Packed up

This is perhaps the most arresting image I saw in three months in Madrid. It's not in a museum or a gallery. It's street art. There's no plaque, no explanation, no title.

I found it on the Calle de Quiñones in Malasaña. As you can see, it's painted on a door which was then hung on the wall in a disused doorway. It depicts a breast cancer patient and a few dates: assuming they are using Spanish date style, these would be 9 December 2020, 1 February 2021, and 7 May 2021. And there's a handle, @strlópezlópez. There's no such Titter user so I have to assume this is a user on Instagram. But I don't have instagram and can't confirm.

It's a mystery, at least to me. For all I know this piece commemorates someone well-known in a certain stratum of the neighborhood, the way a woman named Violet Blue is well-known to certain San Franciscans and not to others.

Just something I noticed during my walk on Sunday. Madrid doesn't have a lot of great street art, and there is a lot of tagging. So this piece stood out by not being tagged. It's so good the taggers respected it.

Tomorrow is my last night in Madrid. I don't have anything planned, though I'd like to go back to my favorite Flamenco place, La Cueva de Lola, one more time. This evening will be devoted to finishing packing and moving to a hotel, then coming back to the apartment to clean up a little. I just want to make sure all the garbage is gone and there are clean towels and linen.

This morning at McDonald's -- yes, I still eat breakfast there at least half the time -- I noticed a senior couple with suitcases trying to make sense of the order board. "Habla Inglés?" I asked, and when they said yes, I showed them how to use the order kiosk, which gives an option to use it in English. We've all been there! In fact, on my first morning in Japan in 1987 the most comfoting thing was a McDonald's down the street from my hotel where I could order a sausage muffin for breakfast.

This has been such a great trip for me. I'm so grateful to Anna for bringing me to Madrid the first time and for supporting me while I was here.