31st March 2026: Euphoria, Shanghai Mama, and 103 Years of Magic (Madrid, Spain)

Posted on 22 August 2026 by JBinnacle

I was on break for Easter, and my sibling, who works in Madrid, proposed to “have lunch and whatever”. That usually means that they want me to find a good place for lunch, and a plan for “whatever” afterwards. The original plan was Monday, but way too many things were closed on that day, hence we rescheduled for Tuesday. I organised two “whatevers” – one for myself, one to do with them.

I took the train towards Casa de Campo, and I actually made an earlier train than I had calculated. I was at the final underground stop around 9:15, so I had 45 minutes to explore around before my 10:00 ticket. The park known as Casa de Campo was established as royal hunting grounds in 1561, under the reign of Felipe II (Philip II). It was at the time designed by Juan Bautista de Toledo, who divided the area in three parts – orchards, gardens and the actual hunting grounds. In 1656, engineer Pietre Jansen established the large pond in the centre, Lago de la Casa de Campo. Later royals would add modifications for their own enjoyment until the area was open as a public park in 1931, during the Second Republic. In 1997, it was declared historical park (Parque histórico). Today, the Madrid Zoo and the Amusement Park are located within its grounds. It also hosts an area for travelling exhibitions, Escenario Puerta del Ángel.

I’ve always wanted to explore the park a little, and this was my chance. There are several constructions of historical importance there. Beside the lake, which was already teeming with sportspeople, the first one I found was the aqueduct Acueducto de la Partida, a former waterway that carried water from the lake to one of the orchards. I also saw the former house to breed pheasants in, and the forest around it – La Faisanera and Bosque de la Faisanera – but mostly, I wandered around, scaring a bunny or two.

Eventually, I headed towards Escenario Puerta del Ángel where Euphoria, a new exhibit by the Balloon Museum had just opened. The first time I had been to one of their exhibits I had not known what to expect, but this time around I was ready. The Balloon Museum specialises in immersive artworks (each of them can take up a whole room), most of them created with inflatables and light. You can touch and play and be silly with a lot of them too.

The artworks displayed, and a bit about them, are:

One Hundred and Twenty by Nils Völker. A short corridor flanked with garbage bags that inflate and deflate as if they were breathing. A bit unsettling, so I am glad that was the first one and I could leave it behind.
My Room Is Another Fish Bowl by Philippe Parreno. A room full of helium balloons in the shape of fish and seahorses that you could play with as they floated gently along the room. This was very cute – but I guess I like fish.
Follow Me, I Think I Know the Way by Camille Walala. It was like a kid’s monkey jungle but made of inflatables. I wish I were younger and could climb on them.
Invisible Ballet by Hyperstudio. A room full of balloons that floated around at the centre. You could stand amongst them as they move and turn and the wind messes with your head (and the balloons hit you on the face, of course). This had a very pretty, but mostly hilarious, effect.

Collage - balloons in different shapes, including a bridge-like structure

Ovoids by SpY. A bunch of egg-like giant… things that gently swayed from the ceiling, making it a bit (actually very)… creepy.
Work No. 3883: Half the air in a given space by Martin Creed. A greenhouse full of huge blue balloons that you had to cross, it was like an adventure. Of course I went in, who do you think I am?
Our Floating by Alex Schweder. A round bed-like structure you could sit and lie on as it inflated and deflated randomly so you kept falling and rising. A welcome break, and giddy fun to flop down on.
ADA by Karina Smigla-Bobinski. A big… bouncy ball with charcoal pencils attached to it. You could push it or let it float around, and as it hit the walls it drew random lines on them. This was stupidly fun, but it did stain your hands – and whatever else it came in contact with, if you were not careful.
Crazy Love for Polygons by Cyril Lancelin. Hexahedral balloons that you could stack to make shapes with – unfortunately this was hijacked by toddlers who did not want to share with the rest of the attendees.

