Madrid III

Third time appears to be the charm with Madrid. I'm enjoying it a lot. (Despite the fact that it is downpouring rain and there is no end in sight with the forcast.)

I had met two girls in Lisbon that are in Madrid right now. Mercedes is from Argentina and staying in my hostel and Lucia lives in Madrid now but went to school in Santiago de Compostella. (We bonded when I told her Galicia had been my favorite region in spain.)

So last night Lucia took us out to show us madrid. We went to an amazing tapas bar where they had tapas of salmon sashimi and brie with a pepper salsa on top... yum! Then she showed us a Rioja wine bar. Tonight she is taking us out to dinner as well. It is so great to have a local tour guide! The other encouraging thing is that I can actually understand her and mercedes when they speak to each other in spanish. It only took 7 and a half weeks of emersion to learn a few basics.

I spent the whole day today at the Prado. It was a popular option for tourists due to the rain so I had to wait in line for half an hour, outside, in the rain. Thank god for my seattle rain gear. Once inside and warmed up with a coffee I took to the museum. I had been before, when I was here last, but the visit had seemed rushed and in hindsight I felt I could have gotten a lot more out of the experience if I had invested in the audioguide so that's what I did today. The audio guide definitely helped me get a lot more out of the experience and I really felt like I got a better understanding of the art.

I am hoping to hit the Reina Sofia on Sunday and the Thyssen on Tuesday.