My second day

 Thursday, March 26, 2026


I wake up at 8.30 am, which is pretty great, considering the +4 hour time difference. I feel rested and ready to go. A quick look in the street shows people wearing puff jackets and hunched up against what seems a raw morning. I'm out in the street by 10.30, dressed in layers. My aim is to walk to the Prado Museum, about 20 minutes away, and perhaps find some breakfast on the way. 

On the Plaza de Santa Ana I find this charming statue of Frederico Garcia Lorca holding a little bird.


I don't find a single breakfast place on my walk and I'm in sight of the museum when I finally spot a prosaic Starbucks, where I enjoy a latte and a croissant in the company of several Americans. 

My ticket is for noon, but I manage to get in at 11 and thus start my quest to hit as many high spots as I can, Velasquez, Titian, Rubens, El Greco, Bosch and many more.  Highly organized Asian tourists with guides whispering into microphones, throngs of school children outfitted in identical sweatshirts, scattered groups of Americans, Danes, Frenchmen crowd around the more famous paintings, all of which, it must be said, are quite magnificent. It's impressive how modern many of them look, with bold strokes and colors. 

It is prohibited to take pictures, so I have nothing to show here, but I remember the ones I sought out and could contemplate in relative peace.

After 2 or 3 hours I need to stop and I walk to the Gran Via. The sun is warmer now and there's a breeze. I do a little shopping and then check Google Maps for a suitable restaurant. I'm in luck when I am directed to an old Italian one, La Tagliatelle, where I enjoy an Aperol and a huge place of perfectly cooked spaghetti al carbonara.


My energy is flagging by now and I start the walk back to my apartment. When I get in, I'll see that I have walked 14.000 steps! My plan is to stay in, take care of my messages, talk to the guys at home, get tickets for the Reina Sofia museum tomorrow (where the Guernica is housed). I do all of that and then plan an early night.

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