Wednesday, still in madrid

Karen wasn't ready to get up until 10:00 - I was awake at my normal 7am (which is odd, when you consider that my body-time should be 9 hours off).

We walked over to the fabulous Reina Sophia museum, stopping at a little joint for pan tosta and espresso (two each).

The museum has a great collection of modern stuff - you can really see that something revolutionary happened between 1890 and 1920.

The big draw, of course, is 'Guernica', which fills an entire wall, and is accompanied by several dozen studies of the many figures in the finished mural.

It is clear that Picasso went into a creative frenzy during this period. In the same room as the mural, they had a half-dozen photos, showing its several stages of completion. You can see Pablo changing his mind on some components as he worked.

There were also several nearby rooms with photos, posters and drawings related to the Civil War - very sobering.

All in all, I liked this museum more than the Prado.

We found a sidewalk restaurant in the plaza in front of the Reina Sophia, where we had a variety of sandwiches - ham, anchovies, and mackerel, on crunchy fresh bread, washed down with a large beer (me) and mineral water (KG).

We are now back in our perfect little room, enjoying the bird-chirping in the garden outside our windows, cooling our jets before we attend tonight's premier of a modern ballet at the Zarzuela Theater (dress-up time). I think we will have a pre-ballet drink at the historic Palace Hotel, just around the corner. Hemingway drank there (the son of a bitch).

We are liking Madrid.