Jan 1, 2017, we arrived in Madrid. We were both tired as the cough has gotten me, too. We decided naps were in order after we checked in to Hotel Europa, Madrid. George slept for three hours and then got up and went to bed for the night. We had breakfast in a very chilly restaurant the next morning but the coffee was good. We rested and then went to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. It is free on Mondays starting at noon. This is a gift from Master Card and there was a huge line to get in but it moved quickly. We got audio guides and my plan of action was to just look at the paintings that were on the guide. It took me an hour and a half to get through one floor and then we had coffee and spent an equal amount of time. What a great museum. On the way home, we stopped for some picnic food and noted many lottery sellers in the square. Madrid is dressed for the season. There is a huge Christmas shaped tree with lights in our square,
Had a lazy morning, and tapas for lunch--lots of interesting flavours together. There is a department store called El Corte Ingles that has everything you can imagine including a gourmet restaurant/grocery at the top and a more ordinary grocery at the bottom. Then we strolled along to the Palace. There are so many people out and about. The fountains are fountaining. Our square was humming including many large cartoon characters and a giant Peppa Pig. George took a photo so we could send it to Brienne who loves Peppa and her friends. We bought four tickets to the football game on Saturday--the seller told us that Ronaldo will play. I am so excited. Spent a couple of hours in the Museo del Prado which has some huge paintings. I can only imagine painting on a canvas that huge. The museum is free every evening from 6 to 8 and again there was a huge line up. I wonder how many are tourists and how many are locals. Seems like we seldom hear English being spoken on the street--people speak Spanish very quickly. Whew. We had a lovely stroll home--the streets are full of families and a comfortable feeling. We had our dinner of take away Big Macs--our children would turn up their noses at us. I consider the big M to be global!
Lazy mornings seem to to be order of each day. I am feeling well again but George is still coughing. Being sick is a drag but being sick on holiday is a bigger drag. We have both taking antibiotics. We walked to yet another Art museum today, Reina Sofia which has many Dali and Picasso paintings. I just can't see anything in their paintings. One called "Guernica" which covers most of a wall is billed as "the most famous painting in the world and is a symbol of a world's outrage at the horrors of war." It mostly just looks scary to me. I must ask Grant what he thinks as he tends to understand abstract/modern art. Anyway it was a pleasant visit--we had a nice lunch and on the way home, we bought a "Roscon de reyes" which is a king's cake eaten to celebrate Epiphany-more about that later.
Dah Dah: Sheryl and Neil arrived Thursday morning and were raring to go. What joy to see them! We ate the King cake which is sweet dough shaped in a circle and baked inside there is a porcelain king and a bean. The one who finds the bean, who was Neil, buys the next cake and the one who finds the king has good luck, who was George. We enjoyed it with Christmas oranges. It was great to catch up. Then we strolled around the squares, had coffee and chuerros (finger like doughnuts), and more coffee and hot chocolate which is like a thin pudding--very chocolatey and yummy. Then it was time for a break back at our hotel.
We lined up with everyone else to see the Three King's Parade which was spectacular. The floats were amazing--one was an acrobat on a swing hoop held up by balloons and held down by ropes which were held by men walking beside her. She was wonderful--it took about 45 minutes to see the whole parade. Another fav, was a robot who was 40 feet tall who was suspended from a tractor crane and puppeteers moved her feet. Her eyes moved and eyelashes opened and closed and she spoke in Spanish. At the end came three floats each with one of the kings with two helpers on it. Everyone cheered with delight. There were many families and also many with stepladders. A Brienne note: Peppa Pig was on a float as part of the parade. A couple nearby from Columbia said they knew Peppa too. I think she must be all over the world.
So we were ready for food. It was a joy to wander as the decorations are so amazing. We had tapas and beer and wine to salute the day. Then home to eat chocolate and drink a bit more wine while watching a "football" game on TV. A totally wonderful day.
Next day was a relaxing one for us. We strolled and had coffee a couple times while Sheryl and Neil went to the Prado which they enjoyed very much. Sheryl is using her high school Spanish a bit. We met up and went to a market that has tapas as the focus. We feasted on many delightful morsels--including one made with buffalo mozzarella cheese which is whipped and lovely to eat. They actually milk buffalo not to be confused with bison. Madrid is a lovely city with interesting squares and things to see at every turn.
We stopped at a few more places for coffee and more tapas and of course, beer and vermouth. Well, Sheryl and Neil tried the vermouth as it is popular here. We also had lovely ice cream desert before going home to bed.
