Madrid walking around and the Prado

I am still here.    Madrid is the place to go if you're an arts' type of person.  Lots of museums and statues and old buildings.     Talk about old look at this elevator.   It is in my building and was definitely built in  the 1920's.    It has the 2 separate doors that you have to open to get in and you have to close them or it doesn't work.   And is it small!!????!!!   Not for the small spaces challenged.   

Here is a picture of me inside it going up. That was the last time though, because when I got to my floor the doors wouldn't open so that put me in panic mode.   I just pushed the button for the ground floor and it opened there. As I walked up the guy who runs the place said to take the elevator.   I told him it doesn't work, so he tried it and it went up and he couldn't open it at our floor.   He said:  "Don't worry I will get it fixed"      Ok do that.    I'll keep walking thank you very much.

This is the fountain at the end of my street. It's in the center of the traffic circle right in front off the Prado

This is the traffic as I am waiting to cross to go see where the Prado is for sure.  Busy place.

A statue out front of Goya all you art people know who that is

The church behind the Prado

This is the entrance.  I didn't go in yet.  I decided to wait until it got hot out, then would head there to be out of all this heat.   At 7:00 a.m. it was 24C and by 9 it was 28C .   I have no idea how hot it is going to get today.

Another statue

This is the fountain in the next traffic circle up the street

Lots of neat old buildings

The street in front of the Prado has lots of green space

And another statue

This was my favorite Museum

What a neat place, legs of ham hanging every where

You could order any kind of ham you wanted.

They sure had a lot of different kinds of ham, not that I know one kind from another.   Afterward I came across a couple more of these same places.   I guess they are just a store named Ham museum.

Sitting at a coffee shop enjoying the view

You can just tell this is a rich city.  Everything looks fancy

Same coffee shop different angle

This is on top of a roof you can see it down the street in the last picture

I was told to go see the Plaza Mayor so I did

Not sure why I should see this place.   It is old....???

It looks like its full of Cafes

And they did have this neat horse in the centre

Looked like this guyk new how to dress.  See his neck piece?

And this is what it said on the statue

I took this picture because of the guys hat in the next picture there was a bunch of guards wearing them

It looked like a metal hat.   I went to take his picture and he said no so I had to sneak this one.

Hey Kirsten I found that fancy place you stayed at. I still don't get what that Plaza del sol is all about.  Why did every one tell me to go there?   It just looked like a big subway station to me.

By now it was starting to get hot out so I headed to the Prado. On the way I stopped and listened to this guy.  He was quite good, I even gave him a couple of Euros

This is the front of the Prado but that's not where you go in.   You go in the back door.

So it's 14E for general admission; but, some woman told me to buy the English guide book because it was really good and helpful for only 23E.  That included admission and the book so I bought it,  like a fool.

This is the first room you walk into

Then I went into the Japanese room. This is the first time I was told "no pictures". 

And then this was the second time I was told "no pictures" a little louder.    I have no idea where that woman came from

And this was the 3rd time I was told 'no pictures', and  they said they would take my camera after that. They followed me for about a half hour.    I thought it was funny.  They didn't

Kirsten I give it to you if you spent three and a half hours in that place.  You are a pure art connoisseur  to have lasted that long.   After an hour I was going crazy.    they built the thing so once you're in you can't find your way out.    So I ended up in there for 2 hours, which was about an hour and a half too long.   I was thinking about starting to take pictures again so they would throw me out!    My back was hurting from the floors.  Then I went for a 2E coffee and gave my English guide book to the first person that I heard speak English and left.    I found my Saxs player and spent an hour listening to him.

Now I am sitting in my room with the air running