Our third day in Madrid started like almost every morning. Marlene had fruit with whipped cream, coffee, and a pastry. I had fruit with bread and a coffee. A well-dressed old man was eating breakfast. It was apparent to me he knew the hotel staff. Marlene told me he lived at the hotel and at one time was the hotel manager. After breakfast, we walked straight to the Puerta del Sol, where we interviewed the hunger striker (I posted the content of the interview earlier for continuity.). We decided to do the Madrid City Tour, which is a bus covering the major sites of the city. This day we took the tour bus to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Attached are some photos from it. After walking around the perimeter of it, we then went to the Prado Museum. We ate lunch there. I have to admit I found the food delicious, but expensive. Marlene’s kneels were bothering her so we only saw the works of Hieronymus Bosch. I jokingly told Marlene that I had seen sexual acts in his works that I had not even thought of before. We then caught the tour bus and went back to the Puerto del Sol. From there, we walked back to the hotel. We found a Sushi restaurant, which was quite good.
The next morning I got up about 7:30, walked to the Laundromat, where I washed some of my dark clothes. Marlene was in the shower when I knocked on our hotel room door. After about five minutes, she let me in. Again we had breakfast. However, in the room, which is the hotel bar, was the same old man, but this time with his daughter, who I mistakenly took for his sister. After breakfast, we took a nap and just walked around the area. This time we had dinner at an Arab restaurant. Again I found the food to my liking. After dinner, we walked back to Puerta del Sol and then to the Plaza Mayor, where a ham festival was ending for the day. It seemed a little ironic since Marlene and I are vegetarians for different reasons. After walking down the nearby streets of the Plaza Mayor, we went and had a light snack. I had water with gas and three boiled potatoes. Marlene had water and I cannot remember what else. We then walked back to the hotel. At the Puerto del Sol, we saw some young men and women performing jumps for change. We then went back to the hotel and to bed.
The next morning of our last day, as our usual routine, we ate breakfast upstairs in the bar. Again the old man was there, but this time alone. After breakfast, we took the Madrid City Tour bus again. When we arrived at the Madrid Royal Palace, we got off the bus and toured the palace. We ate lunch at the palace. In the cafeteria on the back wall was a photo of the palace’s enormous dining room. I took a photo of Marlene seated in front of the photo. Then Marlene took a photo of me. However, the playful old man that I am, I made it appear that I was trying to steal food from the plates in the photo. Marlene thought it was funny and some young girls thought so too. They tried to imitate my behavior. We took photos of the outside grounds and of the nearby park. I have a photo of a floating air bubble in the park attached. We caught bus and got off by a bridge and area I do not know. We walked around took some photos. It was too late to catch the tour bus. Fortunately at the public transit stop, I recognized a stop near the hotel. We took the corresponding bus back to the hotel.
Barry Saks 
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