Madrid June 5+6, 2019

Excellent flight, slept almost the whole time, arrived at hotel at about 9:30 a.m., asked if it would be possible to check in, thinking that it would not be, since it hardly ever is, but guess what?  Not only did el señor allow me access to the room, but even upgraded me to a gorgeous suite.  It has glass doors, not windows, doors that open up onto a wee balcony on which you cannot sit, but you can look up and down the street.  Quite delightful.  This is a section of the ceiling in the "living room" and there is one just as elaborate in the bedroom:

For this luxury, the hotel did not charge a penny extra even though I offered to pay a day fee.  It was really nice to have time to reorganize backpack and suitcase from travel to hiking mode.  Day one, though, no matter how OK you think you feel, is pretty much a waste since you are a zombie.

June 6, woke up astonishingly late: 8:45 a.m., but still managed a productive day.  Headed off to El Retiro, Madrid's counterpart to Central Park.  It has a more formal feel, however.  For example, many of the walkways, most of which tend to be wide, straight and paved, are lined with hedges:

It has a pond with ducks and boats:

And there was this completamente loco tipo:

 reciting, the way many clergy tend to recite—loudly, but with a limited vocal range so that every sentence ends in mid pitch—from a little book that could have been his own poetry since it did not sound biblical but it had a rhythm and that "The end of days is coming so be prepared" kind of sound to it. No one seemed to be paying attention, but he seemed to be enjoying himself thoroughly. Muy raro.

The park has a few museums.  One exhibit, works of Tetsuya Ishida (never heard of him, but that doesn't mean anything) was utterly bizarre.  This painting reminded me of driving a bulldozer in Las Vegas.  Fortunately, the Vegas experience was quite different:

Believe it or not, radiator guy, all plugged in (this is a painting not an installation) was one of the less depressing works:

 

On the other hand, there was this gorgeous glass building (the crystal palace?) which allows you to see the sculptures as if they are among the trees.  I think the lady taking a picture from the other side was missing the point or else she simply preferred the back view:

The high point of the park was its peacocks:

This is his other side:

And here is the cock of the walk:

A section of the park is a rose garden, but the roses were past their peak except, maybe, for this one:

One is not allowed to take pictures in the Prado.  And the botanical garden was was more academic than beautiful, so no pix there.  After the Retiro, museums, and gardens, I took a self guided tour that I had found online, which was quite pleasant.  A small disappointment was that the tour promised an ice cream shop en route, but said shop no longer exists.  One can stop in various small fruit and vegetable stores, patisseries, and a variety of other tiny commercial establishments.  There are lots and lots of cafes where people enjoy leisurely lunches or something to drink.  The streets are full and buzzing.  Madrid is a charming city.