Hi All,
Went to Australian consulate in Madrid hoping to find out some good news on the Schengen zone. Took a couple of tries to get there as the consulate location in the lonely planet was incorrect and we ended up at one of the tall buildings which we had seen the sunset reflecting from on the way back from Segovia. Heaps of security which I think is a way of preventing people getting in to see how little the staff actually do during the day but the person was really helpful to us. The european union has a reciprocal agreement with Australian which allows us to visit the European Union for 3 months in a 6 month period. New Zealanders get 18 months! We intend to travel in Europe for more than 3 months so were hoping to be able to get permission to travel longer but it seems that it was necessary to get the visa before entering the EU. We live and learn.
Vanessa finally got a haircut. Found a salon that had an english speaking person and she went for a haircut while I sat outside in a park. It wasn't long after that she left the salon with a haircut and a not happy look on her face as the person who cut her hair did not speak english. The outcome is that she still has no fringe and her hair is about 15cm shorter. At least the bowl didn't come out for a cutting template.
Went to the Museo nacional del prado during the free last couple of hours. The queue was at least 200 people when we got there and it was worth the waiting. The art gallery is absolutely stunning with a mind blowing number of big name artists such as raphael, rembrant and rubins. Unfortunately it was too rushed but one would need many months of visits to do any justice to the art.
Speaking of art and not in the same class we found more painted cows on our walk to the art gallery. It seems they are grazing on just about every street corner in central madrid at the moment. Puts a smile on each of our faces each time.
I am calling Vanessa the hall stalker at the moment as she has to get out into the hall of the hotel to get wifi reception on the laptop. The hall lights are on timer so when they switch off all that can be seen is the glow of the screen and the show of a shadowy face. The floor of the hall floor squeeks as she walks around...the hall stalker.
Next day.
Off to a bad start. Went to get the key for the hotel across the road as we had to change location for saturday night. The lady running the place told me in spanish that there was no room booked for us which was a bit of shock as we had confirmed and it was a busy weekend. Had to get onto the owner of the current hotel to sort it out.
Then off to Toledo. Our last day drip from Madrid. Took the metro to the interchange station only to find out that the bus station for toledo was not where the lonely planet or our hostel owner had pointed us. Must have changed recently. Onto the Metro and 2 wasted euros later we got to the bus station and were onto the bus and heading for our 1hr trip to toledo. It is a delightful fortified town rising above the rio tajo and well worth the visit but at the moment we are a little saturated with this type of medieval town. Spent about 4hrs wandering around and enjoyed the main museum and in particular the el greco painting and quirky etchings.
Headed back and then went to the Museo Nacional centro de arte reina sofia in Madrid as it was just time for the free entry. Yes we like the free entry as it saves us about 6 euros each. If you like pablo picasso or salvador dali pictures then this is the place to be in Madrid. There are so many to see. Again it would take many months to do justice to some of the art and very few seconds for other parts as modern art is not our favourite style.
Settled in our room hoping for a good nights sleep but alas the streets were noisy all night with party goers and the front door buzzer went off many times in the night so we didn't sleep much at all. Now it is lovely and quiet but the day is young and we are not vampires so it is time to get going.
Will be changing back to the previous hotel today and later we will be off to the bullfighting. Ole.
Bye.
David and Vanessa (or dabid and banessa as the spanish say)