Sunday in Madrid

It was not a very nice day outside and I couldn’t decide what to do. After a month’s travelling I feel I just need to stop! So I stayed in my hotel room and read a book, even though I’m within a stone’s throw of the Prado and Reina Sofia.

I won’t give away the plot if I say this:

Both my surnames (Mellor and Butterworth) are characters in the book. So is a Picasso, fake or otherwise, (and I have one hanging in my spare room at this very moment). Actually it’s a signed print. The book was a good way of spending the morning, and I may read it again on the plane to enjoy more of the funny bits.

In the late afternoon I thought I  should go for a walk. I crossed the dangerously busy road into Atocha station. It was really crowded and not as I remembered it from a few years ago. There is a sort of garden area, but it is getting encroached upon by outlets of various kinds:

I had to ask a security guard for the way out!