Collage - hanging balloons in different shapes

Pulse Topology by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. A lot of lightbulbs hung from the ceiling in some sort of wave shape. You could put your hand under a sensor and the bulbs pulsated along your heartbeat. When you took your hand off, one of the bulbs remembered the rhythm and kept pulsing. It was a pretty intense feeling, to be honest, though I am not even sure why.
New Spring by A.A. Murakami. The installation resembled a cherry tree, but instead of cherry blossoms, it shed bubbles of pinkish mist that popped into scented vapour if poked or when they hit the ground. The scent was rather beautiful, too.
Hyperstellar by Hyperstudio with Quiet Ensemble and Roman Hill. A huge ball pit with a light and sound show. This is pretty similar to the Hyperstudio artwork I had seen the first time around, so I guess it is a signature kind of work.

Collage - Waves made out of light; tree with bubbles; ball pool

Kaleidoscope by Karina Smigla-Bobinski. There were three tables in the middle of the room, and when you touched them, the liquid on top moved around, changing colour. That reflected or was projected on the walls… I didn’t quite get the idea.
10 Agosto (10^th of August) by Hyperstudio. A circle of swings looking at big round lightbulbs that turned on and off, and moved along the rhythm. It was quite relaxing even if the music was not designed for it.

Slings amongst bulbs of light

At the end of the tour there was a gift shop, where I got myself a sweatshirt, because at some point, I had a wardrobe malfunction and the zipper of my sweater had dislodged. I thought that was a sign. It was all good because the weather was weird – the wind was cold, but it was nice out in the sun.

I left the museum and walked out of the park and into a wide avenue. There, I found a “trail” of trees in bloom, until I reached the edge of the park, which takes the name of Huerta de la Partida, strolled by the Madrid Sign and crossed over the river Río Manzanares. I headed into the former station, now shopping centre Estación de Príncipe Pío, where I tried the seasonal Starbucks drink – I did not like it too much – before I reached the royal gardens Campo del Moro. There, the Spanish Heritage management, has restored and sort of opened the historical Túnel de Bonaparte.

Spring blossoms and the Madrid sign

I feel the need to keep “opened” in quotation marks because I was expecting to be able to walk from one side to the other – but it turns out that no, only the first few metres are accessible – the rest are locked down (and the closed-off area is not even the historical part, but a reconstructed concrete bunker of sorts). The tunnel was conceived to be an underground connection the two parks – Campo del Moro and Casa de Campo. It was designed by Juan de Villanueva under orders from Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte. Only the first few metres are the restored original, built in brick and open to visitors. It was a bit anticlimactic, because it would have been a nifty way to cross the busy avenue overhead.

An artificial tunnel structure within a park

I walked across Campo del Moro, emerged near Plaza de España and found Casa Gallardo, one of the few true Art Nouveau buildings in town. A restaurant has opened there, and there’s a part of me tempted to go for lunch some day so I can see the interior, but I don’t really think it would really be worth it. The house / palace was built between 1911 and 1914, and its architect, Federico Arias Rey, was awarded the “best house of 1915” recognition for it. The roofs are black slate, and the white façade features rounded balconies are uncommon in Madrid. Today, everything is private or residential, so no snooping around.

After wandering around for a bit, I finally walked into the underground to meet my sibling at the Tetuán stop, for our lunch reservation at Shanghai Mama (Infanta Mercedes), part of the group China Crown, whose first eatery tackled trying to tear down the Spanish idea that Chinese food was all cheap and greasy, or fried rice (and yet, our waiter was very surprised that we did not order any rice). We shared Crunchy duck bundles with plum sauce (Paquetitos de pato crujiente con salsa de ciruela | 缤纷鸭卷), Xiaolongbao filled with Iberian pork secreto (a shoulder blade cut, one of the best parts of the animal, apparently), mushroom and foie (Xiaolongbao relleno de secreto ibérico, setas y foie | 鹅肝鲜肉小笼包), Prawn chop suey (Chop suey de langostinos | 什锦炒大虾) and Lacquered duck magret with orange sauce (Magret de pato laqueado en salsa de naranja | 香橙酥鸭胸肉). Everything was delicious, but especially the chop suey. I had not had chop suey in years, so I was really happy it was so good. The duck was incredible too.

We did not have dessert, because I wanted to try the nearby Muua Bubble Tea. Spain came into the bubble tea fad a bit late, and while the place was pretty, the tea was extremely sweet. They were extremely generous with the tapioca, too, and very friendly.

