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Sunday, August 10 - Madrid
We awoke late, around 11 am. We were all a little out of sorts, and really couldn't seem to figure out our day. After some arguing, Jacob convinced the desk clerks that they had to get in touch with the general manager and get us into our room safe (our passports were still locked away). We ate breakfast next door while we waited. Apparently they called him and he gave the master combination to one of the staff, who came upstairs and opened it. We then decided to go to the one museum that was open late on Sunday - the Thyssen-Bormiszia Museum. It housed many outstanding paintings, sculptures and tapestries. There were several wonderful impressionists, which Nancy particularly enjoyed. The Prado had closed early on Sunday, or so we'd thought according to the printed schedule. Harvey was hungry, so we stopped at a café to eat. But the waiter was extremely rude and uncooperative (maybe he was really French?) and Harvey was in no mood. We finally got up and left! After many more differences of opinion, we began walking through the adjacent park. Nancy bought some stamps and postcards. It was then that we found out that the Prado was actually open until 7! We walked across the park to the Prado and spent a few hours. It blew away any other museum we'd ever been to, including the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. Their collections of Poussin, El Greco, Rubens, Rembrandt, Tissian, Pollack and so many, many more were fantastic. To think that the Louvre, the Vatican, and Florence still wait! We came back to the hotel and then left by cab for the bullfight. It is a magnificent stadium, reminding one of the old brick ballparks like Jacob's Field. We got seat cushions for one euro each, which turned out to be a good thing since the "seats" were granite. The action began only moments after we sat down. There is really only one word to describe bullfighting: BARBARIC! Disgusting would be another good adjective. The only redeeming moment was when the bull got the matador on the ground and nearly gored him. Unfortunately, it wasn't close enough. They eventually kill the bull with a sword and drag it away. Only Elliot was disappointed when we left after the second "fight". Everyone else had had more than enough. We walked a few blocks from the ring and found a tapas restaurant. We were all looking forward to eating genuine Spanish tapas! We ate outside (mind you, it's still over 95º outside). Tapas is much better in the US. It is far too weird in Spain. Everything was some type of ham or seafood in strange combinations with other ingredients. Harvey, Marcus and Elliot didn't seem to mind. Jacob had a seafood salad that he loved. Nancy left just as hungry as she'd arrived. We went back to our hotel to rest awhile, and then we'd planned to go out for a late dinner, though not late by local standards. Harvey and Nancy were relaxing in their room when Marcus came flying into the room in a panic - screaming that Elliot had broken his wrist. They'd been horsing around and Elliot fell and it was "really, really bad". Nancy, never one to panic, told Marcus to calm down, and followed him back up to their room. Elliot was howling. Nancy took one look at his arm, bent in the wrong direction above the wrist, and told Marcus to help Elliot get his shoes on because we were going to the hospital. Marcus finally convinced the desk clerk that we weren't kidding and they hailed us a taxi to the "Clinico" not too far away. Once the taxi driver finally found the emergency entrance we ran inside. None of Marcus' Spanish was more convincing than Elliot holding up is arm. They asked for Elliot's passport and they took him back within 2 minutes. When they realized that he didn't speak any Spanish they allowed Marcus back while Nancy and Harvey sat in chairs, worrying. Moments later Marcus came out with no information, but minutes after that the doctor came out and told us that Elliot had broken both the ulna and the radius. They reduced the fractures (the bones were definitely NOT in a good position) and cast his arm in the old traditional white plaster. They took a second set of x-rays to be sure of the position. It was okay and the doctor told us we were free to go. Now here's the really incredible part: the entire emergency room visit took about 30 minutes! We went back to the admission desk to again offer our insurance card and asked about payment. The lady told us that we could come back tomorrow during business hours and present our insurance papers if we wanted to. Marcus explained in Spanish that we were leaving early in the morning for Paris. She waved us off and said good-bye. Spain has socialized medicine, and the medical care is FREE! The hospital visit took little more time than the round-trip cab ride! We were all hungry, and Nancy needed a glass of wine, so we went to a local restaurant around the corner, thanks to 2 young men on the street (who were Spanish now living in the US) that we asked for directions. They steered us to a delicious local place serving steak, pasta and salads. Elliot wasn't feeling too bad at all after 2 aleve and a glass of sangria. We all went back to the hotel to collapse. |
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