Bureaucracy, fine arts, and lunch with a friend

So yesterday I had an appointment at a police commissary in Madrid in order to deal with paperwork regarding acquiring my NIE (Numero de Identidad de Extranjeros). I got there really early (over an hour before they opened) and was thankfully the first person in line, so I was able to avoid a long wait. I figured since I was already in the city and had an excused absence from work that I would visit the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. Not only had I heard that their permanent collection was really impressive, but they also have a special exhibit going on called "Impressionist Gardens." Anyone that knows me knows that I love, love, love the Impressionists, so checking el museo out was definitely a must. As I thought it would be, the time I spent looking at all of the paintings and sculptures was fantastic; in fact, I was there for over five hours ^_^ And because it was a weekday, it wasn't crowded at all. I truly enjoyed seeing the works of so many wonderful masters -- Rodin, Monet, Manet, Jackson Pollock, Dali, Picasso, Cezanne, Degas, Eugene Delacroix, Daubigny, Morisot, Sisley, Pissarro, Rubens, Toulouse-Lautrec, Max Ernst, Max Weber, Titian, El Greco, Caravaggio, and Gauguin, among others -- but my favorite was Vincent van Gogh's "Les Vessenots en Auvers" (seen below thanks to Google, although a 2D image doesn't do the real thing any justice whatsoever).



Again, those who know me well know what a huge van Gogh fan I am, so that experience is going near the top of my list of highlights while in Spain (if not #1). Anyway, afterward I met up with my fellow auxiliar LP to eat at this vegetarian restaurant, Artemisa, that the bilingual coordinator at our school had told us about. It was pretty delicious, and not too expensive either. Alas, it was, for the most part (minus the annoying government business), a rather fabulous día..! Yay!