Seeing Vandita and Madrid, and actual sunshine, in February

In February, it rains *all the time* in Bergen. And it doesn't rain in Madrid. And my friend Vandita has moved there to earn her International MBA. It sounded like a perfect weekend getaway. I dug out my Rick Steves' Madrid travel guide from 2009 - time flies, doesn't it? - and followed his advice. Rick never fails me. I booked a Flamenco show for Vandita and me at Casa Patas, and a walking tour for me with Wellington Society Madrid.

Vandita and I in front of her apartment - in the sun!

Vandita in Puerta del Sol in front of the Tio Pepe sign

Me on our pub-crawl and tapas search

Sunrise from Vandita's window

Getting there was tough. A two-hour delay meant that we didn't get to Vandita's place until 3 am! I'm glad she met me at the metro to guide me through another metro and down the street. But I'm sorry that we slept too late for breakfast at her favorite pancake place. We did have breakfast, then split up and I went to the Prado Museum. They have great paintings and sculptures. Rick did not lead me astray, but I did go astray anyway. I wanted to see Picasso's Guernica, but that's in Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. The good news is that entrance is free there on Sunday.

Saturday night, Vandita and I pub-crawled between Puerta del Sol and Playa de Mayor, looking for tapas. Following Rick and Google maps, we wandered the narrow streets to find Casa Toni. We had sauteed mushrooms (mostly Vandita's) and fried eggplant (mostly mine).

We had a near-front-row seat at the flamenco show at Casa Patas, with Sangrias included. The segments of the show were an older man singing, 3 dancers doing solos, a guitarist and rythm man doing a duo, and all 3 dancers at once. They all projected their personalities powerfully, either having fun or being amazingly technical.

Sunday, the 17th of February, we got some of those almond-butter pancakes near Vandita's.

She has a bottle, a gun, and an exposed breast. ???

Tunnels under restaurant near Playa Mayor

Flea market - Ed would have been here all day!

Today was my walking tour with Stephen Drake-Jones, who calls himself Chairman of the Wellington Society of Madrid. Max tour group size is 6, and I fit into a family with 3 kids. The Chairman is a history professor, and knows all about Madrid's sordid stories. He also knows all the best places for baked goods, tapas, and drinks! The first stop was the oldest bakery, on a little street called Pozo. We saw Puerta del Sol, Playa Mayor, the tunnels underneath Playa Mayor, the flea market, and Mercado de San Miguel. Besides apple cake from the bakery, we had lunch at a 16th century restaurant with a cellar connected to those tunnels, and tapas at a third place sitting out in the sun. Most of the YouTube video I made is from that tour.

Madrid-Feb-2019 This is a 360 degree video. You will need to use your finger or mouse to move around each title, picture or video. I hope you enjoy it!

Next to the museum

Random street pic

What is all this greenery and flowers?

I did have time to see Picasso's Guernica after the tour. From Rick Steves' description, "Perhaps the single most impressive piece of art in Spain is Pablo Picasso's Guernica. It captures the horror of modern war in a modern style. Guernica in northern Spain was the target of the world's first saturation-bombing raid on civilians. Hitler tried out his new air force, with Franco's permission. The bombing of Guernica - like the entire Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) - was an exercise in brutality. The painting was exiled to America until Franco's death. Picasso also vowed never to return to Spain while Franco ruled. (Franco outlived him.)"

Vandita had to stop studying long enough for us to go for Mexican food. I thought I was ordering one margarita, but I ordered one LITER of margarita! No, I didn't drink it all, in case you wondered.

The cathedral next to the palace

Beautiful architecture for the palace

What an entry!

Monday morning, we said goodbye to each other early, and Vandita went off to take her mid-term and have a full day of school.  I visited the Royal Palace (Palacio Real). The place is amazing! A collection of clocks. Stradivarius violins, violas, and cellos. Rococco! Ceilings painted with all sorts of myths.

Last on my Madrid bucket list, per Rick Steves, was churros dipped in chocolate, with cafe con leche. Heavenly!