We are up early and spend some time researching different Greek islands, ferry boats with available time tables and various hotels. We firm up the overall plan. Emails are sent direct to hotels to get confirmation of our dates. Later, if confirmed we must provide a deposit. Once that is in place we can book the ferries going between the islands. Our plan looks good. We fly into Athens, sleep over night and then from Athens on to Santorini. Three days there and then take a ferry to a different island (Milos) for another three days. Then a ferry back to Athens. The hotel in Santorini is amazing but at the very top of our budget. To balance it out the island of Milos is not expensive. We both are looking forward to this part of the journey.
At 10:00 am we head out to the “Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum" (Museo del Arte Thyssen). The museum shows the collection of Baron Thyssen, a wealthy German, who sold his complete collection to Spain for $350 million. It displays minor works by major artists and major works by minor artists. But art lovers appreciate how the good baron’s art complements the Prado’s collection. The Prado is weak in Impressionism works which is Thyssen’s strength. We spent 4hrs there and both reached a saturation point. There was more to see but lunch is calling. We are out on the street and begin walking in the direction of our next stop. The Reina Sofía museum.
We see several outdoor cafes and stop to check out their menus. We pass on the first, thank our lucky stars, and are drawn to the second. We order dos Cava's to drink. This is Spain's "Prosseco" type sparkling wine which is very refreshing. There is one woman that speaks English and carries over a large chalk board that has the menu in English on the backside. Monique chooses a fish dish (hake) and grilled asparagus. Dave picks pork cheeks with a salad. The service is fast and when it comes we both know we made a good choice. This is really great food at a good price. We slowly savor the meal and even order another drink. This meal is near the top of the list for food on our trip. Just a lucky guess.
Back on the street we locate the "Centro de Arte Reina Sofía" This museum is home to Picasso’s Guernica and has an exceptional collection of 20th-century art. The museum’s focus is on Spanish artists—Picasso, Dalí, Miró, Gris, and Tàpies—but they have plenty of works by Kandinsky, Braque, and many other giants of modern art. We follow our guide book’s advice and focus on the second floor first and go directly to Guernica (sadly they did not allow photographs). It’s big and beautiful and spend about 10 minutes just soaking it all in - there is a lot to see in this painting - many discoveries the longer you look at it. A display case shows letters from Picasso to different museums that describe all the different events the painting was exhibited in and the logistics to make them happen - showing the history of correspondence adds to the experience. The museum is large and has many major artworks. We get through the second floor and then go up to the fourth. There is a lot to see and it would take a week to see it all. After three hours we reach our limit. Our last stop is an outdoor courtyard within the museum - an empty bench is waiting just for us right in front of a large Calder sculpture. After about 15 minutes we get up to leave and see a long queue of people entering the museum - it is free on certain days during the last 2 hours so our exit is perfectly timed.
We walk the streets winding our way back to the hotel and plan to stop somewhere along the way for dinner - when we go into a store to buy a toy pig we saw the day before. You squeeze it and it makes a funny grunting sound. Dave will find a place for him in or on the outside of his bag. In Switzerland, France and now Spain "Jamone" is everywhere. It is eaten for breakfast, lunch and it even dominates the dinner menu. Our joke is to pick a restaurant if it has something other than ham on the menu. Here in Madrid there is even a restaurant "The Museum of Jamone." It has a huge menu with every type of ham served in every way. We named the pig "Jambone" but pronounce it not like it is here "hamon." We call his name and poke him and this sound makes us laugh every time. He will entertain us on our travels.
For dinner, we pick a place with sangria and mojito specials on the chalkboard, sit at an outside table to watch the people walking by as our entertainment - which delivers. The drinks are really good. We ask about the kitchen and are told it opens in ten minutes. We order a beer and twenty five minutes later there is still no food. They bring us a small dish with tomatoes mixed with anchovies. It's “free" the guy says. We try it but it is not what we have in mind. Other people begin to leave and we too ask for the check. Our guess is the cook has not arrived yet and they don't know when the kitchen will really open.
We need some food and both smell chicken - it’s coming from a KFC very close to the hotel. We don't want to resort to this low level but we are tired and relent. For us, it’s 8 pcs of chicken and nothing else. We take it up to the room and eat it with one of our bottles of wine from San Sebastion and it actually tastes pretty good. We work on our blog and other bookings. It's after midnight and we fall asleep with the morning alarm set. Tomorrow is the famous "Prada" museum in the morning and the Palace Real in the afternoon.
We saw a bunch of these restaurants in Madrid - The museum of ham. Okay, they really take their ham seriously here - too bad we are sick of it.
Low Tide at Varengeville by Claud Monet, c. 1882, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Swaying Dancer (Dancer in Green) by Edgar Degas, c. 1877-79, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Our delicious meal of hake, salad, pork cheeks and grilled asparagus - and of course cava - yum!
Le Billet Doux (meaning the sweet letter) by Francois Clouet, c. 1570 AD, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía - There is something about this painting - their facial expressions, how it is arranged, the girl’s nudity - it makes me think a deal is being made.
Face of the Great Masturbator by Salvador Dali, c. 1929, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Spectator of Spectators by Manuel Valdés & Rafael Solbes, c. 1972. This is made out of paper mache - I think it looks cool.
Puerto del Sol is hopping at night. It’s nice to have a busy place close to your hotel. We only have a few steps from here and we are “home”.