Angela Tung Oversharing on the internet since 2005.

After a good night’s sleep, I was up early.

I had breakfast again in the hotel (which YP had thought was free but it wasn’t, oh well). YP had plans to go to the beach. I was tired of the sun and plus I had my period so I headed back to the Ciutadella Park to visit the Barcelona Zoo, which was about to close when I went the night before.

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Of all the places I went to, the zoo at 19 euros was the most expensive. But I think it was worth it. It’s enormous, and I was there for almost three hours. Still, the animals’ enclosures seemed really small, like they had barely any room to run around. But I guess that’s what a zoo is and why some people hate them.

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Afterwards, since it was still early, I made the schlep to the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, or MNAC.

I could have taken the subway, but I walked the almost-hour instead, figuring that would be a good way to see the city. I didn’t get lost but I’m sure I used a lot of data on my phone.

On my way I passed the Gardens of the Grec Theater. It was really neat but again it was so hot and sunny so I didn’t stay for long.

The MNAC is so crazy. It’s high up on this hill, and you have to take about four outdoor escalators just to reach it.

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By the time I did, I had such a headache. I took an Aleve but it did nothing so I think I was dehydrated. I started drinking water like crazy and also had a yummy blueberry muffin before heading inside. Delightful surprise: the muffin was full of frosting.

I enjoyed the museum although I was SO tired. I sat as much as possible although there wasn’t much seating. I was pretty good about seeing everything and listening to as many audio descriptions as I could.

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When I finished it was only about five so I thought I’d try to see the Magic Fountain. I discovered that it was only an eight minute walk away, but thought, How the hell am I going to figure out how to get there?

Then I realized it was at the foot of the museum. Dehr.

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Then began the long schlep back.

Unlike in Madrid, it’s very easy to find places to eat in Barcelona. Things don’t seem to shut down between two and eight, and there’s lots of takeaway. So I had many choices for dinner.

Where did I end up? At a hamburger place next to the hotel. YP had had a veggie burger there, and he said it was good. I did not have the veggie burger. I had a hamburger with blue cheese and grilled onions, and it was GOOD. It was also enormous. I thought I wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing, but I did, along with most of the fries.

We started the day with a late breakfast at Brunch & Cake, which was adorable. I had something to eat earlier so I wasn’t super-hungry, but I was still able to have a cortada and one slice of coconut bread (YP had the other).

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Afterward we went to check out Sagrada Familia. It was a bit of a schlep and again it was sunny and humid. The cathedral was really cool, but there were soooooo many people. I thought YP might want to stand in line to go in, but thank God he didn’t.

Next up was the Museu Picasso. On our way there we ran into La Monumental, an old bullfighting arena that’s now a museum. (Bullfighting has been banned in Barcelona since 2010.)

The museum itself was dinky and just okay. The fun part was going into the empty arena, standing in the middle of it, and going “backstage.” It was even more fun because by then we had been to an actual bullfight — and besides the museum fee, we didn’t have to pay for a tour.

There was quite a long line for the Picasso museum. We waited for almost an hour but at least we were in the shade. When we finally got into the museum, YP went through it quickly and took off to do something on his own. I got the audio tour and listened to almost everything.

On my way back to the hotel, I munched on a piece of yummy pizza, then stopped in the Barcelona Cathedral. This time I was ready with a little jacket. But it turned out I didn’t even need it. There were plenty of women in sleeveless dresses and tops, and both men and women in shorts. What a crock. At least I didn’t get duped into buying a shawl like the girls I ran into as I left.

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At the hotel I charged my phone and rested a little, then went to Ciutadella Park, which was just a five minute walk away. It was pretty nice with lots of people running, doing CrossFit, and yoga. For those reasons, as well as the vegetarian restaurants, banned bullfighting, and transvestites I kept seeing, Barcelona reminded me a lot of San Francisco.

After the park I checked out a couple of cool buildings (the Palau de Musica Catalana and Palau Guell) and then had sushi for dinner. It was above average.

I slept much better that night.

Off the Barcelona!

I was a little worried about schlepping to the train station with all our stuff and the possible madness of getting through security and all that, but it turned out to be a breeze. I kept remembering how it was taking the train from Paris to London, and only afterward remembered that was from one country to another.

