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Here are the promised pictures of Madrid. Well, first, the reason I went. I had not seen my father in three years and I was glad to see him for he is doing great. 
And so is my mother. 
Besides being my parent's anniversary on the 12th, it was my sister's 40th birthday on the 13th. Here she is in front of the Aeronautical Enginnering building where she is getting a Masters in Airport Management (or something like that). 
Madrid was a lot of fun. The museums are world class, the people party like there is no tomorrow, and the city is awash in history. Atocha Train Station. 
Plaza de España. Do you recognize the two men on the horse and the donkey? 
Plaza Mayor. Used to be the market, now a big tourist attraction. 
Statue of Velasquez at the entrance to the Prado Museum. 
Puertas de Alcala 
A statue of Cristobal Colon (aka Christopher Columbus) 
Below is Puertas del Sol. We stayed nearby. This place is always busy, regardless of the hour of the day or night. 
It's also Km 0. The point from which all distances in Spain are measured. 
It's after 1 am and these people are lining up to enter the theater. 
Yours truly at Puertas del Sol. The statue of the bear and the tree is the symbol of Madrid. 
Entrance to the Thyssen Museum.  Below is a Mayan stele stolen by the Spanish from Palenque in Mexico. It, along with other loot, can be found at the Museo de America, which should be in everyone's list of places to visit in Madrid. 
I went to the Salamanca neighborhood, which was and is the most Fracoist neighboorhood in Madrid. Nowadays, the old fascists are dropping dead on a daily basis and being replaced by ... Anyway, I decided to take an antithetical picture instead. If you do not know what the message means, click here or here (in english). 
Look at the funny hats. They are the equivalent of State troopers. 
Talk about choice. Check out this coffee vending machine that I found at Kiki's university. 
Next time I'm taking the girls with me. Madrid is fabulous to visit.
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Madrid 2008 
