Monday, May 29, 2017

Miscellaneous Photos of Madrid

Here are a few photos I shot that didn't get put into a post for some reason. I hope they are interesting!

A wall of different plants next to a contemporary art gallery:


Even tapas have tapas (a smoked salmon tapa, with its own little chorizo tapa--a tapa is a little dish of something that comes free with your drink, but it has evolved into a whole bunch of mini-meals that now are charged for, but sometimes they come with their own little tapa):


Bikes you can rent:


Contemporary art exhibit in Retiro Park:


No-nonsense placemat at a restaurant listing their plusses and minuses:

Click to enlarge

The plusses are as you would expect; it is the minuses that are interesting:

  • Terramundi is always too full and there is little space between tables and people
  • We can't always guarantee that our dishes will last to the end of the day
  • We know that our attention to the client isn't always the highest priority, our service is sometimes too hurried and not pleasant enough; we work fast to satisfy the needs of our regular customers
(My attempt at an idiomatic translation.)

A typical Spanish full breakfast: only one egg but lots of bacon--and salad?


The equivalent to Times Square in Madrid might be the Plaza Callao on Gran Via. The big skinny store is FNAC a giant "cultural technology" store which means they sell phones, videogames, but also CDs and DVDs. That's not a poster, that is a giant video screen that changes every few seconds.


And, finally, a lone busker playing the allemande to the Cello Suite No. 1 by Bach, outside the FNAC:


Which gives us our envoi. Here is the allemande played by Mischa Maisky:


2 comments:

Marc in Eugene said...

Terramundi sounds like a good spot to make one's regular eatery. While I like to fuss about in the kitchen very occasionally, I'd much more prefer always dining out at a T.-like restaurant and then enjoying cooking when I was truly inclined to put the effort into it. Terramundi online says they're closed until 1330 Mondays and Tuesdays-- where have you been breakfasting those days?

Bryan Townsend said...

Terramundi was my go to place last summer because it was a block from my hotel and quite good. But I am in a different part of Centro this time and there is a terrific tapas bar on the corner that is more casual, but frankly, almost as good in terms of food!