This was a sightseeing day in Madrid with the Museo del Prado being our primary goal. It began with us deciding to forego the 18-euro (over $20) breakfast buffet and dine outside the hotel. In this case the “dining” occurred at a supermarket that we found while walking to the Metro. We got some very good (and inexpensive) pastries and coffee and consumed them while charging my cell phone. I was unable to charge the phone overnight because the hotel room had no USB port and we left our 110V converter on the train. So a secondary goal was to find a replacement for the converter. The supermarket had a USB charger for the 220V plug but no 110V converter. That solved half the problem – we could charge our phones but I still could not recharge my laptop.
A third objective of the day was to buy more euros as our stash was depleted. In this we failed completely. We were shocked, on Day 17, to learn that the cost of 100 euros at the train station in Barcelona had gone up 10% in one day – from $125 to $137. We were further shocked when in two attempts to buy in Madrid we were quoted $138 and $157. We didn’t take either offer. How could currency fluctuate that much? We decided to conserve our cash and use credit cards.
Our destination on the train was downtown Madrid. Specifically, Puerto del Sol (“Gate of the Sun”), a huge square.
We wandered the lovely streets of Madrid, most of them crowded with people, heading for the Museo del Prado and doing some shopping along the way.
We found a lovely little church that Marlene loved, too.
We finally got to the Prado around 4pm and spent 2 hours touring the exhibits. It is almost entirely Spanish art. Mostly paintings, but some sculpture too. I enjoyed it but was disappointed that there wasn’t more variety. I got a few photos. Marlene got more. But we were constantly reminded that photos are not permitted, though everyone was sneaking them. I really don’t understand why photos were not allowed as virtually every object there has been photographed many times and those images can be found online.
After leaving the Prado we toured the nearby San Jeronimo el Real church, which Marlene also loved.
After the church the day got weird. We continued to search for the elusive converter. Marlene thought I was too obsessed with finding one and got miffed at me. Even when we found one things didn’t get better, so she walked off to be alone, telling me she could find her way back to the hotel. I continued to stay with her, from a distance, but anticipated that she would be going to the nearest Metro station. I went there, added some trips to the card using my Visa but she didn’t appear. I went back to the street, was unable to find her, walked to another Metro station and went back to the hotel. I took off my pants and worked on the laptop, blogging. She showed up an hour later and suggested that we go down to the lobby bar for a drink. I put my pants on, got on the elevator and… noticed that my wallet was missing. A search of the room failed to find it.
I either left it at the Metro station when I added rides to my ticket (unlikely) or was pickpocketed by the young woman that I was near on the first few stops on the crowded Metro train (unlikely but more likely than leaving it at the station). In any case, all of my cash, my credit cards and my debit card were gone. Also driver’s license, my Social Security card, my Costco card, my health insurance card, my COVID vaccination card and all of the other minor cards that I carried with me. I spent some time online freezing my credit cards then spent more time being so stupid. Stupid for not being more careful on the train as we had been warned that pickpockets were rampant and I had failed to zip the pocket in which I kept my wallet. Also stupid for carrying everything of value with me. Why didn’t I leave stuff I wouldn’t use on the trip – like my Costco card – home? Why didn’t I leave my backup credit card and my dollars in the hotel room? It was bad losing the cash (about $170) but the hassle of replacing everything I lost will be much worse and will occupy me for days when I get back to Florida. Stupid.
But I still have my passport, my laptop and my cell phone, the ticket home is already purchased and Marlene has credit cards and enough cash to get us through. So not a complete disaster.
When I finally made it down to the bar for a drink, we found a group of raucous businessmen, most from Albania, celebrating the 45th birthday of one of their group, AJ. Marlene started chatting with them and they invited us to join them, which we did. We had a rollicking good time with them until midnight.
