No Bug Bites!

Don't tell Molly. Last night's sleep was delightful. Today I really felt that I was in a whole new world (!!), it makes a world of a difference to actually be conscious and aware of your surroundings, and to be able to think well enough to communicate with Spaniards.

Overview:

Went to the Royal Palace, very ornate, stunning (but what palace isn't?) Carlos III had quite the impressive collection of tea sets from Germany and France, not to mention a dining table that seats 140 guests. 

Later we visited el Museo Nacional del Prado and saw the works (obras) of El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya. El Greco was definitely my favourite. He painted eye-catching religious works, focusing on the figures. His paintings are almost divided in half: divine characters in the upper half and earthly characters on the lower half, but creating one cohesive painting.  Unfortunately this museum didn't house the works of more modern painters (i.e. Picasso and my personal favourite, Salvador Dali), but I found out they are located at another museum nearby, so have no fear, it will be found! 

Food:

It will be hard eating at American restaurants again. Food here is ridiculously amazing, or maybe I had two days of good luck?  You can choose to eat at the bar, at a table inside, or at a table outside, in increasing order of price levels, however the difference was about $1 so we thought we'd take advantage of the lovely weather. The restaurants offer a bazillion (I counted) a la carte options, but we all ordered from the menu of the day, which includes a drink, bread, two courses, dessert, and only costed 8.90 euros, so pretty good deal. I ordered gazpacho (my new-found culinary love), which is a traditional Spanish soup in a tomato base, served cold. It sounds strange, and maybe is, as I am the only one so far who absolutely loves it haha but oh well..the second course had three options, and I found out the first two were cerdo (RED FLAG! PIG! RED FLAG!). The third choice was fish, phew. If they don't serve pig, the next most popular is fish, so I'm lucky! But you would truly be amazed at the number of pig cuts and ways of cooking it the Spaniards have discovered.  Anyway it's almost 2, we have an 8 a.m. wake-up call, what am I doing? Buenas noches de Madrid!