We had a lot of time to kill so we sat in a cafe. I had (yet another) cafe con leche and a delicious chocolate muffin. I don’t know if it was any different from a chocolate muffin in the U.S., but it seemed yummier.

The train ride was absolutely lovely. YP made sure to get us front-facing seats, and we each had a window. Plus the woman next to me got off early so I had a whole row to myself for most of the time.

I listened to music, daydreamed, and had (yet another) mixto sandwich plus cafe con leche in the cafe car.

Three hours on a nice train is the perfect amount of time. Long enough to enjoy yourself but not too long before you start to feel antsy and bored.

Getting to our hotel from the train station in Barcelona was a bit of a pain. Plus it was sunny and humid. After we had a late vegetarian lunch, YP went back to the room and rested and napped for like four hours.

In the meantime I went to the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, mostly because it was the only museum open that day. On the way I passed the Barcelona Cathedral (as I would a million times during our visit). There was a sign saying that shoulders had to be covered, and that day I was wearing a sleeveless dress. A lady tried to sell me a shawl, but I figured it would be easy to go back another time so I said no.

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The museum was nice and, as museums are in New York, over air-conditioned, which was nice at first but then it was freezing. I watched this short documentary on a Welsh professional wrestler, although I drifted off a couple of times.

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I went back to the room to charge my phone and found YP still napping. I stuck around for a little while, then headed back out. I tried to visit the library but it was closed by the time I got there (a recurring theme), and then had ramen for dinner

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It was very pretty but tasted just okay. Still, it was a nice change from tapas and ham and cheese sandwiches all the time.

I got back before YP, who had gone to another vegetarian restaurant for dinner. I showered and relaxed with old episodes Midsomer Murders.

While I couldn’t hear the street noise, I didn’t sleep well that night. Too many cafe con leches I think.

On this day we checked out El Rastro, the flea market.

It was interesting and fun to walk through it, although neither of us bought anything. Along the way I stopped for a plate of fried sardines —

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— which turned out to be a bad idea since later they gave me an upset stomach. It was either the sardines or the cafe con lech, although I’m pretty sure it was the former.

While my stomach was upset for only a few hours, for the rest of the trip (and even now), the thought of seafood made me ill.

After the flea market, YP headed off on his own (I forgot what he did) while I returned to the library. This time it was open, yay!, and the exhibits were free.

One was of the history of the library and another was about this Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa. Those were both in Spanish, but there was another, bigger exhibit about Spanish influence on America which was also in English. The exhibit was pretty good but conveniently left out anything on genocide.

That night we saw a bullfight.

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Somehow it didn’t occur to me that a bull — or bulls, it turns out — would actually be killed. I thought the matadors would play around with the bull but in the end it would be okay.

It was not.

Six bulls in total were killed. There were three matadors, each of whom took two turns. While watching the matadors stab the bulls was difficult (there’s a lot of blood), even harder was when the guys on the horses came out and the bulls charged the poor horses who, blindfolded, just stumble blindly, having no idea what’s going on.

I guess in the past the horses had no protection and so were often mauled to death. Now they have what looked like padded armor, which can’t prevent all injuries, I imagine.

But, and this is weird, I still got into it. The matadors were all elegant with their cape work, and sometimes they got so close to the bulls. It was pretty exciting.

The etiquette was interesting as well. People were very respectful, only cheering and clapping when they were supposed to. No one got rowdy. There was feeling of respect for a very old tradition.

On this day we rented a car and drove to this place on the outskirts of Madrid so that YP could buy a matador outfit.

You heard right.

At first he thought he could get one in the city, but it turned out that place didn’t sell whole outfits. So it was off to this other place, which wasn’t far from El Escorial, the “historical residence of the King of Spain,” according to Wikipedia. We figured if the matador outfit place turned out to be a bust, we’d have another thing to see.

The place wasn’t easy to find. We got lost a couple of times but eventually ended up where we thought his place should be. But all we saw were little apartment buildings and office parks, very much a suburb.

Finally, YP found someone who pointed us in the general direction. Unfortunately, there was no sign, at least not that we realized at first.

