K & L's Travel Blog

Madrid, 24 January 2024

Today at last is our planned visit to the Prado.  Talk about planning, reading and preparing.  It is like a strategic planned attack.  Lorena purchased our tickets online and she knows what door to go to and how to approach the building.  

We arrive before opening time and are second in the “reserve” line.  Even though I don’t have the language I can tell others around us are confused and questioning where to go.  I am such a helper I want to intervene but I can’t.  Not having the language makes me have boundaries.  

Inside we have a full security check just like at the airport.  Bags have to be scanned and you have to walk through metal detectors.  It is slow and frustrating as people forget change etc. in their pockets.  Once again, the lack of language keeps me contained.  

Inside luckily Lorena knows what galleries to visit and has a map on her phone. The building is huge.  Really huge. Lorena is thrilled. I head for benches when I spot them and I have no problem people watching and waiting while Lorena shoots off to view specific paintings.  One thing I enjoy is that they have artists set up with easels copying the famous paintings.  It is fun to see their renditions. I can tell that hands are really hard to paint.  

Goya, El Greco & Velázques; Bosch, Brueghel, Dürer, Rubens & Rembrandt and one Caravaggio. Wow!

(no photos allowed)

Outside in the sun we seek out calamari sandwiches for lunch.  The calamari is flavorful but I suspect it was frozen.  Our standards have really risen!   It is after 1:00 o’clock and we are the only people in the bar/restaurant.  We have adjusted somewhat to the meal timetable, but clearly not entirely.  

After a walk through the royal botanical gardens where I got lots of good ideas we realize we are near the big train station and we need to buy our tickets for our overnight this weekend.  The train station is so big that they have a tropical rainforest in one section.  Lorena’s knee is acting up so we are avoiding steps, which complicates our quest.  We trudge from one section to the next trying to find the right desk.  Finally, our number is called and we step up to complete our transaction.  The girl takes all the information and then she says, “I need your passports or picture IDs.” Damn! We don’t have them. And we were so close.  I had a picture of my passport on my phone but the battery was dead. Talk about frustrating! 

We resign ourselves to the idea that at least we know where to go when we return.  Not all travel is fun and light. We board a super-crowded Metro train home and then mistake the #002 bus for the #2 bus and have a longer walk back to the apartment. Once there, we have a Swiss chard salad for dinner. Incredibly satisfying and restorative. Full moon tonight.