Chinese food and bobba tea

Afterwards, we walked up towards Sala Castellana 214, one of the exhibition halls that Fundación Canal manages. They were running an exhibit by the Walt Disney Company’s Archives – Disney: The Exhibition – 100 Años de Magia (Disney: The Exhibition – 100 Years of Magic), which was half price for Easter. While I’m not a big Disney person, my sibling is.

The displays claim to honour 100 years of Disney’s creativity (103, actually, as the century-mark was 2023, when the original exhibit was held in the USA). I have a couple of problems with the way it was presented. I was honestly expecting that they would focus on the actual “Disney” work, as we were greeted by a lady from the “Disney Archives”, not stuff created by other people than Disney later bought. So in my opinion, Indiana Jones, Star Wars and all the Marvel stuff were an add-on.

The first room was an introductory video, and the second had a bit of an introduction to the company and the first films, including the birth of Mickey Mouse. In the upcoming areas, there were props like Cinderella’s shoe (from the live action film), one of the carousel horses from Mary Poppins (my sibling is rather sure it’s Bert’s), an original Winnnie the Pooh puppet (quite creepy, if you ask me)… I really liked a reproduction of the book from Sleeping Beauty, which projected the scenes on a screen. Other “not Disney in my head” props included an Indiana Jones outfit, Star Wars paraphernalia (a BB8, a prog, a lightsaber handle), Marvel’s suits and accessories (Captain America’s shield, one of Black Widow’s outfits, Avengers’ helmets…). There were also items from live action films such as The Little Mermaid and Cruella.

Another room focused on music, with a big screen projecting iconic songs, Mickey dressed as an orchestra conductor, or the outfit of the actor who played Mufasa in the Broadway version of The Lion King. There were also examples of how to create different sound effects. Further, there were items used in parks and films and an interactive Rocket Racoon that was not working.

Finally, there were references to the Disney Parks, a collaboration with National Geographic, and some more projections and a kids’ activity zone. Oh, and of course the shop. You can’t go wrong with a shop, especially when a good part of the attendees are going to be under the age of nine.

Exhibits at the Disney exhibition - stoorm trooper, Mr Incredible, a glass shoe, a merry-go-round horse, sketch from an old animaton, a reproduction of the Disney castle

We had a bit of a bad connection as Metro has closed down a few stops on Line 10, but we were lucky enough to catch the courtesy bus service that took us right to our station – for free, even. The train ride back was okay, there were issues with the carriage filling up and almost catching someone at the doors, but in the end everything worked out.

13th May 2025: Three free niche exhibitions (Madrid, Spain)

Posted on 13 July 2025 by JBinnacle

I planned a little escapade to Madrid. There was nothing really special going on, it was just going to be a sunny day with no rain forecast and I could go to a museum and have lunch. When I say nothing special was going on, I mean there were a couple of exhibits I wanted to see, but it would have been just as easy to visit them the previous or following day. I just timed it for the best weather forecast of the week.

I had a small work-related thing early in the morning so I ended up leaving the house half an hour later than I would have liked. The trains were around 10 minutes late and the underground was packed, but none of that is news. I reached my first stop, the Museum for the Blind Museo Tiflológico de la ONCE, around 11:30. This museum hosts models or miniatures of famous monuments in Spain and around the world, designed to be seen with one’s hands. That way, people with low or no vision can get an idea of how they are. It is part of the ONCE inclusion program for the blind, and I think it is a brilliant idea.

ONCE stands for Spanish National Organisation of the Blind in the local language, Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles. Its history and works are a bit convoluted, but keeping it short, the Organisation was established in 1938 with the goal of providing equal opportunities for the blind and people with visual impairments. One of its main income sources is the lottery known as El Cupón de la ONCE.

While the museum itself is free to enter and very relaxed, when you arrive at the building you have to fill out a questionnaire, for statistical purposes, I guess. I did find it a bit off putting that I was outright asked why I wanted to see the exhibition. Because I’m curious, all right?

The museum has three distinct sections – one with the reproductions of the monuments, one with works by low vision, blind, or artists with other disabilities, and a historical area. In turn, the monuments are divided in national (Spanish) and international landmarks. The models are faithful to their smallest detail, and just like the Eiffel Tower is made out of metal, the Taj Mahal is made out of marble! Some of the monuments were reproduced in different scales, such as the Alhambra in Granada or the Aqueduct in Segovia. This should give an idea of both scale and detail. However, I don’t think I would ever be able to imagine something like that without being able to see it.

