Madrid -The Prado

May 8, Sunday

We sleep in a bit this morning .since we don't have to be anywhere.  It is raining lightly and chilly, so we take the metro again to a stop near The Prado art museum.  There is a breast cancer awareness run today so we see many folks in pink t-shirts on the metro and around town.

We didn't get tickets ahead of time, so join the line of umbrella-bearing folks waiting in line.  Long line, but it moves fairly quickly, so we are inside in half an hour. (No photos inside).

We decide to use their guide, which lists 50 of their top masterpieces, rather than trying to see the 3,000 canvases, plus sculptures and more.  As it was, we spent nearly 5 hours searching out the masterpieces by Raphael, Titian,  Velasquez, Goya, El Greco, Rubens, and many more. Wow!  There were many people there but it did not seem uncomfortably crowded, and we took a break for a coffee/juice and pastry in their Cafe mid-way.

We decide to go back to the Vienna Cafe for dinner, a short walk from our apartment.  Tonight, after our salty ham tapas, we try two dishes - Prawns with chick peas and  weiner schnitzel with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut.  The schnitzel was made with beef and was so-so, but the rest was tasty.
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A strawberry cheesecake desert was great.  We are surprised at the lack of tangy or spicy food, at least we haven't found it yet other than some sausages.

We have a tv in the room but can't find any English language channels, which might be just as well.