monday, july 28
Today went much better. I connected to Raymon’s personal hotspot to get a WiFi connection. I plugged in the address for the museum. Navigation worked like a charm. Just like that, we were on our way to Museo del Prado. The tour was awesome. Our tour guide was great. Some of the sculptors and paintings in the museum are older than the U.S. It’s hard to imagine the skill it took to create some of the pieces , when taking into account the tool that were available. For instance, there marble sculpture of a lady draped by a material similar to voile (something sheer) revealing her breasts. That’s serious skill, imaginative, and creative The sculptor was skilled enough to bring what he imagined to life. Visiting the Prado is highly recommended. We met a nice couple (Gloria & Jerry) who had dual residence in the U.S.: New York and Florida. Both are retired academics. Jerry , who was unassuming, wore his graying hair in a ponytail. His canvas hat made one believe he was more geared for a safari tour as opposed to a viewing century old paintings in an art museum. He was more measured than Gloria. She navigated the museum with two hiking poles. When she spoke, her New Jersey accent filled the space between us. After the tour, we had lunch with them. They were fun to watch, and fun to be with, moving back and forth doing a tango; you know, that love and hate dance. This is the kind of world I want to live in. One where when someone is asking “Gloria, where’s the Starbuck’s?” One where someone will say “It’s right there. It’s over there.” One where strangers are not afraid to connect to someone they’ve met for the first time. One where people unfamiliar to each other will sit at Starbuck’s, drink water, while waiting for the tour guide to come.
Dinner was at La Mi Venta: we had one of the best meals we’ve had so far. We ate at La Mi Venta. One of the oldest, most authentic restaurants in Madrid. Our waiter, Atoura, was excellent. He understood when check in and when to give space. He walked us through the menu, helping us choose where to start. We had and appetizer made with Iberian ham (see my photos). The ham is cured and aged for a minimum of three years. Raymond had the Hake (a white meat fish) with sauteed vegetables. I had the steak from wood fired grill. The side dish gratin potatoes covered with onions and peppers that had a taste similar to okra. Atoura recommended Casal de Arman, a white wine that had the characteristics of chardonnay. Atoura assured me it was not a chardonnay. Each of had dessert. Raymond had the apple strudel in vanilla creme. I had the the white chocolate brownie with ice cream. We are three for three on our restaurant choices. To tie it all up in a bow, when we stepped out of the restaurant, waiting for ou Uber to arrive, a cool and steady breeze came in to stay.
Click the link above to see more photos from today.
