went to my Canadian number, of course, so I needed to activate that number again, and then the transaction was denied anyway. Twice. We decided it was a sign, and that is how we ended up at the Madrid Flea Market today. Apparently it is one of the top things to do in Madrid, so it all worked out in the end.

We waited till after lunch because we enjoy a slow start to the day, and because we hoped the crowds might be thinning out by then. Nope. Fortunately Jan wore her pink jacket to make it easier to spot her in the crowd.

It was a good thing she did, because it was all too easy to lose sight of her in the crowds. Can you spot her pink jacket in this next photo? It’s there … look closely.

I’m not sure if this next item was for sale, but it was an interesting touch.

We bought a few souvenirs and then headed to lunch. Getting a table indoors turned out to be a challenge on a busy Sunday, so we ate outside, even though it was quite chilly today. After lunch we went for another walk in the park, where I couldn’t help taking more pictures of the plants.

Notice how the underside of the Magnolia leaves are brown and furry.

This next one is a Persian Silk Tree, which still has a few blossoms.

We then walked around the large pond in the park, with many people enjoying a boat ride on a pleasant Sunday. We took a selfie to prove we were there.

As we headed back to our hotel, we spotted cats on a hot tin roof, so we had to take a picture.

Tomorrow we fly to Lisbon.

We decided it was time to take it easy for a day.

I was going to say we wanted to have a quiet day, but given the many people on the streets of Madrid, it wouldn’t be quite right to call it quiet. But we enjoyed ourselves, just walking around the city.

That’s all for today.

Today was a museum day, and because we have very different tastes in museums, we decided to split up. But when we mapped out our routes, we discovered we were heading to the same general area, so we walked together. Along the way we passed the Palacio de Buenavista.

There was a large crowd on the sidewalk and we could hear a marching band. We briefly thought it was another protest, but it appears it was a military ceremony – perhaps a changing of the guard – it wasn’t clear. We didn’t stop to watch because we couldn’t see that much through the crowd, but a little further along we could see other ceremonial troops getting ready for action. I love the optical zoom on my iPhone…

Jan went to an art museum and I went to the Archeological Museum. I love Roman history, but this time I decided to learn more about the time before Roman Spain. I take my time in museums, so I only managed to get as far as the Phoenician trade with Spain, where I discovered that the rich families (oligarchs) controlled the trade routes to ensure that they got richer while everyone else … didn’t. I can’t decide if the fact that some things never change is reassuring or depressing. Probably a bit of each, I suppose.

When it was time for a late lunch we found a restaurant a little off the beaten path. We had another local salad, with wine, of course. As we were finishing, the server brought us complementary Orujo, a Spanish digestif similar to Marc or Grappa (but much better, Jan adds). It was a lovely end to the meal.

We headed back to the hotel to freshen up, and then I went for another walk to a large park that I’d spotted earlier. On our way to the museums we had passed two grand pianos on the sidewalk, with different people playing a song or two, and then getting up for someone else to have a go. On the way to the park, I passed two more.

After pausing to listen to the street piano music, I continued on to the park. It is huge. Here are a few photos to give you a sense of it.

A lot of the park was paths through trees, but there were also fountains and a large pond, where you can rent boats.

Later, we headed out for tapas, which was a perfect end to the day.

Yesterday was a travel day. Even when flying within Europe, travel seems to eat up the entire day, and that was the case here. Flying through Frankfurt is always a bit of an “adventure” but everything went smoothly and we arrived in Madrid right on time.

Today we took it easy with a late start and a quiet morning walking in the neighborhood around our hotel.

After a late lunch (delicious and very reasonably priced) we took the Hop-on-Hop-off bus tour around historic Madrid, just to get a feel for things. After taking the full route, we got off at the Botanical Gardens. It’s late fall, so there wasn’t that much to see, but it was still lovely and the quiet was just what we needed after the noise and bustle of the city.

We’re having a little down time now, and later we’ll head out for tapas and cava.