jerry and jean

jerry and jean

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Rain and Picasso

Hola!  Little rain today, which is better than what you are getting right now.  Jerry slept poorly, we had noisy street noise, slept in late.  When we got up we bundled up in puffer coats and Gor-tex rain jackets and took off for the train station and next door Reina Sofia National Museum. Another long walk, 25 minutes one way.

Flower market on the street.  Stopped for a cappuccino and a roll on the way.  Cute bakery.



Went to the train station to secure a train ticket for Monday to go to Valencia.  After much waiting we booked a couple of seats on the 12:40 train.  So, we will check out of here, and take off for the sea.. Train stations are huge...immense...gigantic.  We have nothing in the US to compare them to.




More walking.  Then we got to the museum.  This museum claim to fame is Spanish Art from 1900 to present, but the highlight is that it houses the Guernica by Picasso.


Guernica, 1937 

This painting depicts the horrors of the Nazi bombing of the Basque town of Guernica in 1937 during the Spanish civil war. Very moving.  Notice among all the carnage at the bottom is a flower coming out of the sword. That shows hope for the future.   It is a monumental work and we are both so glad that we got to see it in person.

Other interesting art in the museum was:




views from the top





Winged victory in blue velvet!


Wheat field light installation 


We were tired, but decided to walk back up the hill that we taxied up yesterday.  Yes, we are that dumb.  Anyway, we made it back to 5 Eustidos and rested for a while.  

Out for dinner at a new place called Mar and Ola which specializes in fresh seafood.  It was really good even though, Sara, the shrimps still had their heads on.  Yum!
Mussels with vegetables as a start

Such a cute place.  9 tables

Razor clams in garlic.  I didn't know about this but they were great.

the shrimps....sorry for the bad picture.


Walked over to Mercado and got Jerry some paella (he is seriously under-carbohydrated) and pastry for morning.
This is the fish fillet knife the guy was using.  Where would you keep something like that?

Paella - Can't wait for Valencia

 Adios, amigos!