Madrid Part Two

If you are going to Madrid need to know this is a country that takes their soccer quite seriously. Their team is called Real Madrid and this week the big game is the quarter finals between Madrid and Napoli. Today it's talked about and televised everywhere.  This is their official emblem. 

One quirky thing we've noticed that past few days is the absence of clocks everywhere. When I inquired was told people of Madrid are on their own time and seldom hurry. Take for instance eating. Lunch is from 2:00 -4:00 and a lot of workplaces break at that time. So generally you will only find tourists eating in restaurants during what we consider the normal/traditional  lunch time. 
Rush hour is two times once in the morning and between 8:00-9:00 PM when many are out for dinner. Schoolchildren usually have a late dinner and often not to bed until 10:30. Lucky school does not start until 9:30 for them. 
Speaking of food I thought you'd find these photos from a recent tour group dinner at a restaurant interesting. The choices were

 Fish Soup (clams and mussels) or

     

Salad with Goat Cheese

Hake Fish with Garlic Sauce or

Veal with Fries and Mixed Vegetables

Mango Sorbet with Puff Pastry with Mango Filling 

and yes let's not forget the wine

Red Wine  (The most famous Spanish wine from the Rioja wine region)
Today we spent a great deal of time at Madrid's most well known and and greatest attraction  
   The Museo Del Prado.  
It's an art museum with Velazquez, Goya and El Greco masterpieces in vast 12th- to 19th-century collection. Talk about an impressive collection of art with four floors, 7,600 paintings, 1,000 sculptures and 4, 800 prints. It is comparable in size to Louvre in Paris. Two of the most notable Spanish painters are Diego Velazquez and Francisco de Goya whose works are among the most represented of any artist in any museum. 

Goya has over 140 masterpieces displayed in the museum and is commemorated in statue form outside the museum. 

Lucky for us dinner and wine was after the museum visit. 

I loved the charming schoolgirls prancing, dancing about while waiting for their group to assemble. They all had on light blue uniforms with navy tights, jumpers, coats and adorable white hair bows. Reminded me of book series Eloise by Kay Thomson

San Jeronimo el Rio

A stunning Catholic Church from early 15th century next to the museum.

El Escorial Tour

16th century architectural masterpiece completed in 1584 as a residence for the King of Spain and a monastery for the Hieronymite monks.