The Prado

I am in Spain with one of my cousins and two of my aunts and we are having a good time. Madrid is absolutely gorgeous, I can barely stand it. The history and architecture and art almost rivals Rome. I said almost, let’s not go crazy, because nothing really rivals Rome. But it is stunning, even when I have very little idea what is going on. I think that I speak Spanish – in the dialect of Los Angeles Mexican – but they talk very fast here. And for some reason I cannot comprendo, I keep answering questions in Italian. No idea why, but now everyone is confused. Luckily, I have this exchange down: “Hola. Uno. Gracias.” So I’m pretty much getting along fine. Deb speaks pretty fluent Spanish and does not panic when they talk to her, so that is working. So far we have been to the Plaza Mayor, the Plaza de Espana, the Royal Palace, the Prado Museum, and the Royal Botanical Gardens. All wonderful and interesting and beautiful. I am definitely in love with this city. I think we all agree that our favorite spot was the Mercado de San Miguel, which is just a warehouse type of building with food stalls and bars throughout, where we keep drifting back to. It is amazing, I wish we had one at home.

I mean…

The food has been great as well, but I’m starting to get over Tapas. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate to share food. No. You order what you want, and I order what I want, and you can taste, but no on the sharing thing. Just. No. I have serious OCD about food and I will work myself up if I have to share and feel like things are not going to be equal. So, yeah, weirdo. Anyway, I just want my own damn plate of food, okay? So, other than the sheer overreaction about sharing, the food has been very good.

When we got on the train this morning everyone relaxed into their seats and they all agreed that they were happy not to have to do anything for 2 ½ hours, which I think is a tiny little hint to me that I’ve been running them around like it’s a death march, but I just do not want to miss anything! We just got to Barcelona, which is a city I have wanted to visit for the last twenty years, so I am looking forward to seeing the city. Will report back later.