There were lots of sculptures by artists with disabilities, with a disturbing amount of naked ladies, but whatever. I also saw paintings and a homage to Braille that was sort of abstract but was really cool. The historical section hosted a number of items to learn and write Braille through the years, general studying tools such a 3D map of Spain, and a few historical runs of the lottery ran by ONCE. In general, it was a fascinating visit.

Museum for the Blind - national monuments

Museum for the Blind - international monuments

I did some shopping afterwards, and while the sales lady was really nice, she worked rather leisurely- That, and all the pedestrian lights being red on the fifteen-minute walk, put me seven minutes behind for my lunch reservation – and I swear, they phoned me. I was reaching the door of Comic Planet at 13:07 and they were already calling to check I was coming. People wonder why I’m paranoid about reservation times with them… They decided to change my table to “a more private one” to keep me away from a family with toddlers, and I had no problem.

I got to try the last item that I wanted to try from their menu – the Aquaman Burger, which had caused me some morbid fascination when I first read about it– Beef and king prawns? Garlic and pickles mayonnaise? It could be… either really good or really bad, I thought, and I really wanted to check it out. It was all right, I guess. There was much less of a flavour contrast than I expected, so it was most of a normal burger with a bit of an edge. And the edge was that the buns were blue. I also ordered a Vanilla Coke just because I could, and the waiter was nice enough to offer me tap water when I asked for some too. Cool.

Comic Planet Aquaman Burger

After lunch, I took the underground towards Fundación Telefónica which is running an exhibition called “Echoes of the ocean”, Ecos del Océano. I liked the idea better when I did not know that half of it was done using AI. It was – or tried to be – an exhibit centred around cetacean vocalisations. The first room was a mindfulness thingy in which a lady told you to become one with the ocean and then called you fat – “your body enlarges. You’re huge. You’re a humpback whale”. It made me laugh as it broke all the concentration thing. I also cackled when the voice told me that I went “deeeeep” as a sperm whale and met leopard seals there.

Then there were several huge screens with computer-generated graphs that imitated a sea prairie, dolphins and whales. That was the part that was made using AI, and it could have been a CGI or an actual video just as easily. The important part was that the images on the screen moved along the sounds of actual cetacean vocalisations. A room at the end hosted two actual underwater microphones, and headphones to listen to recordings of different creatures – sperm whales, seals, humpback whales – and ice sliding (this is important because for a long time, the sound of ice on the ocean was unidentified and it yielded to a lot of wild explanations / conspirancy theories).

Echoes of the Ocean screens

On the way out, there was a sculpture with glass reproductions of different microorganisms that love in the ocean: diatoms, anabaena, coccolithophores, dinoflagellates… Yes, this was totally me geeking out and identifying all the tiny little critters. The final room had to do with some photograph and schematics of a particular blue whale that had been tracked by the organisers.

Echoes of the Ocean plankton

I left the building and headed towards Palacio de Cibeles, which this time, was running an exhibit on its own architect Antonio Palacios. The exhibition is aptly named “An architect’s dream: Madrid as a metropolis” Madrid metrópoli. El sueño de Antonio Palacios. It uses photographs, designs, and models to present the works Palacios projected for Madrid – the ones that were built, the ones that were not, and the ones that have disappeared. It was an interesting collection, and the visit was free! Of course, I wandered the building a little before heading to the train station.

Antonio Palacios exhibit - models of buildings

Antonio Palacios exhibit - framed façade designs

Antonio Palacios exhibit - façade design and photograph of the actual Palacio de Comunicaciones building

On the way, there was a classic book fair Feria del Libro Antiguo y de Ocasión, but everything was way too expensive for me. I guess that in general it was a very budget-friendly day – three free exhibitions – if you do not count tiny shopping spree in-between, and it was around 20 €.

