The Thyssen museum

So, we hang out and wait for John, Rachel and Matt to get out and

 go do lunch down some side street.  We pick a little café that has amazing little dishes.  I out ordered everyone with my baked chicken that I wish I could have figured out what they had put on it to make it so delicious.  My pesto pasta also might have been the best pasta 

Already tired of him in the first room

 we’ve had on the trip, including Italy, but I remember that Carbonara in Rome and I think that it is definitely second to that.  Everyone’s first and second dishes were good and I was so proud of John ordering the risotto even though the risotto of the day had 

 mushrooms in it.  But then he was angry when it came because he had forgotten that and why didn’t I remind him.  He then proceeded to eat the whole bowl even though I offered to switch my delicious chicken with him.  Oscar should be sleeping now, but 

 isn’t and we are waiting forever for the waitress to bring the check and move along the service here because we have to meet the group, but this is Europe where a meal should take several hours.  John finally leaves to meet the students and get them into the museum.  We 

 meet him outside and he says that this is a museum that I should see, so I get a ticket even though, Oscar has still not fallen asleep.  And was that a bad idea.  He cried and fussed and screamed through the whole museum.  John and I had to take turns trying see great art

and trying to get a screaming baby out of way of other people enjoying great art.  Which is a shame, because I loved this museum.  It had everything and every genre in it.  We had modern, old world, some religious, most not and this was one man’s private collection. 

  He was a wealthy German baron and he married a former Miss Spain, so when he died, he gifted the collection to Madrid.  It’s awesome and I can’t imagine what else he bought that wasn’t destined to be the greatest artists of the time.  His junk room would be a treasure trove I’m sure. 

 Finally out of there and we are all walking toward the royal palace which is the last stop of the day.  Oscar finally falls asleep on this trek across Madrid and Matt and I break from the group in order to find a convent that sells sweets out a side door.  But we can’t find it at first and after Matt asked, we realized that we walked right past the shut door that had a little sign on it saying that they were no sweets until Monday.  Damn! And

 while we’re figuring this out, Matt gets a text from Rachel that the royal palace is also closed for some special events.  Which is understandable, since the royal family still uses this palace for state events, but still a bummer.  We sit in the shade for a bit and decide to get some 

beer and tapas at a little café before going back to the hotel for siesta.  Only John and I don’t really get a siesta, because now Oscar has had his nap on our walk and wants to play now.  We try to keep him occupied on the bed while we rest, by letting him take  everything out of my purse over and over again, but even this dulls some and we realize that it’s getting late, so we better eat dinner soon.  Matt and Rachel are still asleep because they don’t have a baby to entertain, but there is an early morning for Rachel and John and I 

yarn bombing in Madrid

getting to the airport, so we head out to find a little restaurant that serves great paella and I get “Iberian steak” which is really a pork chop that they put a great sauce on.  So, after a nice meal, it’s time to pack up everything again, but less well because we’ll be in a car tomorrow.