Madrid and Gibraltar

Since I was with Katie in Madrid, I took few photos.  It feels odd to be a tourist when my primary reason for visiting is to see a friend.  We spent one day in Spain's capital before heading off to Andalucia and another three days there at the end of the trip.  Some highlights:

Pouring sidra over a bucket.  Sidra is an alcoholic cider but is not at all sweet.  Pouring it from a distance adds "carbonation" to the drink.

Bar number three of four in a day.  Living like a Spaniard!

Katie and Juan

I spent countless hours at the Prado and the Reina Sofia museums while Katie was at work.  Here is Annunciation, a panel I studied in college.

We spent half a day in Gibraltar, which is an isthmus on the southernmost tip of Spain.  The two-mile long stretch of land belongs to the UK - the currency is Pounds Sterling and people speak English.  It was so surreal being in a little piece of England while being able to see the Spanish border.  I don't know what I expected before arriving in Gibraltar, but I sure didn't envision the "rock" as a bona fide mountain.

Half of the Rock of Gibraltar

We had to walk across the airport tarmac in order to get into the city.

Best photo I've ever taken award!  Gibraltar/the UK (foreground), Morocco (background on the left), Spain (right).  Also in the photo are the Mediterranean Sea on the left and Atlantic Ocean on the right.  How cool is that?!

Eastern side of Gibraltar

Monos everywhere!