Bangkok Week 486 October 19, 2017 A brief stopover in Bangkok, and the rest of the week in Madrid. Olé ! View fullsize Look what was waiting for me when I got back from Toronto! View fullsize A Tokyo train hankie! View fullsize I got the first print ever, of this tuk-tuk masterpiece. View fullsize Christoph Niemann's new book! View fullsize Modeling the shirt from Steve in Pappalardo. View fullsize Off to Madrid in the brother of that plane. View fullsize Construction for the new terminal is (finally) well underway. View fullsize The elevated highway just south of the airport. View fullsize Fields of water near the sea. View fullsize Siam. View fullsize Victory Monument and Phaholyothin. View fullsize Areas north of Chatuchak Market. View fullsize Remarkably clear weather! View fullsize I must be in Frankfurt! View fullsize Going for a stroll on my last day in Madrid. View fullsize A nice building, which is now the Rafael del Pino Foundation. View fullsize Heading into the Metro! View fullsize Small cars on this Green Line train. View fullsize They like their dramatic subway signs! View fullsize I emerged at the Opera station. View fullsize As promised, there's the Opera! View fullsize And there it is from the other side. View fullsize Lots of cobblestone streets and narrow alleys. View fullsize Casa Jose Cubiles. View fullsize Plaza de Oriente. View fullsize Royal Palace of Madrid. View fullsize Kids love bubbles all the world over. View fullsize I was there, too! View fullsize Egads! A blue sky! (And the courtyard of the palace.) View fullsize Catedral de la Almudena. View fullsize My new buddy, Petrus. View fullsize Seems like the cathedral has had a stop-and-go history. Construction began in 1883, paused during the Spanish Civil War, and finally finished in 1993. View fullsize Has a bit of a Sacre-Coeur feel inside. View fullsize For praying only. View fullsize Ornate ceilings. View fullsize Nice pipe organ. View fullsize A modern take on stained glass windows. View fullsize Back outside, some colorful buildings. View fullsize The State Council. View fullsize Monumento a Victoria Eugenia y Alfonso XIII. View fullsize Narrow streets. View fullsize And even smaller sois. Foot traffic only! View fullsize Nice balconies! View fullsize The Mercado de San Miguel, over 100 years old. View fullsize Lots of small stalls inside the mercado. View fullsize A cone of nuts, anyone? View fullsize More colorful buildings and small sois! View fullsize A hint of blue sky as I approach the Plaza Mayor. View fullsize True to its name, the Plaza Mayor. View fullsize One part of one wall is painted differently than all the others. View fullsize Estatua of Felipe III in the center. View fullsize More narrow streets. Getting a lot more toursity now! View fullsize Are pasties Spanish? View fullsize More ornate buildings. View fullsize This area felt like the center of the city. View fullsize Puerta del Sol, another large plaza. View fullsize Unfortunately, the buildings on all sides were under scaffolding. View fullsize Found the main shopping streets! View fullsize An ornate old-meets-new subway entrance in the square. View fullsize Prime location for an Apple store. View fullsize My luck has run out with the weather. View fullsize The Congress of Deputies. View fullsize Estatua de Miguel de Cervantes. View fullsize These two don't seem to mind the heavy rains. View fullsize Museo Nacional del Prado. But no time to visit inside. View fullsize I was there, too! View fullsize Monument to Fallen Heroes. View fullsize Bolsa de Madrid. View fullsize A giant, renovated palace that includes an exhibition space, and City Hall. View fullsize Instituto Cervantes and other grand buildings along Calle de Alcala. View fullsize Everyone's wet and soggy. Not just me. View fullsize Casino de Madrid. View fullsize And a hint of holiday spirit! View fullsize Aerial shot of the rush hour traffic on my way back to the hotel. View fullsize The next morning, heading back to Frankfurt. They're techno-geeks on Lufthansa! View fullsize All fliers must be curious about the engines. View fullsize Layers of clouds as we leave Madrid. View fullsize That lowest layer looks like a blanket of snow! (There was almost no visibility at the airport.) View fullsize Heading into the (upper) clouds. View fullsize Approaching Frankfurt. View fullsize Patchwork towns. View fullsize No excuse for my flight to be delayed. Plane is already waiting comfortably 3 hours before the flight. View fullsize Familiar friends! View fullsize Free newspapers for all, courtesy of LH. View fullsize The big beluga whale I'll be taking back to Bangkok.
