Plaza Santa Ana and King Juan

When I looked through the window this morning I saw the blue spotless sky again: Viva Madrid!
We left early for breakfast, which we picknicked at the square in front of the Almudena and the Palacio Real. My father turned out to be sick from the worthless diner we had last night, and didn't even finished the walk to the palace. That's what you get with those cheap restaurants... it wasn't a good idea of him to finish my melocoton anyway.

My mother and I visited the Palacio Real on our own, and free as we discovered yesterday! It was really worth de visit. I'm not a fan of the decorations inside buildings like the palace (I hated Versailles, that probably pictures it). All the little ornaments, the gold, the carpets,. .. I sure admire the craftwork and the value of it, but I can't say I find it beautiful. The only thing that really intriqued me were the many wonderful wooden floors. But we had a great time in the palace, following an English tourguide (which ofcourse we hadden't payed for ourselves) and listening to the explenations she gave to here group. She only noticed that we were benefiting from her loud voice at the end of the walk, and she asked us to keep distance, but it didn't matter anymore. Sticking with other peoples guides is such a cheap way to discover more about a place! It might be a bit dishonest, but then again, it works every time :)
From upon the square of the palace one has a great view over the Almudena, and the modern part of Madrid. We were enjoying some sun between the white walls of the palacio when we got a message from my father, who was feeling better and came to join us. That ofcourse, was good news (and I was glad I no longer needed to feel guilty about passing him my melocoton last night).

Once reunited we took the metro to the Arte Reina Sofia museum, today opened. I got a 50% studentdiscount, and since the palace had been free we saved quite some money today. The Arte Reina Sofia is a wonderful museum. I absolutely LOVED the permanent collection on the second floor. I'm a huge Picasso fan, and La Guernica was amazing! I've been standing in front of it for ages, and there are as wel many studies and pictures which show how the work evoluated during the proces. The painting was even bigger than I imagined, but mainly much stronger. The details are intriguing, and the mood "crazy", as an American tourist next to me described it. I love the alternation in light and darkness, and have a particular appreciation for the left/centre part, the one that changed most during the development proces.

La Guernica wasn't the only Picasso ofcourse, and the works of Dalí and Miró were great as well. The collection on the fourth floor wasn't what I like at all. I do feel for abstract paintings, but not for the works that were shown there. So I have spend most time at the second floor. After the visit to the museum we had a drink on a terrace nearby, and got our first free tapas! It was crap though, or well, at least in my opinion. Some meat and fries, covered in a thick brown sause, and it looked like it had been eaten once allready. My parents figured out that it must have been chicken, but nobody fools me. Those little boney things looked like small grilled birds or something. Yet my father, who doesn't really mind what food looks like as long as it tastes good, ate it all and loved it. So the "crap" rating is relative :)

We had breathed enough air co for the day, and took the metro to the Puerta de Toledo, and later walked to the Basilica de San Fransisco, which turned out to be closed for restaurantion. Because my father felt sorry for not have seen the palacio real we decided that he could go and visit it on his own, why my mother and I took a siësta in the Jardines de Sabatini. It was very hot today and when we arrived people were sitting all around the little pond, cooling their feet in the water, walking through it, or even swimming in it! Lovely! We joined immediatly, and after a long day of walking it felt wonderful to just hang around in the park and to enjoy a peacefull afternoon.

Dinner was helt once again at the Plaza Santa Ana. This time, we dicided to stay in the Cerveceria, since it was a nice place and the restaurants we chose the two earlier days variated from 'just not bad' to 'terrible'. It turned out to be a wonderful choice! We had tinto de veranos, wine and chips, later olives and spinache tapas, and for dinner I ordered a delicious Italian salad. Nothing Spanish, I know, but as a vegetarian it is not too evident to find a good dish in Spain. People eat lots of meat, so the salads and tapas is what I came for. After dinner (and quite some drinks) we went back to the Vinoteca, since my mother forgot her jacket there last night. The downside of Cava I guess, since neither my father or me noticed she left it. We asked the waiter if he might have found it, but we didn't count on it. The terrace had been crowded with people and tourists yesterday. Someone surely would have taken the jacket with him. But surprise surprise! We got it back. Celebrations with cava and tapas again, so when we left we were a little drunk but happy to have ended our stay in Madrid in such a great way!

Back in the hotel we asked King Juan to pose with us for a picture. He was very happy to do so. I'm going to upload the pictures as soon as they are developed!