Month: September 2016

  • Vatican Museums, Roma

    Vatican Museums, Roma

    Musei Vaticani –  I (Chris) had in Rome an opportunity of a private guided tour of the Vatican Museums, including the Sistine Chapel. The tour was about 1 hour long and began at dusk after all the regular visitors had left. These are painted on the spaces at the top of columns. Notice the 3D…

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  • Madrid food diary: Ana La Santa

    We arrived at Madrid in mid-afternoon and missed lunch. So we settled for a snack at this hotel situated in the same plaza as our apartment. This was in June 2016. The eatery is located in the ME Madrid Hotel Reina Victoria situated in the west end of Plaza Santa Ana. There are several different areas…

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  • Madrid food diary: El Caldero

    El Caldero is situated in a central, pedestrian-only touristy area of Madrid. It was only one block from Plaza de Santa Ana where we were staying. It was founded in 1973 and specializes in Spanish rice dishes – paella. Their signature dish is rice cooked in a cauldron (more like a bucket) as illustrated by this painting – which…

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  • El Asador de Aranda, Madrid

    El Asador de Aranda, Madrid

    After all that Russian art that came before this post, we thought a post about a hearty meal is apt. El Asador de Aranda is a chain of steakhouse in Spain that are well-known for their suckling lamb roasted in clay oven. We went to the one in downtown Madrid on Calle de Preciados. Given…

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