We started out going to El Rastro, a street market known for its pick pockets.  It was funny how everyone was carrying their purses held close and protected.  Needless to say, we never saw any pick pockets at all.  We wandered the streets looking a lots of t shirts, tools, baby clothes, stamps, home goods, cards, etc. I was tempted by a few things but bought nothing.  It was a beautiful morning, not too hot yet.  We had some coffee in a random bar behind one of the stalls.  It felt like this area was in a low spot because we had to do a lot of climbing to walk back to the hotel.  Ken’s getting stronger from pushing me.

We went for lunch at a place near the hotel and had some salads that were OK.

After a bit of a rest we walked over to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.  Smaller than the Prado, this museum is of a wonderful private collection.  There are rooms and the works are kind of grouped chronologically in the permanent collection.  I loved the modern stuff, especially Hopper who is consistently one of my favorites.  We both really enjoyed the whole museum including a special exhibition of Paul Delvaux entitled “A Walk with Love and Death”  insert Twilight Zone music here.  Anyway we loved the whole thing and agreed that we enjoyed it more than the Prado.

For dinner we weren’t very hungry but we both wanted to get some of the vermouth di grifo we learned of with Andres on the tapas tour.  It is a dark brown, bitter vermouth poured from a tap with a slice of orange.  So we decided to try Platea, an upscale food court with blaring music and crazy lighting, very near our hotel.  We got our vermouth at the bar and some olive tapas.  I loved the pickle stuffed with tuna.   We sat and people watched for a while.  Lots of tourists and locals of all ages.  After exploring the kiosks from sushi to Mexican and Peruvian we decided to get croquetas and fried calamari.  It was all fine but the experience was just plain fun.  Here’s a few shots from Platea where a good photo is impossible but I tried.  The bottom shot is of paper cones of sliced sausage, cheese and ham.