7th November 2024: The Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute (Madrid, Spain)

Posted on 21 December 2024 by JBinnacle

I know you do not believe me when I say I don’t like guided visits, but they are the only way to do some stuff – such as stepping into the Stonehenge circle, or basically anything managed by the Madrid city hall. The Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España IPCE is a governmental organisation whose functions are preservation and conservation of cultural items, research, communication, and safekeeping of the documents in its archive. It can only be visited on certain dates, by appointment, and with a guided visit. I managed to secure a free Thursday visit at noon, so I headed out to Madrid. Surprisingly, neither trains nor underground had issues, so I was over an hour early on site. The IPCE is located in its own building in the area known as “University City” (Ciudad Universitaria), close to the Fine Arts faculty – by design – and the President’s official residence – by chance.

The headquarters building was commissioned in 1965 to architects Fernando Higueras and Antonio Miró. The architects’ original project had to be severely modified, but it became a very different structure. Construction was stalled for years, and the building was not usable until 1985 – when new remodelling was tackled. The building is circular, nicknamed the “Crown of Thorns” (La Corona de Espinas) because at the top there are “spikes” of sorts. Top-view, the structure is divided in 30 sectors, with 56 semi-sectors and four empty ones for the main access staircase and gate. It has four floors and at least one basement. It was built in concrete and glass, with some cork floors, but lacking plaster or any kind of concealment for the structural items. The centre of the building is an open space with a glass dome, and serves as reception. Unlike the original project, this space is covered with a glass vault. The interior has a lot of plants, even three small “gardens” mainly with hanging plants. The building is considered an important cultural asset BIC (Bien de Interés Cultural), and these plants are protected along with the structure.

Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute building

The visit consisted of an introduction to the building and the work which is carried out there. We saw the model of the original project – the only similarity is that it was also vaguely circular. We climbed the stairs to the upper floors to snoop at the rooftop and the “thorns”, and then rode the lifts down to the basements to see some X-rays of paintings and sculptures. Back on the main floor, we were shown into painting restoration workshop – they were working on Maerten de Vos’ Abundance, having repaired the work and erased some extra (puritan) clothing to make the goddess Ceres look less… naked. Finally, we were invited into the library, which is round and has three levels. It has natural light due to its own skylight, a decorative glass dome in the middle of the main open area.

Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute inside

The visit started at noon, and it lasted two hours. Heading out to the centre of Madrid would take around half an hour of walking and underground. Thus, it gave me the opportunity to book a late 15:00 lunch. Since I was lucky with my connections, I was in the Cuzco neighbourhood almost half an hour in advance.

It was the perfect opportunity to go get some groceries at the Chinese supermarket Ibero China Madrid in the street Calle General Margallo. While I needed some items, I was distracted as I walked the “geek” fizzy drink aisle. There is a company called Ocean Bomb which makes sodas – sparking water, yoghurt drinks and bubble milk tea with “creative packaging”. I was aware of them because a friend collects the Sailor Moon ones and we checked for them in London in 2023. Well, now I went and found myself some Saint Seiya sodas – Gemini Saga (grape yoghurt flavour) Aries Mu (apple yoghurt flavour) and Virgo Shaka (peach yoghurt flavour). They were out in 2023, but I had not heard about them, it is the first time I saw them. And of course, I bought them (I have no idea if they are official or not, but the publicity I found afterwards has the Toei stamp on it, so I’m hoping they are).

For lunch, I had a reservation at Comic Planet. Last time I was there, a member of the party was late, so in order to keep the table, we ordered appetizers. They were great, but afterwards there was no stomach-space for dessert. And dammit, I wanted some dessert – particularly, I wanted pancakes. I had been looking at coming back to Comic Planet for a while just to have them, but it never worked out. This was finally my moment. I had a lemonade, some nachos – which were delicious – and I finally got to eat my pancakes – which are green and called Hulkcakes, and come with whipped cream, brownie and shortcake crumbles , and around ¾ of a strawberry. I ended up extremely full, but happy.

Comic Planet lunch

Oh, and I was confused because it was early November but… already Christmas in Comic Planet!

