After the museum we hopped over to the Atocha train station, an odd choice since last month hundreds of people were killed by a terrorist bomb on the trains a couple miles before they pulled into this station. The station is a grand industrial revolution sort of space, made very funky by a huge rain forest planted in the middle of the platform. We stopped here for a coffee, then made our way back to the hotel.

We could barely keep our eyes open, so we ended up eating at the hotel, which was about the only place in Madrid that opened at the "early" 8.30 pm time we requested in order to avoid falling asleep in our paella. The room was suitably grand and the service very professional, although the food was pretty hit or miss. I had a nice foie gras starter, but my main, three somewhat smelly scallops smothered in a sour sauce, misfired on all cylinders. (It did, however, allow me to impress you with my alliteration abilities.)