Tuesday, November 2.
We’ve decided we’re staying in Madrid until we have to leave Europe. We love being here, both in this city and in this hotel.
Dinner at El Rincón de Jaén. Just as good as the first time.
Wednesday, 3.
At Thyssen-Bornemisza for the Magritte retrospective.
I loved it- I’ve always been fascinated by Magritte- but after my third go-round, Stuart said we’d better leave before we go crazy too.
Back in the hotel, we had our usual cheese plate at the bar. Everything looks brighter and more cheerful now that they’ve reopened the Regency Lounge and the restaurants. Things are definitely looking up.
Thursday, 4.
Massage! Shiatsu in our room. And her name is Rachel too. Feels just like home!
Friday, 5.
We’re having a break from Spanish cuisine at Torijiro on Fernandez de la Hoz.
The duck ramen was just the thing for the first really cold day since we arrived in Spain. It was a breezy 7 or 8 degrees when we went to lunch. It was sunny though so it was lovely.
Saturday, 6.
At Apple Store to have my iPhone battery checked. Diagnosis: 88% good. 80% threshold for replacement.
Meanwhile, Stuart and I were both feeling very lo batt too so we rushed out of there in search of a good place for lunch. All of Plaza del Sol was packed. You could hardly see the road for the crowds. I guess the pandemic is as good as forgotten in this part of the world. Mask wearing outdoors now is, at best, spotty.
At La Tia Cebolla, a little removed from the brightly azulejo’d restaurants and bars close to the plaza, we feasted on seafood paella and fabada. I love how the fabada was served in a tall clay pot with a huge kitchen ladle. Nothing at all fancy here, rough tables, rough and tumble service. And, as it was almost closing time, there was roughhousing among the bar staff.
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I continue to be fascinated by this city’s extraordinary buildings, all crammed side by side in a dizzying cocktail of architectural styles.
This Art Deco- Expressionist- Rationalist building on Calle Alcala in Cortes has exquisite reliefs.
Neoclassical Beaux Arts Building.
In the hotel’s Regency Lounge, delicate Art Nouveau lamps and sconces look like pieces of jewellery.
Sunday, 7.
In Plaza de Olavide for lunch. So many choices… finally settled on Bienmesabe Trafalgar. Love the place!
At Pulperia O’Conxuro on C. de Ponzano, you’re fed like you’d be at your grandma’s house for Sunday lunch: very well and too much.
It’s not hard to find restaurants here that still do classic dishes. You simply have to resist the temptation to stop at the first noisy bar or crowded terraza serving beer wine and tapas.
Sunday, 14.
Another glorious autumn day. We’re back for lunch at Bienmesabe.
Stuart has nearly finalised plans for when we have to leave Spain. Looks like it’s going to be Jordan, Cyprus, and Egypt. Time frames still to be determined.
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Our usual easygoing days on holiday can at times be disturbed by the overactive otherworld of social media.
The only ones I’m really missing are the G7 Sunday video calls which are so difficult to schedule across the time zones from my current location.
Messages to and from ground zero in Sydney are best forgotten as soon as done: not much progress in repairing Kareela, with major works not expected before January.
Emails to do with deadlines can’t be ignored: as in manuscript submission for STC’s latest anthology, Solitaires. I made it just in time.
Some zoom meetings are more fun than others: as in Route ‘66 Christmas in November. It was a theme party. My group dressed as angels.
It started at 2am, my time. By 4:30, my angel eyes were closing…
Monday, 15.
Bright gibbous moon at twilight… waxing towards fullness… time to finalise plans… family at Christmas and other holidays.
Wednesday, 17.
Pulled another all-nighter, second one in three days This time with Baby, Ezy, and Laura to iron out kinks in evolving plans.
Slept through the morning and woke up to this:
I plan to go back to bed…
Thursday, 18.
November’s full moon, the Beaver Moon, finally manages to come out from behind dense clouds.