Comic Planet Christmas decoration

I left the restaurant and headed towards the archaeological museum Museo Arqueológico Nacional, which is running a temporal exhibit regarding Nature in Ancient Greece “Between Chaos and Cosmos: Nature in Ancient Greece” Entre Caos y Cosmos. Naturaleza en la Antigua Grecia. It hosts over one hundred pieces of classical Grecian art. Most belong to the museum’s own collection, acquired from the 19th century collector Marquis of Salamanca, and some are national and international loans. Since a large percentage of items were original and not replicas, it was really cool. Then again, I have to admit I have a thing for Grecian vases, especially with mythological motifs.

Entre Caos y Cosmos. Naturaleza en la Antigua Grecia

The exhibition was not big, so later I used my National Museums card Tarjeta de Museos Estatales to go and take a walk around the permanent exhibition. There is a loaned exhibit from the Mont’e Prama archaeological site in Sardinia, Italy. Mont’e Prama was discovered in 1974, unearthing remains from the Nuragic culture (1800 – 700 BC). This Bronze Age civilisation created large sculptures called the Giants if Mont’e Parma (Giganti di Mont’e Prama), depicting wrestlers, archers, warriors and boxers. One of these colossi Il Pugilatore (The Boxer) has been brought to the MAN for display for a few months. Boxers were characterised for having a glove with metal reinforcements on their right hands. Il Pugilatore is the largest sculpture, two metres tall and 300 kilograms heavy – which has been travelling across the world to promote the archaeological site. There was… something imposing about the whole thing, and not even its size. Some kind of… presence there. It made me want to visit Sardinia, to be honest (and it is much, much affordable than Easter Island…), so I guess the promotion… worked?

Il Pugilatore

I took a stroll through the permanent collection afterwards, especially the Iberian and Talayotic areas, because I am fascinated with them these days – and I shall make the most out of my pass for as long as I can. It was getting dark though, and the commute to the IPCE had taken long, so I headed back.

Museo Arqueológico Nacional

15th April 2023: Madrid for Sweet Space Museum (Spain)

Posted on 30 April 2023 by JBinnacle

My friend D****e and I met for a fast day packed with activities. We reached Madrid at 10:40 and had tickets to visit an interactive museum called Sweet Space. It markets itself as a “colourful experience which mixes sweets and modern art”. I just thought it would be a fun thing to do with a friend that would give into quirky pictures and a couple of hours of giggles. It actually fulfilled both. If you take the place seriously, it’s plainly not worth the visit – modern art in general is questionable at best, and this could be seen like a bit on the childish side – and regular tickets are 18 €. The place’s best-selling point is “get cool pics for your social media”, and we had decided to just be silly about it and enjoy ourselves.

The “museum”, located in the ABC Serrano shopping centre, gives the vibes of an oversized (maybe overpriced) playground, and just like Monasterio de Piedra, the number of people you encounter weighs a hugely in your experience. Although we had an 11:30 ticket, we were lucky enough to be admitted at 11:15 with a family that lost us on the third room, so we had quite a lot of time on our own, until the group that came afterwards caught up. We did take a lot of pictures, to be honest, and missed no opportunity to fool around – which was the mindset we had.

Since the museum’s flagship idea is mixing sweets and modern art, when you enter some of the rooms you are given a treat – a gummy or a piece of chocolate or a tiny bit of ice-cream. You cannot backtrack, so the route gets a bit weird at points – you go up to the second floor on stairs, but down using a slide… The museum has nine different rooms and a few of them are refurbished over time. Unfortunately, I forgot to track down the artists because it was stupidly fun – I mean, at one point I got to ride a carousel-style flamingo. Back in the day in the day, I would have never dared do such a thing, but I guess I’ve changed a little in the last ten years.

Room 1: Palm trees with marshmallow trunks (Antonyo Marest). This was a fun way to start the whole thing and set the mood. It is literally a room with tree trunks that look like colourful marshmallows, with leaves on top.
Room 2 (corridor): Flowers in the dark – a dark room with bright plastic flowers. It was pretty, but probably the less surprising room.
Room 3: Mirrors and hanging pink balloons, inspired by Tokyo’s TeamLab. It was hard to take a good picture that did not catch anyone’s reflection!
Room 4 (corridor): Mirrors and neon graffiti (Álvaro Linares) with Star Wars inspired references. This was one of the coolest areas (though I’m not sure how… legal that Darth Vader painting would be). One of the sides had a throne-like chair you could sit on and feel like an evil mastermind.

