OK, Madrid sucks balls. I did not like that city much. It was big, dirty, and not particularly charming. I had a hard time eating because all they seem to like is ham. Fresh ham, spiced ham, ham sausage, ham sandwiches, ham and cheese, ham and ham sauce… Yuck. We went to the Prado museum, which was cool. They had a temporary Durer exhibit and that was really cool. They have Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights and I enjoyed that.
We took a day trip to Toledo. Interesting, and beautiful from a distance, but the old city is a big tourist trap.
We’re in Barcelona now. I like it much more than Madrid. The plan is to stay here until sunday and then head up to coast and make our way back towards the French Riviera. There’s a museum up the coast a bit that Dali originally designed and built to be his personal gallery. We’ll see that for sure, visit some seaside spanish towns, then head towards Nice – and better cuisine.
It?s a pity you didn?t like Madrid. I have completely different memories about the city, especially about the food. We had great vegetarian and fish meal there. Probably something has happened with Madrid since I was there 4 years ago.
I checked with Dennis about Italy. Unfortunately he doesn?t remember any places in Bologna but I am sure you can find something interesting there. Italy is one of the greatest places in the world for food. I think it was the first country where I did not have any problems with my stomach. When you will be in Nice try to go to the mountains to see small remote villages. It?s impressive. I was there last November and had a lot of fun traveling in the area. Don?t forget to try the local vine. It?s very cheap and great quality.
Looking forward to hear new stories. Hello to Miranda.
V.