We all enjoyed sleeping in and we didn’t actually get out of bed until 11:00. It was very nice to have a relaxing morning; we took our time getting ready and didn’t leave for the metro station until about 12:00. We took four stops to the Atocha station and headed toward the Prado. The weather was nice but it was overcast and the sun was trying to come through the clouds.
The Prado was incredible, three stories of famous art. We bought a Prado guide that was very helpful to read about the significance of each painting and a little bit about each artist. My favorite artist was Goya, he has a very interesting story. He painted the 2nd of May and my favorite the 3rd of May among many others. Both of the paintings tell the story of the Popular Class uprising in the early 1800s when Napoleon tried to remove the Spanish royal family from the throne and make his brother king.
I was disappointed to find that it was raining out especially because I opted to not bring my rain jacket. My parents were smart and they were kept warm and dry as we walked over to a nice restaurant across the street called La Taberna. We ordered some drinks and for lunch we had a mystery plate of six canapes. Canapes are open faced sandwiches; they consisted of some crazy combinations like smoked salmon and bleu cheese and me and my Dad’s favorite an octopus and cheese canapé. I was surprised I ate it all without gagging to be honest, my dad joked saying it looked like Medusa.
We took the metro back to Puerta del Sol and after a quick stop at Corte Ingles we went back to the hotel and started to get ready for the night. While Mom showered and got ready, Dad and I watched some tennis and the news (on BBC so it was in English) on TV. We took a cab a few blocks away to a Flamenco Bar called Cardomono. It was a very small, very intimate environment that was perfect. We enjoyed a drink and some great music accompanied with some very skilled dancing. After the show was over, I could definitely see why the New York Times had loved it so much.
The Flamenco show was over by about 9:15 and we had a dinner reservation at the Senzone at 10:30 so we decided to head over to the restaurant and get a drink before we sat down. I have really appreciated the time with my parents just sitting and talking over a drink. It is so relaxing and very fun. The dinner was out of this world. I ordered a beef tenderloin that was absolutely delicious. My dad had lamb shoulder and my mom had sea bass that were both excellent. For the second night in a row we lived up to the European standard and turned a meal into an event, we didn’t leave until after 12:00. It was a blast.
On the way back, we saw a ceremony starting at a church and we decided we would try and check it out to see if we could go to an Easter Vigil Mass. By the time we got out of the cab and walked back down the hill to the church, the doors were closed. We headed back to the hotel, deciding to go at 10:00 the next morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment