Last Day in Madrid

We had an experience with tourist crime..it''s very common for teams of pickpockets to work together.  One gets in front of you and drops a jacket or something on the ground to distract you while the other goes after your wallet.  We were crossing the street and looked back and Gillian was yelling at someone, "Get your fucking hand out of my purse".  A pregnant woman had her hand in  Gillian's purse.  The man ran away and we chased after the woman.  She denied it all, but Gillian had seen her hand in the purse.  I followed her while Luis called the police and Gillian did a quick inventory of her purse.  She was shocked that I could speak Spanish.  Nothing was missing and we stopped following her-she disappeared into the crowds.  But we did give a description to the police and we hope they found her.  So, it's important to be aware of these schemes and keep your hand on your purse. It needs to be crossbody and not just on your shoulder. 

More beautiful buildings and Spanish doors.

Watermelon juice on our way to Reina Sofia

We headed off through town to Museo National Centro de Arte de Reina Sofia to see Guérnica and more Spanish Civil War art and photography.  Both Mariana and I are very interested in this period. There was a Dali exhibit,but we didn't have time.

There is a great rooftop terrace with nice views of Madrid and cool reflections.  No photos are allowed, but we did see Guérnica, which is spectacular.  They also have photos of Picasso's process and you can see how the painting evolved.  The painting was not exhibited in Spain while Franco was alive because Picasso would not allow it.  We were told that Picasso wanted it at El Prado, and it was briefly displayed  there.

After the museum visit we headed back to the Plaza Mayor and to the Mercado de San Miguel, a sort of combo of Hawker Centers in Singapore and Tekka Market in Little India.  There is food and a central dining area.

There are big fans to keep the market cool and they produce a strong wind.  We were invited to practice our Titanic-I'm-the-king-of-the-world poses.  Since it used to be Gillian"s favorite movie (now, embarrassingly so), she and Nana did it.

Mojitos to go and all manner of shell fish can be found there.

We explored around and had drinks. Then we headed back to the hotel to rest and returned for dinner and wine that evening.  

On our way back to the mercado, we ran into a procession of sorts-Catholic and maybe about a saint.

It' a beautiful glass building and the wines are amazing.  We had clams, a meat/ham tray, with cheeses and breads.  It was a great meal and very relaxing.  The evenings are warm but without the Asian humidity, you can enjoy walking and being outside.  I loved that everyone was out and strolling until well past midnight and I could get used to resting and heading out again in the evening.  Madrid was lively and so fun.  Luis was less impressed but I enjoyed being in the heart of old Madrid and seeing all of the wonderful old buildings.

We had a lovely walk home past the palace.

On to Granada the next day