Pictures of 07.25.00 -- Madrid – Day 2

This was the last full day of our journey. We were a little road weary and more interested in being in cafes and doing fun family things than in doing a heavy forced march or a day of many museums. We brought the newspaper and a book to amuse us ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250001 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250002 as well as the letter we were writing (more about that later) but ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250014 no dog. We walked down our street to the Palacio Real with its nice gardens and this statue ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250003 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250004 in the square. Our first stop was outside ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250005 the maze ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250006 which we began to explore ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250007 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250008 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250009 until we got to this tree ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250010 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250011 at the center of the maze.
We wanted to go to the playground but after a few minutes ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250012 this rope came up and we were told we had to go elsewhere because they would be doing filming. We first explored the statues ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250013 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250015 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250016 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250017 in the neighborhood. The Palacio Real ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250018 loomed large so we decided to go there. This was good because they had a sign ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250019 telling us how to get to the phone booth ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250020 should we need it.
Our first stop was at the Farmacia ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250021 which wasn't like the ones we keep seeing on the street. These were the containers ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250022 for chemicals ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250023 including Asparagus Officinallis used to make individual remedies. Next we got in line and waited ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250024 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250025 for our guided tour while Suzanne ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250026 grabbed an extra second ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250027 of shopping.
We first saw a few ceiling paintings ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250028 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250029 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250032 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250034 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250041 and this statue ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250030 that is a copy and sits below the sign ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250031 saying that in this room, Spain joined the common market (1986) and this was the room where the Middle East peace agreement was signed in 1991. The next room had this chandelier ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250035 that made Jane nervous ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250033 maybe because of the ceiling ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250036 Next it was on to the porcelain room ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250038 with this remarkable ceiling ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250037 which made us nervous ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250039 once more. Our next stop was the dining room with this table ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250040 that could seat 145 people. We concluded with a visit to this garish (maybe gaudy?) room ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250042 that was used for smoking, the chapel dome ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250043 and the armeria ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250044 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250045 where they would not let us try anything on.
All of this sightseeing made us hungry, so we headed off to the Plaza Mayor. On the way there, we passed the home office of the Paradores ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250046 that had defined our trip in Spain. At lunch we managed to take individual pictures in confused fashion getting too many of some and not enough of others ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250047 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250048 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250049 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250050 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250051 and so we invite you to use your imagination to see us all having gazpacho, sandwiches and salads.
Next we went to this delightful cafe ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250053 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250060 across from the Lacoste store ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250052 where Jane ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250055 and Benjamin ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250057 had this nice ice cream ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250054 while David enjoyed his beer ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250058 while Sarah ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250056 waited for her sandwich. We passed our time doing counting surveys of the people walking by ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250059 and recording the results on this envelope ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250061 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250062 Since the sky ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250063 was looking very nice, we decided to walk back to the hotel and mail the letter and have our siesta.
When we got started again, we had to decide where to go for dinner. We saw this place ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250064 but I guess I now have something in common with Ernest Hemingway. We did go to the Restaurant Botin as seen by their sangria bottle ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250071 and by their listing in Guinness as the world's oldest restaurant. Their silverware ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250072 inspired Jane to take artistic photographs and Suzanne was convinced to have the specialty of the house ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250070 roast suckling pig. As you can see, Sarah ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250065 Jane ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250068 Benjamin ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250067 Suzanne ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250066 and David ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250069 all enjoyed the meal (or at least all were happy that they would never have to pose for pictures over dinner again).
After dinner, we stopped at the chocolateria ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250086 for churros ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250073 and the thick chocolate drink ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250074 that is their specialty. The chocolate rush led to various character studies including Benjamin ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250075 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250076 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250077 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250078 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250079 Suzanne ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250080 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250081 and Sarah ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250082 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250083 We did a good job on the food ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250084 ../../../Sabbat/Pics/07.25.00Madrid//P7250085 as you can see.