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It turns out that graffiti likeness is the tailor, Justo Algaba, himself, and the building behind it, number 23, is where his store is. But like I said, we didn’t know that at the time. All we saw was that the gate to the (empty) parking lot was closed. I thought YP would want to scale the fence. Luckily he found a buzzer and kept trying numbers until someone answered.

“I was looking for Senor Justo Algaba?” he said.

After a brief pause, a deep male voice answered,”Vale” (which basically means “Okay” or “Fine), and, to my amazement, the gate opened.

Because it was siesta time, the building was almost empty, but an older gentleman on the second floor spotted us on the stairs and waved us up.

Senor Algaba’s “store” certainly didn’t look like one. There was a mural of matadors —

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— a bull’s head —

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— and a display case with outfits, but that was all.

Later YP Ptold me that Senor Algaba took one look at him and came out with an outfit (second-hand) that fit almost perfectly.

While the WF got fitted with a vest, jacket, pants, shirt, socks, hat, and shoes (it’s a complicated outfit), I relaxed on the couch under the bull’s head and read. I was glad I had brought my book.

YP also later told me that the tailor has been in business for the past 40 years, and has outfitted in addition to famous matadors, the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Latoya Jackson. However, like I said, his store was very modest. Someone else might have photos of themselves with various celebrities, but he did not.

He was also insistent that everything about YP’s outfit be just right. YP said something about using his own shirt and socks, and the tailor replied, “No, no, no.” YP knew it wasn’t because he wanted to sell him more stuff; he just wanted it to be perfect.

And while I didn’t understand a word he said, I could tell he was very gentlemanly. When he pointed out the restroom for me, he sort of escorted me in the right direction.

After we were done, YP had me take a photo of him and the tailor, and it was totally cute.

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Afterward, Senor Algaba said, “Very good, very handsome.” YP said, no you look handsome, and the tailor said no you, and they went back and forth like that for quite some time.

Senor Algaba wanted to fix a small tear in the pants, and offered to drop off the outfit at the store in Madrid for YP to pick up later in the week. He also suggested that instead of spending hours in a restaurant that we get sandwiches and stuff from the vending machine downstairs, which, in our starved state, was fine by us.

My sandwich — a croissant “mixto,” ham and cheese on a croissant — was actually pretty good. We ate in the car and then were off to El Escorial.

I was very tired but I really enjoyed this. It reminded me of Versailles (except much less crowded) with rooms set up like how they were in the past, paintings, sculptures, and a crypt (you know we love a good crypt).

The drive back to the city was less smooth than the drive out. The GPS was fucked up and we kept getting lost. On top of that both our phones were running out of battery.

To make a long story short, after much effort we figured out rental car return was in the general parking lot.

We were so exhausted, we ended up just eating in the train station.

Friday our plans were to check out the San Francisco el Grande Basilica and the Royal Palace of Madrid.

On our way we stopped for breakfast at this nearby cafe, where I had a lovely cafe au lait. I had also ordered a ham and cheese on a croissant but wasn’t very hungry. Luckily I had a trusty ziplock bag and saved 2/3’s of the sandwich for later.

The Basilica was really pretty, and it was kind of nice to get there just as it opened. There was a sign that said no pictures, but as I tried to sneak one in, a passing guard was like go ahead! kind of like the conductor on the train from Toledo.

I sort of can’t remember the Royal Palace. Mostly I remember the outside where a couple of accordion players played continuously (Italian songs mostly, and the theme from The Godfather), and how two little girls tried to climb onto the ledge of an exterior window until a far-off guard blew his whistle at them and one climbed down with her hands up.

We also passed through the Sabatini Gardens, where we kept hearing these birds squawking. YP joked that it was a toucan, and then a couple of minutes later I saw three green parrots fly overhead. It turns out Madrid is overrun with wild raccoons and parrots. Who knew.

Our next stop was the Alumenda Cathedral beside the Royal Palace. We weren’t sure what it was. All we knew was that we could go to the top, which we did and saw a lovely view and these really cool statues:

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That was almost better than the Royal Palace.

Next were nun cookies. Let me explain: apparently there are these cloistered nuns who make cookies and other sweets. The nuns are somewhat hard to find, and we thought it would be fun to try and find them and also to bring back the nun cookies for our co-workers.

