My sixth day

 Monday, March 30, 2026

I have decided to conquer the Metro today. Enough with all the cab rides! I can inform myself about the process of getting a card, purchasing rides, etc., from the comfort of my bed with the help of Chat GPT. It turns out there are two stations near me, Sol and Tirso de Molina, both within walking distance, and soon I'm waiting for the train to the Bilbao station.

My plan is to follow a walk suggested by Mada, which will have me ranging across non-touristy streets in the Chamberi neighborhood.  The weather is gorgeous, sunny and clear and I quickly reach the pretty Plaza de Olavide, where she has instructed me to sit in the sun and "notice the little things." 


I find a comfortable recliner bench and lie there looking at the kids playing, the groups of mothers chatting, the little dogs barking excitedly, and it is very nice.

Then I march on, tracing my route on Google Maps. This can be maddening, because most of the smaller streets do not run in a straight line and often the several options confuses the blue route arrow and, by extension, me. This way, or that way? On the last straight line, which Mada described as "all the way down to...", which is a walking stretch estimated to take 21 minutes, I am puzzled to see the time grow to 24, 26 minutes, until it dawns on me I am walking in the wrong direction! That's when I get a cab to go to El Corte Ingles and do some shopping and get lunch, a steaming plate of shrimp fried rice. Comfort food!


The restaurant turns out to be in front of a well-equipped dog store, where I buy a couple more interesting toys for Lua and Loki to find in my suitcase.

My walk then takes me to the Malasaña neighborhood across the busy Gran Via to the Plaza da España, where I sit in the sun, sipping an 'agua con gas, hielo y limón'. 


A sudden wind picks up and I realize my energy is flagging and I descend to catch the metro like a pro and get out at the Sol station. The large square is filled with people and when I look across to a side street I see what can only be described as a sea of people.

I hurry home. It's almost 6pm and I've walked more than 10.000 steps and I crash on my bed. 

When I wake up and hour later it is still light out and I go to the supermarket, passing the Gatoteka on the corner, which turns out to be an organization that handles cat adoptions. People are invited to play with the comfortably housed cats, and take a cat home, if they, as the receptionist says, "fall in love."


Back home again I talk to Oswaldo and then watch the last chapter of The Pitt. What a great show. 

I travel tomorrow and will spend the morning packing, I have to leave my room at 12 noon





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