It was a lovely sunday morning this weekend and I decided I was in the mood for some art that morning. I had wanted to go to the Reina Sofia, but it was closed due to the day of "los reyes", so walked a bit further up the Paseo del Prado to the Thyssen-Bornemissza art gallery - one of the big three in the Madrid's artistic repetoir.
Out of the three galleries this is my personal favourite. It has a vast collection spanning a 700 years time frame up to and including 20th Century art. It also caters to the art lovers of Monet, Van Gogh, Gaugauin and all the major art movements of the 19th Century which the other two galleries do not have.
If you have only time in Madrid to visit only one gallery, and are not too specific on what art you are interested in looking at then go to this one - it has the largest variety and you will not be dissapointed in the collection. I didn't do the whole gallery this sunday as I have been to this museum about 3-4 times, but you do need a whole day really or at least most of the afternoon to see the entire collection. I mainly stuck to the first and ground floor where the 19th-20th century art is located. 
Here you will find your fauvists, impressionists, romanticists, post-impressionists, expressionists, surrealists, cubists - you name it! Certainly proves to be interesting if you want to learn some art history as the art is catogorised by it's genre, and also provides a good cultural education as well as an aesthetic stimulation.
After my time in the gallery I was feeling oh so pretentious and wanted a coffee to follow suite. Not satisfied with the idea of going to the Starbucks next door, even with its chai soy lattes and its view of the Neptune fountain. I wanted grand, yet antique and flakey. Somewhere with character and history, a truely bohemian place to take my cup of black coffee. Where else better than the famous Café Gijón, ten minutes walking distance situated on the Paseo de Recoletos.
It's a deliciously wonderful old world place, built at the end of the 19th century and has been home and inspiration to the Spanish literati and artistic community in the 20th century; as well as being a historical iconic figure in Madrid cafe life. The place has a decaying grandeur atmosphere to it with its threadbare velvet seats and its chipped gold leaf framed mirrors. It smells musty, and has the ambience of an antique shop. The coffee was nice, but over priced but I supposed it is the price to pay when you are sitting in the seat where the Mata Hari or one of the Spanish literary giants may have sat herself so its excusable. The service is fast, but cold and impersonal - but fast service in Spain is a rarity so think of this as bonus. I guess in hindsight I would probably pay the same in Starbucks for a coffee or just shy of it so maybe not such a bad trade off then. Plus you cant get atmosphere in Starbuck no matter how nice a place it is situated in. I would go back there, and I would recommend going if you are a person who values atmosphere, ambience and history. It's a peaceful place away from the frantic bars of the more familiar Madrid and is a good locale to go to drink a coffee, discuss philosophy with your bohemian friends, write your journal or a novel or read one.
