Where Are We Today?: Two days in Madrid.

Sunday in Spain is a family day. I suppose that it used to be a day of church and

then family time. Now it seems to be just family time. There are churches everywhere, although we have not seen many people in them aside from tourists gaping at the glorious interiors. With the language barrior, we didn't get to a service and that feels strange.
The flea market in old Madrid is something I have never experienced anywhere before. It starts around La Latina metro station and goes for blocks and blocks. It has specialized areas for example, there is an art section of bad paintings, a live bird street which seems to attract men and it's the sort of birds with wings. There is a huge stamp coin and trading card area and a large junk area. We started in the clothing area because Sheelagh was cold and need

ed a hoody. The guy pointed to one end of his rack and said in his Spanish accent,"Extra extra large!". We still bought one and the guy is still alive. Then we wandered enjoying the atmosphere and the antique part.

After we had enough of that, we walked over to the Plaza Mayor and had one of our rare disagreements when I, being hungry, let a waiter sit us down in the plaza and order ONE pizza. It came and it was a six inch pizza and it cost $21. Canadian. Things got a bit icy for a while but warmed up as the day progressed.
We found the beautiful Plaza Orient near the Royal Opera House and had a sit and then went on back to the B&B because our legs were very tired. After a rest we walked down to the Prada Museum to enjoy their collection of Goya and El Greco and Velazquez. The last one is said to have done the greatest painting in the world, Las Meninas. Monet is said to have seen it and thrown down his brush and said, "Why do the rest of us bother to paint?"
Yesterday was rainy so we took a bus to see the modern part of Madrid, including their leaning towers, visited the memorial garden in the Madrid train station