Starting at 11 AM limits the days options.

This morning started at 05:15 with us commenting to each other that we can't get back to sleep. At 08:45 we woke up and discussed getting out of bed again. This time we did. Randeen wanted to go for a run in Parque del Buen Retiro which is behind the Prado a couple of blocks away. I was committed to finishing yesterdays blog entry. I decided to remain at the keyboard.

First, coffee had to be made. We have a stove top espresso maker which we knew how to use, but the problem we encountered was turning on the stove.

We spent about 15 to 20 minutes trying various combinations of button pushing. I'm sure some of the sequences negated our attempts to apply heat to the bottom of the pot. Eventually the burner fired up and coffee was made. The second pot only took 10 minutes of button pushing. I'm confident we will only need 5 minutes of button pushing tomorrow.

The next morning issue was using the keys. Randeen was going out for a run. There are 2 keys needed to get into our apartment. Neither is completely simple to make work.

One key (normal looking key) is to enter the building and the other (funny looking key) is to enter the apartment. Each key requirers the user to find the sweet spot in the locking mechanism before turning it. The key fob is actually a bottle opener which might come in handy if one wishes to enjoy a beverage while sitting on the front step waiting for someone to open the door from the inside. Randeen bravely took the keys and went on her run. She returned with successful openings and no lingering key phobias.

We finally got out of the apartment to enjoy Madrid at about 11:00. This was to be a museum day with the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza on our list. Both of these museums opened in 1992 after our last visit to Madrid. The Guernica moved from the Prado to the Reina Sofía; we wanted to see it again. The Thyssen-Bornemisza private collection was the basis for this museum, a very amazing collection. It is always surprising what a lot of money can buy.

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

Hallway in the Reina Sofía 

Guernica is a large mural size painting was completed in 1937; it measures 3.49 meters x 7.77 meters. Its subject is the bombing of Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. It was carried out, on behalf of Francisco Franco's nationalist government, by its allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe's Condor Legion and the Fascist Italian Aviazione Legionaria. Picasso was commissioned to create a mural depicting the horrors of the massacre. 

Guernica

There are lots of other paintings to see as well, for example...

Femme assise accoudée (Seated Woman Resting on Elbows) 

Pablo Picasso

Pintura (Hombre con pipa) (Painting [Man with a Pipe]) 

Joan Miró

Visage du Grand Masturbateur (Face of the Great Masturbator)

Salvador Dalí

We stayed at the Reina Sofía for about 3 1/2 hours then it was off to find a lunch place. We went back to our apartment to pick up another camera battery and decided to eat at a small place next door, a 3 course lunch menu for 9.50 euros. I had a beer; so, it blew the budget. Sorry, we usually forget about food pictures until we have made a mess of the plate.

We went to the Thyssen-Bornemisza and stayed until 18:30 (or 6:30 PM). Then back to our place stopping for essentials at a small market, bananas, a pear, and a bottle of carbonated water. Healthy living.

A little after 21:00 (9:00 PM), we went in search of a tapas bar called Los Gatos. This place was highly recommended by Fernando (if you don't remember who Fernando is, check the previous post). Los Gatos was packed. We squeezed through the crowd and found a spot in the back. I think the front of the bar is the cool place, the place to be seen. After a barrage of "too fast" Spanish, our wait person slowed to a less frantic pace and even threw in a few English words.

We ordered a few things. They arrived and were delicious. We remembered to take a few pics after we devoured the first plate - smoked bacalao on a bed of ripe tomatoes, and topped with pimentos and sun dried tomatoes. We had a word exchange with our waitress explaining the words for sun-dried tomatoes in both languages. 

The last bite of the smoked bacalao 

Beans with a Spanish ham jam (not sweet jam)

and tomato bread with oil

an appropriate beverage to accompany the food

some canapés selected by our waitress

Randeen to the rescue when some folks from France sat at the table behind us. They did not understand Spanish, and their English wasn't so hot either. Randeen translated Spanglish into French. Smiles from our waitress.

Back at our place by 23:00 (11:00 PM). Seems early, but we need to catch the train to Sevilla tomorrow.

PS for today: in the Thyssen-Bornemisza, Randeen overheard some women speaking French. One used the word nonante; the word for ninety in Belgium but not in France. She asked if they were from Belgium; they were Swiss. The Swiss use nonante, too. I don't think they were pleased to be thought of as Belgians, but that's how the Swiss are. Living in Belgium may give us a better understanding of this reaction.