Madrid: A few final notes (and pictures)

    Madrid is a great place to spend a long weekend.
    It's probably also a great place to live; I have friends who live there and love it but, as for me, I prefer Reus. Don't get me wrong, Madrid has a lot to offer but it's a capital city and in that respect it's not a whole lot different from Washington, London or Paris in my opinion.
    My preferences aside, it's a wonderful city with a lot to offer the casual traveler as well as those who choose to live there.
    For instance, the renovated San Miguel Market, not far from the Plaza Mayor, is a place where you can buy fresh food for the dinner table or stand around and eat. (I had some great oysters there but passed on the jellied eel.) On a Friday night it is one of THE places in Madrid to go for something quick to eat, meet other folks, do a little networking and drink as much wine as you can without falling down. It's crowded, noisy and fun.
    If you're an art lover the Prado is one of the world's finest museums, but don't pass up the Reina Sofia, which is fairly new and often overlooked.
    Feel like taking your sweetheart for a rowboat ride? You can do that on the lake at Buon Retiro Park and at other parks as well. Just want to take a stroll? Madrid is a wonderful place for those who want to walk around and just absorb the sights and sounds of one of the world's great cities.
    Like I said, a great place to spend a long weekend...

Madrid is Spain's capital city so, of course, there are an awful lot of granite and marble buildings and that can make it pretty gray... however, there are some folks who have opted to put a little color in their lives. 

This statue is famous in Madrid as a place where men and women meet when they are going out on their first date. I'm not sure why that is but it's supposed to be good luck to meet there.

These folks couldn't paint their building lavender but they did what they could to add a little color to their lives.

This sculpture is in the middle of a restaurant. Art, apparently, is where you find it.

This little girl volunteered to dance with some performers at Buon Retiro Park and she did pretty well but she needed a little help doing a handstand.

A dad and mom took their daughters for an afternoon ride in a rowboat at Casa de Campo Park.

The Royal Palace... it's huge (I couldn't fit the whole thing in my lens...)

Want a souvenir photo? There are a lot of guys walking around in matador costumes who will pose with you for a Euro or two.

The Prado is one of the world's great museum but don't overlook the Reina Sofia.

A street performer who did a slow motion act as though he were playing tennis.

Apartment balconies tend to be small in Madrid but that doesn't stop some people from taking full advantage of what space they have.

One of the fountains in Buon Retiro Park.

The Plaza Mayor has one of the most beautiful buildings in Madrid making up one side of it.

You can also take your sweetheart for a rowboat ride on the lake at Buon Retiro Park.

I'm not sure what this guy (I think it was a guy) was supposed to be but if you dropped some change into his cup he began shaking and doing this really incredible whistling thing... sounded a lot like a very musical, but very demented, bird...