Dia del Retiro II

(Sorry, internet was out last night)

This time Peter wasn’t feeling well in the morning...he had a fever and nausea, so we went back to sleep and that seemed to help a lot. Slow mornings are okay. Eventually we made it to the Palacio Real (royal palace) and that was quite worth it! Peter thought it was more grandiose than Buckingham. It was impressive in that the kings had commissioned famous German, Italian, *and* Spanish painters, and imported tons more flashy things from other countries besides. There was one room whose walls were entirely decorated in 3D porcelain, one that was red velvet and gold as far as could be, one that was oriental yellow, one that could host and seat a gala of 140 people, and so on. There were even rooms that had been redone over the ages, and the audioguide told us that, for example, a huge fresco was hiding above a decorative roof in one of the billiards halls. We also took tours through the Royal Pharmacy, which was a hoot, although we felt slightly less safe when we noticed that some of the jars were still full of suspicious liquid. The Royal Armory was cool too, with full-on man-and-horse regalia for battle and show. It was a huge, grand place that made up for the somewhat lackluster Madrid experience thus far.

By the time we got out, the cathedral was having a midday nap, so we headed across the bridge to sit at a really lovely outdoor restaurant. The birds were having a field day all around us – that’s what birds in Spain do, apparently, always trying to steal your meal – but the view over the lower gardens was great. We got a half a Spanish omelet because I thought that was both the tastiest, most authentic “safe” food for Peter. It’s basically eggs, potatoes, butter, salt and pepper. Anyway it was delicious, and although our drinks were expensive (8E for a glass of orange juice, albeit delicious, and a can of Coke? Are you kidding me?) it was satisfying and a pretty cheap lunch anyway. Sitting in the shade watching the world go by is worth it.

Although it was across town, the Museo de Prado was next because the cathedral wasn’t yet open. It’s a huge place, but thankfully nowhere near like the Louvre. It’s also mostly filled with Goya stuff, which was cool as I watched the movie on him while in Mexico. I couldn’t remember as much as I’d like though, but it was ok nevertheless. Tiring, though, and less engaging than the Palace, so although we hit all but two rooms we were pretty burnt by the end. We could have taken the metro home but we decided not to …good thing too, because we stopped by another bakery and tried out more Frigo products. Hooray ice cream! Peter also got a chocolate-covered elephant ear. Then it was time to run some laundry in the washing machine in the hostel (!!!) and nap before our next event of the day.

Dinner, we decided, was going to be a dress-up affair, although our version of dressing up is pretty basic for some Spaniards. Anyhow I had looked up some good cheap places to go earlier, but they were all packed, so we crossed the street to this very important looking restaurant in search of The Fancy. The setting and the free appetizer croquettes they brought certainly were, but the main entrees (Peter tried rabbit for the first time; I got lamb) were … less so. Mine even came with French fries! So that was weird. But it was the first time we had got a legitimate Rioja (instead of being pushed off to something else) and it was quite good, possibly the best part of our meal. I guess I’m not so much against paying a lot for meals, although it seems that way, but more that I suspect that equally good (or better) meals can be had for cheaper. But as has been typical in Madrid, we paid for atmosphere – and air conditioning! – so it was fine.

Tomorrow means Barcelona traveling around 4pm our time! We’re shooting to get the Museo de Reina Sofia and the cathedral done before that, although we’ll see how Peter feels. Hopefully another night with the window open (no screen, but I haven’t been bitten yet *knock on wood*) will do us some good.