Now to write about our tickets to see Ronaldo play soccer. We had considered checking to see if Real Madrid was playing while we were in Madrid and Neil is a keen fan. Lo and behold there was a game on Saturday, January 7 so Sheryl and Neil said they would order tickets on line. This was an issue as the site crashed. So we said we would check into getting some. We talked to the front desk guys and George found their website. Then we noticed that there was a Real Madrid shop across from our hotel. We asked there and were directed to a ticket seller a block over. The fellow had a hole-in-the-wall kiosk and said he had 4 in an upper level. He closed at 13h30 and reopened at 16h30 so we confirmed with S & N and went back in the afternoon. We were a tad nervous as the tickets didn't actually have a date on them but did have that Real Madrid would play Granada. Anyway, on Saturday, we took an underground train to the Stadium and found that the tickets were good and we had great seats. The game was exciting but one-sided. RM won 5 to 0. It is hard to explain the excitement of actually being at a game. We had become interested in soccer during the Euro Cup last year in Portugal. I got a lovely scarf with Real Madrid on it. We came back down town for a tapas crawl which was delicious. To prepare the bill, they count how many toothpicks you have. What an excellent day with an excellent couple.
Now we must pack and move on to Portugal. At the Madrid airport, I was wearing my RM scarf and after checking us in, the fellow pointed at me and shook is finger. I was taken aback and wondered what was happening. He laughed and said wrong team. I guess he isn't a Real Madrid fan. We flew to Lisboa and then to Faro where we met Karen and Flora. Sheryl and Neil will have another day in Madrid and leave in the evening for South Africa. We will see them in a couple of weeks.
Yay, Portugal and Jardim do Vau. We stayed here last year so it felt comfortable immediately. The first night we had omelets at the resort restaurant. Yum. The morning brought sunshine and a trip to the Continente which is the nearest grocery store. They have a shuttle here so that was great. And then to the beach--blue sky and sunshine and sunscreen. What a joy to be here. We four, got together for King Cake which we found on sale and had port and a lively discussion. There was no prize in the cake so what's up with that! A perfect first day.
Lazy and relaxation were the order of the next day. We sat by the beach, had coffee, walked on the beach, read our books and waded in the water. I prepared dinner for all of us. It was lovely if I do say myself and Karen and Flora brought salad and dessert. We chatted with Cathy and Marten on ft.
Went to Portimao for the morning--some lovely sculptures by the water, saw storks in their nests and of course, had coffee and sweetnesses. Sort of an unpleasant aroma there. We were back in time for a walk on our beach. Had ft session with Sheryl--planning for SA trip. Walked to.Praia da Rocha in the morning and spent a lovely day reading and having coffee. The beach was lovely. Found a restaurant that we remembered from last year. Went back on Friday for dinner--enjoyed sea food kebabs. Walked home quickly as the temperature had dropped and it was chilly. George spent the morning booking our SA trip while I tended to the laundry. The laundry person will wash, dry and fold the laundry so I didn't have much to do. Finished a Louise Penny book that I hadn't read before. There is a library here where people leave books for others. Karen and Flora went off walking on the beach.
Saturday our last full day here, we had an easy morning, then walked to Alvor along the cliffs until the way was blocked. It took us about 2 hours as we stopped to admire the views along the way and it was a windy road. Had lunch and then headed for home. We took a cab and the ride was about 10 minutes. Packed up our stuff--The Yellow Fish shuttle will take us to Albufeira tomorrow.
We have 8 days at Praia do Oura. Getting settled was a bit of a challenge. I think the front desk guy got his kicks out of making us wait. Anyway by 17h00, we were in our apartments and ready for a relaxing evening. This is Wednesday, we spent lots of time walking on the beach, on the Strip, having coffee and lovely pastries, reading and enjoying the view of the ocean. Tuesday, was Market Day here so we walked there. Karen and Flora were not keen about markets but I had a list and George and I found nearly everything on it, including a red sweater for Brienne. I would look at stuff and try to decide if we should look longer and George's job was to say "buy it" so we did well. I also bought another purse that my eyepad mini will fit into perfectly. We had a delicious dinner at Edourdo's and lots of laughs. K and F. went to Sevillha, Spain for Wednesday and we walked to the Old Town to poke around and have coffee. Our day had a late start as we waited to FT with Claire and Brienne. Our times are 5 hours different. Today was like yesterday, except I managed to paint for a couple of hours. Yay.
Today there were many women's marches all over the world. I listened to Gloria Steinem and was overwhelmed with her message. Women are power. It took 1000 more buses to bring the marchers to Washington than were necessary for yesterday. Message from Berlin "......walls don't work..". Doctors quote re: the personality of the current president and how unsuitable he is to hold this office. "A Fox for every chicken coop in Washington". I feel concerned and fear for the world.
Had a lovely walk to the Old Town--beautiful day. Had coffee a couple of times and enjoyed the amazing views. Time is flying as usual. Today, Sunday, we attended the Sausage Festival which was interesting but I would have been happy to go home sooner. We had a sausage sandwich and a kind of beaver tail which was flat and topped with sugar, missed the chocolate cake. I forgot my travel rule which is when you find it buy it as you might not find it again.
We are packing and will fly from Faro to Lisboa and then to Munich for the night and then on to Jo'burg--arriving on Wednesday morning. Karen and Flora are heading for London and home.
Next installment from Pretoria.
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