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July 7th
We reach Madrid at 8:30 in the morning, but not at Atocha station but Gabby and I had been here before, so I know to stay underground and make the connection to Atocha without a long walk or having to repay to get back in.
Our Hotel Mercure is just a few minutes walk from the station and across the Prado, just about the perfect spot to be staying for three night with lots of things to see just a walk away. We arrive at our hotel very early and they allowed us to check in, because we were actually a day late. They recognized us as being on time. I made a mistake for the 3 nights, if we had not had the overnight train to sleep in we would have arrived early and not had a place to sleep. I thought that we would not get our 3rd night, but the mistake was a good one - we got 3 nights of sleep in Madrid and it was a relief not having to get on the i-pad and book other night and search out which hotel chain would give us the best deal on points. We checked in, showered and headed out to El Prado at about 11 in the morning. |
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The line to get tickets snaked around the park, we had to stand in a light rain. Within 30 minutes of waiting we bought our tickets for €15 each and entered the museum.
Robert would not stand still - he used the time to stretch his old tired and tight muscles.
The museum was overwhelming in size! So much to see, there was no order and we could not see it all. There were 3 floors with multiple rooms full of Art to see, beautiful paintings by the masters everywhere. A feast for the eyes.... Goya, El Greco, Rembrandt, and others dating back over 500 years.
I would say we saw about 70% of the museum in the 4 hours we spent walking around. NO pictures were allowed inside, but Carmen forced me to sneak in a selfie in the stairways just like the photo we took at the MET in New York.
Now tired we headed back to the hotel and rested then went out for evening dinner and more walking around. Carmen bought herself some pants and a shirt, because all her clothes from the Camino were worn out. I had started to leave clothes behind that I did not want to take back on the plane.
We loved walking the streets near El Prado, with many of the main streets closed off to car traffic for Sunday walks, so much to see , so much to stimulate us.
Robert would not stand still - he used the time to stretch his old tired and tight muscles.
The museum was overwhelming in size! So much to see, there was no order and we could not see it all. There were 3 floors with multiple rooms full of Art to see, beautiful paintings by the masters everywhere. A feast for the eyes.... Goya, El Greco, Rembrandt, and others dating back over 500 years.
I would say we saw about 70% of the museum in the 4 hours we spent walking around. NO pictures were allowed inside, but Carmen forced me to sneak in a selfie in the stairways just like the photo we took at the MET in New York.
Now tired we headed back to the hotel and rested then went out for evening dinner and more walking around. Carmen bought herself some pants and a shirt, because all her clothes from the Camino were worn out. I had started to leave clothes behind that I did not want to take back on the plane.
We loved walking the streets near El Prado, with many of the main streets closed off to car traffic for Sunday walks, so much to see , so much to stimulate us.