Madrid Spain 23 Nov

Our room at Maydrit Hotel near the airport was expensive but I paid for it with points. After that dump in Tunis we needed clean and comfortable. We didn't have to check out til noon so we stayed right til the last minute. We are close to a metro and need to change trains at Gran Via. Our next hotel Infanta Mercedes is near where we have to be Sunday morning.
First we went to a Laundromat - thank goodness we finally stumbled upon it - wash and dry for eight Euro. While our clothes were washing we went to the nearby MacDonalds - Cafe con leche and free wifi.

Our hotel is decent, not as nice as the one last night.

We take the metro to the Prado which is free after six. The train is quite full but we got seats.
I am hand sanitizing in this picture

There is a huge line up. We waited in line forty minutes to get in! We did see the six paintings we had determined were must sees - it is a huge building. We saw the recently found lost Caravaggio. Goya, el Greco, Raphael, Reubens, Bosch (tryptic of Garden of Earthly Delights - really futuristic), many stairs, a lot of walking. It was a privilege to see the Carravaggio as this painting has a storied history and is on loan to the museum since May 2024 - privately owned painting which is one of only 60 known works by this artist.
The area around the Prado is really nice, wide Avenues, all kinds of people out walking.

This is our first day of fall - the trees are changing colour.
We had intended to go to la Reina Sofia again too but never made it. The train was so packed coming back, we had to stand, really uncomfortable, flashbacks of Tunis!! I must have done 300 stairs today, lots of stairs at the subway. You aren't suppose to take pictures in the Prado so I didn't.