Day in Madrid

Any hotel breakfast that has chia seeds, oats, Greek yogurt and nuts on offer is a winner in my book. Back to my “Clare breakfast”!

I wanted to visit a couple of sites that I had never been to. First stop was the Liria palace, which is still the home of the current Duque de Alba. He is 76 now, and his descendants don’t want to live here, so I assume it will be permanently maintained as a tourist attraction. A lot of of the same over the top trappings as with any fancy palace, but there were some things that were really awesome— a first edition of Don Quijote, a letter from Christopher Columbus to his son, a letter from Fernando e Isabel to Columbus, an illuminated medieval Bible, a very famous portrait of the Duquesa de Alba by Goya (her “pair” is in the Hispanic Society in New York, where I saw it in February). And then there is supposedly the first portrait Velázquez did of one of the princesses who figures prominently in Las Meninas. Not to mention an El Greco crucifixion, though he’s not one of my favorites. All in all it’s really worth a visit, with all the typical palatial rooms filled with all sorts of tchotchkes. Several months ago there was a Joana Vasconcelos exposition there, which must have been so much fun to see.

Then a quick visit to the Cerralbo Museum, definitely a poor cousin of the palace I had just visited. But there was a pretty astonishing candelabra of Murano glass. This would not be on any list of top sites in Madrid in my book — but it is free for over 65.

After a five minute walk, I got to the Templo de Debod, built in the 2C BC to the gods of Amun and Isis. It was a gift from the Egyptian government when they built the Aswan dam and flooded a lot of ancient sites. Other temples went to New York, Turin, and Leiden). Admission is free, but you have to reserve online ahead of time, only 15 visitors per half hour slot. There were many disappointed arrivals when I was there.

I hopped in a cab and went to the Suanzes metro stop to meet a camino forum friend, @pelegrin. Instant connection with lots to talk about. After lunch, we walked around two old estates which are now public parks. The owners (counts, dukes, or something similar) were able to strike a deal with the city of Madrid – you give us permission to build apartment buildings over here, and we’ll give you all the rest of the land.

So it’s my last night and I was lucky to snag an early reservation in Cuatrodeocho. So yummy!!!! Just so I won’t forget the names here are the other places I have enjoyed on this trip — La Buganvilla and Orio. Ojalá Café in Plaza Rastrillo is very popular, and though I only had an agua con gás, the food looked very good.Baca lagi