the Prado Museum

Today we went to the Prado Museum. They don't allow pictures inside, but here is a picture of the exterior.

As you have probably heard, it's an amazing museum. The collection is heavily weighed towards painting, particularly the Spanish masters such as Goya, Velazques, etc. If you have taken an art history class, you have studied many of these paintings. It was pretty incredible. We got there before it opened, and the line wasn't too bad. It wasn't that crowded, especially at first. If you want sculpture or modern art, go elsewhere, but if you are interested in classical painting, you can't do much better.

Afterwards we had an excellent lunch at an Itallian restaurant as we walked north. We were walking to the National Archaeological Museum. The museum is mostly closed for a major renovation, b ut a small collection is available for viewing. Looking at thier plans for expansion, this is going to be a amazing museum when it is finished. Here are a few choice pictures of the collection on display.

After siesta, we took the metro down to Sol and walked over to Plaza Mayor. As you can imagine, it ws hopping. We stopped for drinks and tapas at a Museu de Jamon (Ham Museum), which is a local chain. And an awesome one, I might add. Also an excellent bargin. We had 3 beers, two giant ham and cheese sandwiches, a crossant with ham and cheese, a dish of olives, and two coke lights for under 10 euros. And the food was amazing. I love this place. It was a lot of fun, too, crowded and noisy. We were lucky to get a place to stand at the bar. What fun. I want to eat here every day.

Tomorrow I will probably not be posting until late, because we are taking the train to Barcelona. I am really looking forward to it.