The gift that keeps on giving

I am the spark plug. I am the energizer bunny. I am the endless oil field in the Middle East. At least I was before I met Madrid.

TripAdvisor lists 1,837 things to do and 7,626 restaurants in the city. As the eternal optimist I fancied myself prepared to take the whole city by the horns (literally due to its bullfighting history) and see all that it has to offer. It took me a week and a half to realize this is impossible. This is not a pessimistic realization, but rather a liberating one. To be in a city so full and limitless means every day is a new adventure. It means one can never tire. Madrid is the gift that keeps on giving. 

But back to the story. At this point in our trip Kristy and I must be on our fourth, maybe even fifth wind. I scour tour books looking for the best attractions and every day we see something new. My poor metro map is worn to tatters and the soles of my Sperry's are smooth as a baby's bottom. Monday brought us back to Plaza Mayor and the Mercado de San Miguel. This elegant structure is a daily festival of sorts. All of the greatest food merchants throughout the city gather in this market every day to sell a sampling of their finest food. One can wander this lively market without end if they so pleased with every loop revealing a new delicacy. We enjoyed the Paella con Chorizo and Carne Empanadas. Needless to say, they were outstanding. 

With the help of Lonely Planet's Pocket Madrid, I was able to locate some stores that sold traditional Spanish wares. We found sombreros (meaning only hats in Spain, sorry my wide-brimmed compadres), Bato de Vinos, intricate paper mache figurines, and, nestled cozily on an empty side street, a flamenco store that made even me want to take up the sport. After the shopping trip, more side streets led to the Chocolateria San Gines, Madrid's most popular churro shop. The 100 degree weather did not stop Kristy and I from diving into the soft, fried confections with their sizzling chocolate topping. The only problem with the churros was that there was not more of them.. Another metro ride home, and another successful day, 

Back at the residence the cumulative fatigue struck like lighting and bam...I was out at 21:00. Some dream about my dog chasing my car down a a snowy road and my eyes open, 7 am, time for work. We rode to an off site Sodexo location and got to see a towering Madridian University. We were told that the two most popular sports in the country were futbol and futbol. Retail reports filed and brainstorming for new way to increase our margins done, we're back on the bus home. I only could read a few pages in my book before, boom, out again. The heat and fatigue were starting to hit me. The bus arrives at Moncloa and I shake it off, we have work to do.

Up to this point, we saw two points of Madrid's Golden Art Triangle, the Prado and the Reina Sofia, today we would see the Thyssen. This third museum is the mix of its two neighbors, offering a taste of the classic and the contemporary. Such artists as Carvaggio, Van Gogh, Degas, Manet and Monet (there is a difference), Ernst, Rembrandt, Dali, Lichtenstein, Picasso, Pollock, and Raphael. This collection is among the most eclectic in the world. Art inspires and enlivens. The fatigue in my legs slipped away with Carvaggio, my eyelids felt light with Van Gogh, and my heart fluttered with Degas. I walked out of the museum, face to the sun, "Madrid, I'm thirsty for more..."

Dinner and gym time at the residence, and the sweet Spanish sunset.........