Collage. Sweet Space museum. Palm trees whose trunks resemble marshmellows, neon-coloured flowers and grafitti, pink balloon-like lamps hanging in a mirror-wall room

Room 5: Ice-cream parlour “Töto Ice Cream”, including little kart and refrigerator you can step into, giving off a strong 1950’s aura. A lot of pink, I’d say – I did not dare walk into the fridge (for some reason it gave me the creeps), but D****e did; I “drove” the little kart instead. We took silly pictures there with the installed iPad camera, just for the hell of it.
Room 6: Fairytale landscape (Christian Escribá and Patricia Schmidt), a-la Hansel and Gretel or Alice in Wonderland (though it was officially inspired by Wizard of Oz), with a swing and flamingo that you can ride. When I saw that one online, I really, really hoped that it was not only one of those things that only influencers get to do. I got to ride the flamingo. I don’t know why it drew me so much, maybe it was the pure surrealism of it all, but it made me giddy. The rest of the room was fun too – oversized mushrooms, teddy-bears, and colourful decoration.
Room 7 (upstairs): Sky with clouds (Agatha Ruiz de la Prada) painted and carved into sliding doors, a starry rocket (Ivanna Gautier), a bouncing area, a mural where you could take a 3D video for TikTok, and a “planetarium”, with tiny lamp-robots and tons of stars made from light dots. I liked this last one a lot, too. In order to leave the floor and go back to the lower floor, you have to go down a spiral slide, which I was not a fan of – it was difficult to get into it without putting weight on my bad wrist. However, I managed to go down unscathed.
Room 8 (Misterpiro): It held a ball pit with a “staircase to heaven” (or to nowhere). We did not go into the pit, but we climbed the stairs for pictures too.

Collage - fantasy worlds from Sweet Space museum. Overgrown mushrooms, a flamingo, a cloud, a universe made out of green neon dots with a little robot peering out, a cartoonish rocket in front of a starry background, a colourful ballpit full of white balls.

Finally, we reached the shop, where we purchased the pictures we had taken at the ice parlour (8 € for two magnets with four photographs, the downloadable version, and a gif). We were supposed to get a sweet in each room, and we ended up with three or four gummies, a chocolate, and a tiny scoop of ice cream. My favourite was the skull-shaped sweet&sour gummy we got upstairs, but they did not have it at the shop (though it is advertised online). The whole experience was a bit on the expensive side, but I had a discount that helped knock 10 € off the official price. The recommended time I had seen recommended for the museum was an hour and a half, but even if we took a long time, we were done in about an hour.

I had reserved lunch at 14:30 based on the time I expected us to be in the museum (and the availability of the restaurant), so we had some time to kill. We walked by the open-air museum of modern sculpture Museo de Escultura al Aire Libre de La Castellana, but it did not catch our fancy. Too much modern art in one day?

The place we would invest most of that extra time was the museum of Natural History Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales to see some dinosaurs and the gabinete de curiosidades, the 18th and 19th century collection of taxidermy specimens. I’d been there before, and it mostly has replicas (and holy molly, prices have gone up). This time there was an exhibit on the Moon landing, and the gardens had been open. The taxidermy collection is not as good as other museums, but at least it got us out of the heat.

Collage. Dinosaur fossil casts and reconstructions, both carnivores and long-neck herbivores. A flying reptile with some mammooth fossils in the background. Rocks. The old collection dating from the 19th century - a number of glass cases with people looking at them and a painting of king Carlos III overlooking the place.

We left the museum and headed for lunch at one of the franchised establishments of New York Burger, which markets itself as a “gourmet burger” place. It was all right, and the servings were huge. After lunch, we hung around the area known as Nuevos Ministerios, a complex originally designed by Secundino Zuazo Ugalde around 1930. We hung out under the eastern archway for a while.

The archway in Nuevos Ministerios, built in reddish brick and white plaster

Afterwards, we took the train to Alcalá de Henares. We stopped at one of the shopping centres just outside town, Quadernillos, where the comic event Krunch! 2023 was taking place. We did not stay for long as most stands sold bootleg and plagiarised stuff, and I did not find any legit shop, but we had ice cream and D****e did take the chance to do some shopping in the mall before we headed home for the evening.