We arrived back at a more crowded Plaza Mayor in the early evening. Built in 1619, the Plaza still has residences on the upper floors. You can imagine their views! The square has seen much history, including executions and burnings at the stake during the Inquisition. Now, it is the cafes that draw the crowds.

We had dinner at the omnipresent Museo de Jamon (Museum of Ham). (If pork chops are king in the South, ham is its counterpart in Spain.) I had a pork chop plate which came with two fried eggs and a small salad. Susie had a half chicken plate which came with fries and salad. I finished off with my first cup of Spanish espresso...in a small cup but very strong. Reminded me of 100% Kona.

The Museo´s hams top out at 45 Euros per kilo (2.2 pounds) for the Iberico type, which is made from pigs raised on a diet of sweet acorns in a special region of Spain. At over $20 per pound, that's some sweet pork!

Heading back to our hostal, we checked out some stores on a street running off a Plaza exit. Susie scored the first buy with a nice three-piece set of decorated leather clutch purse, coin purse and billfold for all of 6 Euros. (We found leather to be a great buy throughout Spain.)


Plaza Mayor (notice archway exit)	Street view from that exit	Susie's purse set store was just to the right of this fountain

Wednesday...our first full day in Madrid! Since we had gone west the day before, we headed east towards the Prado today. We stopped in a panaderia for breakfast to go - a giant round "crunchy" croissant. (Coffee to go is more difficult to find.)

We strolled the Prado promenade, which has an area of over two dozen used book dealers. Checked out the Prado´s small (20´s a crowd) gift store but not the museum itself as neither of us are art fans. The Prado had a public art display in the promenade which featured colorful abstract shapes and that was all the art we needed. There's a small market on the promenade too and Susie enjoyed browsing.

Just north of the Prado, we found a museum more to my liking: the Naval Museum. Not only did it appeal to my interest in military history, but the price was right.....free! We saw an impressive collection of swords, including fearsome weapons used by natives (Moros, etc.) of the Philippines, where I was born and raised. The gift shop proved rewarding. Susie bought a silver purse mirror with naval insignia and I found a nice Morgan dollar sized 1 peso silver coin with a sail ship on it.

We continued towards Puerta Alcala / Plaza Independencia.


Plaza Mayor	Museo de Jamon	Iberico ham at 45 Euros a kilo


Honesty about Hemingway	Cuchilleros Arch to Plaza Mayor	I loved this decorative tile


Susie resting at the Prado	Closeup of "Peace" statute	Prado main entrance


Susie browsing	Buy a replica or put your own name on a bullfight poster	Prado promenade public art


Oh no.... a tour bus!	May 2, 1808 heroes memorial (uprising against French)	Puerta Alcala


More tile	Even more tile	Last one!