Street Smart

It occurs to me that I haven't really included a whole lot of pictures of Madrid.  So how about we go for a stroll and I'll point out some of the interesting things that I've seen around town.  (Warning: actually walking to all of these places might take a little while.)

First stop: the house of an early 1900s painter, Joaquín Sorolla.

Yep, that's him all right.

After Sorolla's death, the house was converted into a museum and, like most of the museums I've visited so far, they were particularly persnickety about photography, so I don't have any pictures inside the house.  However, I did get a couple good shots of his front yard:

It's like The Secret Garden...

...except way more awesome.

Having worked as a landscaper in the past, I can authoritatively state that this is a pretty sweet setup.

Anyhow, speaking of sweet things, here's an entirely unrelated picture from a gourmet chocolate shop:

The chocolates are those little guys under the glass display case.

This store, Cacao Sampaka, was one of the places we had to find for a scavenger hunt in our Conversation Intensive.  The point of the game, presumably, was to teach us how to wander about the city at night talking to strangers (don't worry Mom, we were in teams).  I can state with confidence that no fewer than fifty percent of the people we asked ended up giving us correct directions.

Around the same neighborhood, I also encountered a row of rather peculiar penguins:

Marching: I guess it's just what penguins do.

Here's a close up:

What better way to chill your drink?

Yes, these penguins have a can of beer in one wing and a keg under the other.  The building used to be a brewery for a brand whose mascot was, you guessed it, a penguin.  But then the brewery business was either bought or became bankrupt and the bevy of beer-loving birds have been biding on the balcony with their beverages ever since.

One last little point of interest before we go:

When I say "little", it's in a very figurative sense.

This formidable building houses the General Society of Authors and Editors.

Right, that's what I just said.

It's kind of like a cross between a literary society and a copyright office.  It's the kind of place that you go to if you write a very good book and they want to give you a prize.  It's also the kind of place that you go to if you write a very mediocre book, and want to make sure that no one else makes money off it.  Unfortunately, it's not the kind of place where you just drop in to say hi and take some photos.  Guess I'd better get started on that book...