The convent wasn’t too hard to find. We overshot the alleyway, but quickly found our way back. We had a little trouble finding the door, but luckily the blog post I linked to above had a picture of it. I took one too. Then — d’oh! We discovered the place was closed and cookies and sweets wouldn’t be available again until September:

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No nun cookies for us. Another good thing was that nearby there was the Mercado Market, where we had a variety of food:

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That night we went off and did our own thing again. YP went clothes shopping and I checked out the National Library.

Unfortunately the library was closed by the time I got there. The website said it was open until 9 but it actually closed at 8. I got there right before 8 so at least I could go inside the gate and look at the exterior, even if I couldn’t go in the building.

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I met one of the resident library cats.

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I wasn’t hungry and I didn’t want to go straight back to the apartment so I walked some more. I wandered down this street that kind of like Fifth Avenue, ie, lots of high-end stores that I would never buy stuff from.

For dinner, I stopped at a grocery store near the apartment and picked up salami, cheese, and a baguette. It was a bit too salty but still delicious.

Tomorrow’s agenda: get YP a matador outfit! Stay tuned…

On Thursday, YP and I went to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum together and each did our own thing afterward.

I enjoyed the museum. At first I was very diligent about listening to every audio description and at least looking at every painting, but after almost two hours, I got saturated and started breezing through the rooms, especially after realizing there were two more floors and I had started in the middle.

By the time I called it a day, it was almost three and I was hungry. Actually I was hungry earlier but I had a bite of a Balance bar, which sustained me.

At the museum cafe I got the duck over cous cous. While the sauce was amazing — tartly sweet with apricots, prunes, and currants — the duck itself was tough and chewy. The duck I had at the Courte d’Ingles was a billion times better. But I ate the whole thing, knowing it would be a while before I ate again.

I also had the dessert, a very liquidy vanilla custard. The flavor was good but it was so watery. I’m starting to think Spain doesn’t do dessert so well.

YP was already back by the time I got home. We were supposed to meet one of his old friends at six, but at 5:30 she sent a message saying she couldn’t make it. That kind of sucked because I came back early for our plans instead of going to the national library.

So instead we checked out the Crystal Palace, which we had been meaning to anyway. I’m sorry to say it was unimpressive. I could see how it was once amazing, but now the glass is dirty and the place was empty except for a scattering of rocking chairs which were apparently part of an exhibit. Apparently it used to hold “flora and fauna” from the Philippines. Not anymore.

It reminded me of stuff in China: buildings that seem grand from afar but are shoddy and dilapidated up close.

We decided to have Indian for dinner. He found a restaurant with plenty of vegetarian options. We got there at 7:30 but it wasn’t open until 8:30, which is often the case around here.

We sat in a Starbuck’s for almost an hour. That wasn’t so bad. I was so tired, I was able to just sit, daydream, and people-watch.

I’m finding that while some Spanish men are definitely attractive (I’m a sucker for dark hair and eyes), they are way too well-groomed for my taste.

Finally, 8:30 rolled around. I wanted a little bit of everything so I got the tasting menu. The starter was a tiny meat samosa and pakora which was more like an Indian onion bloom. The entrees were curry lamb, saag paneer, and chicken tandoori with a side of rice and naan. Dessert was a small mango lassi. All for 19 euros, which is a little expensive, but if I had ordered one entree with rice and naan, it would have been almost 19 anyway.

Back home we were both pooped. I did what has become my evening routine: shower, take care of my feet, and watch an episode or so of Doc Martin. I slept well.

Although I slept pretty well the first three nights, Tuesday night I had trouble.

During the day we had walked around a lot and gotten tons of sun, but I probably went to bed too early, around midnight, when I wasn’t sleepy. Whatever the reason I was up until almost four, browsing on my phone and watching an old episode of Doc Martin on YouTube.

Unfortunately the next morning I couldn’t sleep in since we had plans to go to Toledo for the day. I got up around 8, had a couple of cups of coffee, and was functional (though barely).

We are so close to the train station. Just a five minute walk. And the train was really nice. The ride is only about 30 minutes, but the train was like a really nice Amtrak. I really enjoyed just listening to music and staring out the window.

