Madrid - October 8, 2014

We started our day with a nice continental breakfast at the hotel and then walked about 15 minutes to the Prado Museum.  We spent a little over three hours looking into all the rooms, with great fascination of the works of some of the most renowned artists.  There were works of El Greco, Goya, Bosch, Rubens, Titian, Hans Memling and many others.  One painting in particular that I always wanted to see was Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights", and it did not disappoint.  Looking at this painting and trying to figure out what was going through Hieronymus Bosch's mind at the time he painted this is beyond comprehension.  Many other paintings amazed us as well.  After leaving the Prado were walked and walked and took in many residential neighborhoods and ended up in the Plaza Mayor for lunch.  After a stop back at the hotel for a brief nap, we were off again...........this time to the area around the Cava Baja where many small tapas bars are located.  We stopped off in the Mercado San Miguel for some paella, gazpacho, Jamon Iberico and wine before heading up to the Gran Via.  Along our way we passed by the Royal Palace of Madrid, which was great to see lit up at night.   After a stroll along the Gran Via, we headed back to the hotel for the night.

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