Day 10: Last Day in Madrid

Visited 2 more museums, the Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativos and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.

Walking back toward the Metro in Sol, I ran into the celebration of Madrid's soccer team the Atleti. It reminded me of the ticker tape parade, without the ticker tape! I took pictures, and from what Eduardo said, I saw some of the biggest celebrities in European sports...no Jeter to me!

Later that night after dinner, we surpirised Eduardo with a cake for his birthday that is Saturday, since we would be in Barcelona. Early flight in the AM, so a couple hours is all we will get....zzzzzzzz

Day 9: Templo de Debod & English Class

This Egyptian temple was a gift to Spain, and moved piece by piece around 1968, after Spain helped salvage it and others from immersion from Lake Nasser. I struggled this morning to get moving after our late night last night, but I'm glad I got moving.

We had lunch, walked around a bit (AKA shopping), then we headed to Nicole's school for her evening class of teens & tweens! I really enjoyed observing these young Spaniards struggle with my language! A short blog tonight, I'm pretty tired, and Nicole is keeping me busy...Barcelona will require all of my energy!

Day 8: Museo del Prado & Flamenco

I took up the offer from Geronimo for lunch and some sight-seeing while Nicole was at work today. We agreed to meet in the Plaza Mayor at 1pm. We ate from a "menu": a 3 course meal where you chose each course from a daily selection. After, we walked the streets, talking and avoiding crowds.

We walked through the Botanical Gardens and then through the Museo del Prado. I would not have gone to this particular museum on my own, all classic work. But having Geronimo as a tour guide, I gained more of an appreciation as we walked through the halls. My favorite painting by far, Bosch's Triptych of The Garden of Earthly Delights. We continued on after we both purchased a book from the Museum shop, and found a nice place for wine and tapas. I told him I was meant to meet him and have these profound conversations on life, love, family and travel. My heart beats with the excitement of returning home with a new perspective on life - I am looking forward to New York City more now than ever.

I stumbled on a tattoo shop & peeked my head in. He stayed outside while I bought 2 t-shirts. He reminded me of the time - I needed to get back to the apartment to meet Nicole in 30 minutes. We said our good-bye's and I rushed to the Metro. As I approached the platform, the train was arriving. The doors opened & there was Nicole! What are the chances!

We changed clothes for our evening plans, and headed to the Taberna Restaraunt for the Casa Patas, flamenco en vivo. The show did not start until 10:30pm, we sat at the bar for more wine and tapas. I am having the time of my life & I'm so happy to be sharing this experience with such a good friend!

The performance was breathe-taking. The passion of the flamenco is unlike any other dance I have seen. I remember the master class in the Great Hall at MMC, and all of us just trying to get the beat - 1,2,3 1,2,3 1,2 1,2 1,2

I had visions of Savion Glover pounding the shit out of the floor while I watched this woman. There must have been a flamenco influence in hoofin'? Not only was the dance emotional, but the guitar and the singer evoked their song as if they were crying through their instrument. It was so captivating & no way can someone teach a person to sing like that!

Day 7: Downtime

Woke up today not feeling too hot & today was a good day to stay in & rest. Watched The Big L & UP. I hope that today's R&R did the trick, because I have more exploring and fun to have!

Day 6: Toledo

Happy Mother's Day! In Spain, Mother's Day was celebrated last Sunday, but I'm wishing all of the mothers, grandmothers, aunts etc... a very happy day!

We had a very long day yesterday, and slept in. Eduardo went to the local flea market early on, and when he returned we were ready for another road trip, Toledo. It is another town that was about an hour drive from their apartment. The day was back and forth between light rain and gorgeous blue skies... either made for amazing photographs. I felt like we were in the movie Labrynth, and I quoted the movie over and over while we explored the cracks and crevices of the Goblin City, "LUDO, CALL THE ROCKS!"

We walked all over, up and down, roads and paths and every little corner seemed to be an amazing opportunity for a phototgraph I would cherish forever. After lunch we continued on, I could see more of a Arabic/Muslim influence in the architecture than the other villages we had visited so far.

Around the outskirts of the village, we came across these three young boys playing in their courtyard. They had a pet rabbit, and Eduardo started talking to them. I shot away, they were precious, and let him hold their rabbit that they told us they had found down by the river. I hope I am able to capture more portraits like I did here. Shooting buildings with the correct light, can get repetative.

We made our Mother's Day phone calls, thanks to Skype - it cost about 20cents, so it was well worth the call! I love you mom, and I hope you enjoy the blog!