We woke up today to heavily overcast skies, cool temperatures, and threatening rain.
The apartment that Janet found for us is very modern-looking, decorated in a white-on-white theme. It's in an old building that's been remodeled inside and is located on a small calle just a couple blocks from the Prado and the Parque de el Retiro.
This is a neighborhood where people live and work so there are shops of all kinds within walking distance. For example, one of my trekking poles suffered some damage while I was walking on Mljet Island and I needed some duct tape (or similar) tape to make a temporary repair, hoping that it will hold up for the remainder of our trip. In the afternoon we looked for a ferreteria to get some tape, but found a small variety goods store that had something I can try.
Anyway, we wanted to visit the Prado today but there was a line outside, waiting in the cold to get in, so we decided to check out the Thyssen-Bornemisza instead. The waiting line to get tickets was inside, so that was a plus. In addition, they are currently having a show of impressionist painters and photographers. This was a double bonus because we both like the impressionist style.
We were both fascinated to learn from this show that there was a strong feedback between photographers and painters working in this period with each influencing the other. The compositional styles and subjects were complementary to each other. In fact, Degas was both a painter and a photographer. These early (1850s onward) photographers were masters of the art and the mechanics/chemistry of photography.
After some lunch and rest for museum-tired feet we spent another hour or two in other galleries.
We finished off with a hunt for duct tape, buying some snacks for breakfast, a drop-in visit to a Madrid climbing/mountaineering book shop, and a wild goose chase for the "best" bakery in the area. By this time it was dark and starting to drizzle and cold-induced diuresis was setting in as we went round and round, it seemed, trying to follow Google maps back to our apartment.
Clearly, we're back and ready to settle down for the night.
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