Clinton is speaking at his conference today at “El Madroño” near the Vicálvaro metro stop, so I went off on my own to have some solo adventures.
While waiting for the subway, I watched an argument between some metro police officers and what appeared to be two members of a Klezmer band. I couldn’t catch everything that was happening, but in essence the tall man with the very large stand-up bass and the funny hat was being scolded by the police. Other subway passengers got involved in the debate and seemed to be defending the band. There was a lot of dramatic gesturing toward the bass and the yelling of …instrumento….instrumento..!
It was a gray and drizzly day, and I thought it was especially romantic to be walking through the Jardines del Buen Retiro alone under my black umbrella thinking of my Sweetie.
The Thyssen Museum was as great as I had heard it would be. It’s a large public museum displaying one of the world’s finest private art collections. I spent several hours there today admiring the Dutch, French and Italian masters in the permanent collection. A fantastic temporary exhibit called Lágrimas de Eros (Tears of Eros) explored the relationship between eroticism and death.
At 2 PM I was famished (we’re so Spanish now with our late lunches and dinners!) so I wandered a bit up the narrow cobblestone streets near our hotel looking for a suitable establishment. I peeked in window after window until I found a taberna that looked inviting enough for me to sit and eat alone. I selected “La Fragua de Vulcano”, which means Forge of Vulcan, named after the famous work by Spanish painter Diego de Velazquez. These tabernas are very old and cave-like with walls of brick and Spanish tile. The tables and stools are simple, rough-hewn wood. I ordered the house specialty – shrimp cooked in Spanish olive oil and garlic, seasoned with sea salt and served with crusty homemade bread – and drank an ice-cold caña. I wondered if at that moment I was the only person in the world who wanted to weep with joy (and gratitude) over her delicious lunch…
By the way, Clinton and I found some great tapas last night at Cuevas El Secreto (The Secret Cave), a raucous taberna with friendly waiters. We discovered that Muslitos de Pollo are delectably seasoned, grilled chicken drumsticks which put USA’s hot wings to shame.
If I lived in Madrid, I would run in the big park every day so I could eat tapas every night.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
