A la Colthard/Merci and Botin

We started a rainy day by walking to the Prado. Alice Mansfield had marked our card by advising us to cherry pick the most famous works: las meninas by Velazquez, The Dog by Goya and Trinity by El Greco and the collections of Rubens and Hieronymus Bosch. Even with tickets acquired from the hotel there was already quite a queue as tourists had the same idea in the rain as us. We we’re all rather impressed by the organisation of the Prado. It was built in 1785 by Juan de Villeneva for Charles 111 and it owns 7,600 paintings, 1,000 sculptures and 8,000 sketches but only chooses to display 1000 of them. These are shown on two floors and despite the crowd easy to appreciate with a comprehensive but clear plan. The only problem was large guided groups set up camp in front of the most well known. Nancy who certainly has done when homework explained that the Republican Presdient Manuel Azana   Seeking international su[port wrote to Pablo Picasso in September 1936 to appoint him as a honorary museum director who accepted the position and he was one of several senior staff who organised the removal and safe keeping  of many of the masterpieces as the city was subjected to severe aerial bombardment including  the Prado  One of those who defended Madrid ina largely  makeshift army of resistance comprising 3000 from the International Brigade was film director Luis Bunuel.

Of course one can  only  admire the paintwork, composition and colour of these Spanish Titans of art but after room after room of either Christian religious art or royal portraiture I began to yearn for something different and found it in the vivid colours and imagination of Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights. In front of one classical sculpture of a reclining nude a young girl was dressed in white like a vestal virgin enchanting a group of children and Bob Tickler!!!! She led the children away on a cord of rope and I half expected Bob to attach himself !!!!

Afrer an hour and half museumitis set in and Bob suggested a hot chocolate at the nearby Hotel Ritz. He was greeted by the concierge like an old friend and we were led to a gracious  salon for our chocolate and chrurio a piece of fried pastry.

As to the restaurants we have visited three so far. The best was the first Merci in our neighbourhood. There were few tourists and the menu was in Spanish so it seemed and proved authentic. At Anna’s  suggestion we had the creamier variant to gazpacho which I followed with a wonderfully crispy duck confit. This was serve on bed of potato with apple purée. The restaurant was full with table of a Spanish family next to us. The seating was not that comfortable and the waiter over familiar twice interrupting Bob in full flow. At 30 euros I thought it very good value .

After a full hotel breakfast and the chrurrios I suggested a lighter later Tapas lunch. In fact 2-30 is a busy time for lunch as everything is roughly 2 hours ahead. Another local place Makkita seemed ideal. I misunderstood the menu as what I thought to be a tapas selection was served as a open sandwich. Nonetheless it proved delicious concoctions of foie gras with fight marmalade, potato tortilla, salmon and spiced egg  mayonnaise. Once again we felt we were in an authentic place full of Spaniards drinking beer and eating from shared platters.

For dinner we have booked the oldest restaurant in Madrid called Botin. We walked through the  main central square of Madrid Puerto del  Sol where a huge throng had gathered to the quarter known as Austerias (Austria) which reflects its Habsburg rule. Plaza Mayor was a colonnaded square of  some beauty. After visiting an open market where cocktails and street food were served we repaired to Botin. It was clearly a tourist destination though unfair to call it a tourist trap. Two young American girls, one with screeching voice, tried to engage us in conversation and there was a  party of Germans next door. Again I went for gazpacho followed by a succulent suckling pig. I would describe the cuisine as more competent than sensational. By now it was gone 11pm and the party was tiring. It had been a long but rewarding day. I cannot imagine hoow dashing Spaniards with Van Dyck beards would ever seduce anyone at 11pm after such a full meal as I was in the land of nod in a  matter of seconds !!!!