We are staying at the AC Carlton for the umpteenth time. Sorry I don’t recall the number of times we have stayed here but it is a lot. Its main attraction has been that it is near Erica’s apartment. We actually have one of the nicest rooms we’ve ever had here. Typically we have had a tiny shower and small room. This time the room and shower are very spacious. I don’t know if this has been true in the past but downstairs they have free coffee and small pastries in the morning. So this morning we opted for this new discovery of a “healthy” breakfast.
We then met Erica for a special outing. Erica has raved about her “podóloga” (foot care specialist). All my close friends know that I run for one hour four times a week. This is great for my heart but not so great for my toes. So we went to see Irene (same name as my dear mama but born about 80 years later). Erica had told us how wonderful she is and that she would transform my feet. Irene inspected my feet, opened her eyes wide, took a deep breath and then got right to work. Twenty minutes later I was a new man. My toes look and feel so much better. Irene suggested I should come back every 2 months or stop running. I have some “before and after” pictures of my toes but Patrice and Erica said, “Don’t you dare post those pictures, they are DISGUSTING”. This picture was deemed acceptable.
We then headed to the Matisse exhibition at the Caixa Forum. It was advertised as costing 6 euros per person but free if you are less than 16 years old or if you have an account at Caixa bank. We didn’t qualify for either but the cashier stated if you are a professor you can get in free. So I pulled out my UCLA card indicating my academic appointment and voila, I was admitted for free and my spouse was admitted as well. We still had to pay for Erica but what a lovely surprise. The museum was first class. If you have been following the blog you know that means the toilet had a seat. The exhibit was first class as well.
After resting up back at the hotel, we went for a wonderful dinner at El Perro y la Galleta (Calle de Claudio Coello, 1, Salamanca, Madrid). Erica has set up meals for the Irish ambassador and other dignitaries to meet. If it is good enough for them we had to give it a try. We had an excellent dinner. We also had an interesting group sitting near us. There were 3 women speaking Spanish and one of the ladies had a dog sitting on her lap.
Time to head to bed.
Adios
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 