Prado, Retiro Park and Crystal Palace

Got a bit of a late start this morning but knew the Prado didn’t open till 10. Found a neat little breakfast spot called Matilda (https://www.facebook.com/matildacafecantina/ ) Had about 8 tables - one man guy doing all the work - very friendly - spoke very good English.. Had some yogurt/muesli and some sort of cake and Janet had an Egg/ham croissant and shared my cake and a few Cafe Americanos later and we were good to go.

Next stop the Prado, which goes without saying, was pretty spectacular. We spent about 3 hours there before heading over to a place that our Tapas Tour guide had mentioned served a great Menu del Día (Menu of the day). Another little tiny place on a side street which served about 10 people at a time. Got a spot without a reservation which was nice and had some good food - lentil/mushroom soup, yummy salad, coconut encrusted grouper, peppercorn pork tenderloin, apple tart, red and white wine and some coffee to finish it off. Met a guy from Scotland there along with 2 young folks from LA. Mostly natives there - so was a bit surprised to see so many English speaking folks. Word gets around on the Internet about good places I reckon.

We then headed over to Retiro Park to see the Crystal Palace which was very cool. Pictures will follow when I get a moment. After the park, caught the #2 metro back to our apt where I’m typing this before heading out to a Flamenco performance at Las Tablas (http://www.lastablasmadrid.com/en/flamenco-show…) in Plaza España It was one of Rick Steve’s recommendations so can’t be all bad. So many things to see and do - whew. Good thing I’m still a young pup!

Back later with pics!

10:30pm - just came back from Flamenco. Was fantastic! Incredible performers - well worth the money - would do that again, for sure. Small venue - less touristy than most. It was one of 3 that Rick Steves recommended and we took a chance. A bit tricky to find, but made it with about 5 minutes to spare. Afterwards strolled up and down the Grand Via - sort of the Times Square of Madrid or that’s the impression it left me with. Decided to walk all the way home which was only maybe 20 minutes. My phone tells me 21, 395 steps today - that’s a few!Read more