Overall Toledo was fun, although it was easy to get lost, the cobblestone streets were hilly and hard to walk on, and because we didn’t know where we were going half the time, we missed a whole bunch of sights. We did get to see the Toledo Cathedral, El Greco museum, and Sephardic museum (which was pretty boring since everything was in Spanish). I had wanted to see a synagogue but we didn’t have time and I was pretty exhausted.

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The meals we had were pretty good. I’m not picky and enjoyed well enough the duck and chicken sandwiches I got at the first place (they were just 3 euros each and so I imagined they were tiny, which they weren’t, but luckily I had a ziploc bag and was able to save the superfluous sandwich for later), as well as the “tostata” with brie at the second place.

I expcted the tostata to be like the one I had in Madrid: one medium sized baguette. But this was the equivalent of three pieces of bread soaked in Brava sauce with two giant hunks of brie. I ate all the bread, one and a half hunks of brie, and all the chips.

I also had a lemon Fanta, which after walking around in the hot sun for hours, was freaking delicious.

We got back to the train station early and had to time stop in yet another Chinese-run convenience store. (I forgot to mention that these are common all over Madrid, if not all of Spain, and are called chinos.) Despite the lemon Fanta, I still felt thirsty so I got a couple of nectarines. He got drinks and a chocolate bar, which made me feel even thirstier looking at it.

My overall impression of Toledo? Hot, dry, and dusty. In a lot of ways it reminded me of China, at least the area surrounding Beijing. We even saw a little lizard clinging to the wall of the train station, which reminded me of the lizards in Changping.

The train ride back was just as nice as the ride coming. Our seats were backwards but there were plenty of empty ones facing the right way so we switched. (I was afraid the conductor would yell at us, like he would have in Paris, but he didn’t.) We even each got a window seat.

Before heading home, we stopped in a Body Shop, and I got foot files and cream. My feet really needed it.

We got back around eight. This time I was glad for an early night in. I took a shower then took care of my feet. It felt great and they are much better today.

We also did laundry, took out the garbage, and watered the swapee’s plants. The dryer took forever. I was worried about using up a lot of electricity so I took most of my stuff out and hung it up. I had thought about using the clothesline outside, but it’s really high up. Like, I have to climb to almost the top of the ladder to reach it. I said fuck it and hung up my stuff around the apartment. YP was kind enough to find me some hangers.

Because it’s so arid here, almost everything is already dry.

I was able to sleep last night. I stayed up past one, between watching an old Doc Martin Christmas special and waiting for the dryer to be done. I woke up around 8 today. I could have slept more but I don’t want to have trouble sleeping again tonight, or at least lessen the possibility of it.

We got going late this morning and came back early, but we still managed to do a lot, probably because we didn’t come back to the apartment in the middle of the day and rest for two to three hours.

We left at about 11:30 and headed over to the Prado museum. Along the way we passed the Royal Botanical Garden and thought we might as well stop in.

At the very front there were some flowers, but that was it. The rest of the garden was green, but there were no flowers. Too hot and dry, we guessed. There was a greenhouse full of cacti and other cool plants, but I’ve been to a hundred other better botanical gardens.

After that it was the Prado — or what we thought was the Prado I should say. The dramatic-looking building was on Prado Street and we just assumed.

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Turned out it was what is now known as Cibeles Palace. It was once called the Palace of Communication (don’t ask me) and before that, the Postal and Telegraphic Museum. Confusing but at least it was free, had restrooms, and had a nice cafeteria and. (I’m starting to think that what Madrid means by “cafeteria” is “borderline-fancy but reasonably priced restaurant.”) While YP had a couple of tapas plates, I had the price fixe menu, which began with a lovely salad –

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– followed by a nice rice stew. Dessert was fresh watermelon and honeydew.

I also got a piece of bread and water. All for 15 euros, or almost $20.

After we ate, we checked out the place. While the building was old and beautiful, the exhibits were very modern.

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A video posted by actung9 (@actung9) on Aug 8, 2014 at 11:52am PDT

Afterward, we started hiking toward the actual Prado museum. Along the way we passed another thing we wanted to try: rowboats in the pond in the park. Since the museum was open late, we decided to go for the rowboats.

It was pretty fun. Even better: there was no line. I had imagined waiting in line forever.

