Dia del Retiro

Well…today was a relatively slow day. I woke up with a bad headache and nausea, so we slept in and only managed to get to the supermarket for breakfast foods before noon. The room had been really hot the night before and the pillows were kind of hard, so those in combo with the sangria probably worked against me. A (really cheap yay!) meal at a local panederia (bakery) helped me feel a bit better, and Peter got a chocolate-filled éclair that was fantastic. When I finally felt up to walking, we got to our presumed destination – the Museo del Prado, a very famous one – and realized that none of the major museums are open on Mondays. Drat. Instead we rerouted to the Parque del Retiro, which is a gigantic park kind of like Central Park in tone. People were running, laying around, biking, etc…not as grandiose as the Real Alcazar but nice. Saw a random art installation entitled “Are the animals people?” wherein two animal suits had been stuffed and hung from the ceiling of a beautiful greenhouse, with xylophone music playing over the loudspeakers. It was pretty creepy but the building itself was worth it.

Walked up Gran Via afterwards, which was kind of a tame Broadway shopping district. We saw a Nebraska restaurant on the way, which was surprising. But our main goal was to hit Madrid’s version of the Plaza de Espana and compare. Sevilla’s wins hands-down with impressive architecture but Madrid’s had more shade, and we sat in the back, talked, and watched people flow by for about two hours. We were both pretty beat – garden touring is hard work, and the streets here are steeper than in Sevilla. I think our legs are starting to complain about the constant movement versus our previously sedentary lifestyle at home.

Anyway, one of our maps – we have about five now, somewhat by accident – suggested going to the Museo de Jamón (Museum of Ham), which we thought was too amusing to pass up. It was a bit early for dinner but we went in anyway. Jamón serrano hocks galore! A bit creepy, and unfortunately a bit of a letdown. It was just a restaurant with a lot of ham on the walls, not a museum or anything remotely informative at all. Our meal was ok though, and I got a chance to take some pictures, so it was fine. On the way home we passed by the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) and the adjacent cathedral to check their hours…those look pretty big and fun! We will probably try and hit them tomorrow along with the museum, but of course our plans remain flexible.

Other than flexibility, we’ve been in Spain long enough to have learned a few other things. One is that Frigo beats the crap out of Nestle when it comes to ice cream bars. Mmmm. The second is that these Spaniards take two things seriously: gardens and ham. Thus we have, without planning it, spent the day in a very Spanish fashion. Go us! We’re home pretty early for Spanish standards but that’s all right, I think we both can use the extra downtime. Busy day tomorrow (we hope)!

PSA - Pictures are up on Flickr! Can be accessed by clicking my name in the Dopplr box and looking under the Sevilla heading OR clicking the new Flickr badge. Let me know what you think of the new app; I'm still deciding whether to keep it or look for another. It's taken me long enough to get it working for tonight though, so I'll leave it for now.