Madrid Day

Today I went outside in the late hours of the morning with the intention of heading to the museum quarter to take advantage of the free admission to the Museo del Prado, but was stopped again at the Puerta del Sol by another holiday demonstration. This time the holiday was not national, instead a local celebration of the day that Spanish forces rebelled against French troops under Napoleon in 1808. The rebellion was not successful and it would be years before they were defeated, but when Madrid became its own autonomous community in 1982 they decided to take the date as their own holiday.
I got to the center of the city and saw that there was another gathering of people on the sides of the streets. I asked someone what was going on and he said that there was a parade. This time I guess there would not be a demonstration. I waited a few minutes and saw a few groups of soldiers pass by, followed by politicians and nobility, then continued towards the museum area. The weather was nice: sunny and warm, something that I had come to appreciate after having heard the reports on German weather at the time.
The Museo del Prado is one of three museums in the museum area in Madrid, but the most widely known of them. On this holiday (or on Sunday in general), admission was free so I was able to grab a ticket and simply enter. I actually recognized a couple of the paintings from various tidbits of art history that I had learned in school, and enjoyed the experience enough. I had heard that the botanical gardens near the museum were also worth seeing, but I knew that I was running short on time to get to the train to Lisbon and did not go. I returned to my hostel to get my things and left for Madrid Chamartin, the same train station that I arrived at.