Unfortunately I forgot to put sunscreen on my arms so they were burning in the sun. But at least my face moisturizer had SPF 15 and I was wearing my hat and sunglasses. YP did all the rowing. I was nervous about moving around too much in the boat, and I also I don’t know how to control the oars.

The water was pretty stagnant — a murky green — and we saw several fish jump out. At first we thought they might be flying fish, but I just looked it up and they are koi, and unfortunately they might be jumping because the water is uncomfortably hot. Poor fish.

After the boat ride, we finally headed over to the Prado, and this time we made it to the correct one.

I was happy to be in a museum, but either forgot or didn’t know that the Prado is mostly religious paintings or portraits of royals and other noble people. Snore. At least there were a lot of El Grecos, and I enjoyed those. I also liked the special exhibit which compared El Grecos with more modern paintings, showing El Greco’s influence.

Because I bored quickly of all the religious paintings, I finished before YP (for a change). Plus he had stopped in the middle to eat something at the cafe. While he went off to check out the El Greco exhibit, it was my turn to get a nosh, in my case a chicken and cheese sandwich followed by a chocolate covered donut, which was actually more like cake (low-carb diet completely out the window by now). It was all tasty.

Then we headed home, stopping at the grocery store along the way.

It feels a little weird to be home so “early” although I was pretty tired and my feet hurt from walking barefoot in sandals again. I didn’t find a Sephora or whatever but at least I got some moisturizer at the grocery store, which turned to be not very rich, but it’s better than nothing.

It’s already 11 now so I don’t think we’ll be going out to dinner again. I can’t decide if I should eat something. I had a few random things since we’ve been home: a couple of celery stalks, a yogurt, and a bunch of walnuts. I might have an egg.

Last night I slept better than the night before, although it still took me a while to drift off and I woke up a few times. But we’re in no rush to be anywhere today so we slept in, meaning about 9 for me and 10 for him.

Last night we schlepped out to this vegetarian restaurant for dinner. We had to walk through the block of Indian restaurants and aggressive hawkers. I really feel like elbowing the ones who got right in our faces.

A weird thing about this city are the creepy, quiet, what we call “rape-y,” alleyways. I feel nervous walking through them, but then you always end up seeing a woman walking by herself.

The alleyways are pretty clean. No garbage and therefore no rats. The swapee said the garbage gets picked up every day so that explains it.

The restaurant was on the perimeter of what seemed like a church courtyard. There were several restaurants, all with a scattering of outdoor tables and chairs. The set-up was so weird. So random and ramshackle.

We’re finding that design and presentation aren’t big things here. For instance, even some little lights strung up in the trees would have made a huge difference, would have made the space more cohesive. At the mall, I noticed that the clothes just hung off in the mannequins while in America, they would have been pinned back to make them seem more flattering.

A photo posted by actung9 (@actung9) on Aug 8, 2014 at 5:49am PDT

The food wasn’t bad. I was hungry so I dug into my vegetarian paella, as well as the olives, pickled onions, and bread.

While we were eating, this woman walking about five dogs lost control of two or three of them. They were racing around, barking and fighting with each other. Nice.

We took a different route back home and one, didn’t have to pass the pushy Indian hawkers again, and two, stumbled on a whole bunch of restaurants in odd spots. They all seemed tucked against churches and in little alcoves. It was strange and lovely.

Then, by mistake, we ended up at Plaza de Mayor again, which had a completely different feeling at night.

Earlier we were there during the hottest part of the day so it was kind of abandoned and very sweltering. In the evening it was full of people hanging out, kids playing, and vendors selling these glowing whirligigs.

On the way back we stopped for gelato. I had told myself to not splurge anymore but then I was like fuck it. I had the choco-mint, which the girl behind the counter told us was also her favorite (she was so cute), but at least I only ate half.

We got back around midnight and I immediately jumped the shower. I felt so sweaty and gross from the whole day.

My feet are also kind of fucked up from walking barefoot in sandals. I really need a pumice stone and heavy moisturizer, but I made do with a washcloth and the Jergens I have. Too bad I didn’t get foot stuff yesterday. We passed like three Sephoras.

Today the plan is the Prado, the Naval Museum, and boat rides in the park.