We headed towards our ultimate destination for today, the Plaza Mayor, with Arleen, our peerless (and fearless) leader, pointing out many architectural wonders along the way. Madrid, which is a much younger city than Barcelona, is home to some fabulous 17th and 18th century structures and many beautiful promenades. Finally we reached the Royal Palace, which is certainly in a class with Versailles. Like Versailles, it no longer houses the royal family (although Spain, unlike France, still has an actual royal family), and is used primarily as a tourist mecca and for great state events. We were lucky enough to be present for an impressive posting of the guard, complete with fife and drum and beautiful, perfectly matched gray horses. Two of the horsemen graciously circled the plaza, giving the crowd a chance to take as many pictures as anyone could want.
We circled around one side of the palace (vowing to return later today or tomorrow and actually go inside) and made our way down to the ruins of the Moorish wall. Madrid, as a new city by European standards, doesn't have the kinds of ruins that we've seen in Barcelona, but this is an impressive archaeological spot. It also boasts a magnificent view of the entire city spread below the palace.
Then - on to Plaza Mayor! This is an absolutely enormous plaza, ringed with shops and restaurants and filled with visitors and street performers. Here we had lunch and did a little shopping.
After a most pleasant break, we headed back to hotel, walking the length of the Calle del Huertas.
This street was originally far from the more upscale areas around the palace and was the home to many of Spain's most distinguished writers. Situated near the city's vegetable gardens in the 17th and 18th centuries (Calle del Huertas means Street of the Vegetables), it was a cheap area in which to live, and writers, like most artists, generally needed inexpensive lodgings.
At various points along the street are embedded brass letters which are quotes from the works of novelists and poets whose names are recognizable to any Spanish schoolchild. While our group wasn't familiar with all of them, some we did recognize, and we were particularly struck by the quote from Cervantes, which is the opening line of "Don Quixote." Arleen pointed out a few plaques on the walls of houses where some of these men lived; most of the dwellings that would have been occupied in those centuries are gone, however, and the quotes in the pavement are an excellent way of memorializing this era and these famous writers. What a special treat to be guided by a native speaker who can convert these words into colloquial English!
The Calle del Huertas ends at the Paseo del Prado, and here we were on familiar ground. We returned to the hotel for just a bit of a rest, then were off again. We did a little more shopping, then explored the neighborhood around the hotel (found a grocery store with water for just one euro/bottle) and also walked past a restaurant called Steakburger, which boasts the best hamburgers in town. This, I believe, is a pretty low bar to jump, Madrid not being the hamburger mecca that, say, Tallahassee is. We will never know, of course. I will admit, however, that Mike broke down this morning and purchased a decaf caffe Americano from McDonald's this morning. And enjoyed it thoroughly. Suffice it to say that European McDonald's is a cut above the American model.
After a brief rest, we met some other OLLIs for a stroll over to the Reina Sofia museum. Viewing Picasso's "Guernica" was a don't-miss for our whole group and most of us visited this museum sometime during the day.
It's difficult to explain the difference between seeing photos, no matter how artful, of "Guernica" and seeing the real thing. First of all, it's enormous. It occupies its own room in the museum, and is the only artwork that one absolutely cannot photograph, even without flash. On an adjoining wall is a series of photos taken by Dora Maar, Picasso's lover at the time, that show the progression of the work from first drawing to final iteration. It is the most detailed record of an artwork in progress ever, I believe. And Picasso created it in only one month.
The painting itself deserves much more time and contemplation than we gave it. Having said that, I will note that we spent quite a bit of time in the room, talking and reading about the painting and simply looking at it.
[As a sidebar, I'd like to comment that a huge bonus of this study abroad with OLLI has been the insightful bits of Spanish history our instructor has shared with us. Our previous knowledge of the awful pain that "Guernica" communicates adds immeasurably to our appreciation of the painting. It's truly a joy to travel with one so knowledgeable, and between what Arleen has offered us in situ and a lot of what our instructor from Florence and from Maymester, Bill Walter, has taught us, we are experiencing this trip on many, many levels. If you are reading these words, I say get thyself enrolled in OLLI at FSU ASAP.]
After "Guernica," we adjourned to the plaza and finished the evening with pizza and red wine. What an enjoyable meal! We love our OLLI friends, and every engagement with these fellow travelers and learners adds to the experience. Now we are back in our hotel home base and looking forward to perhaps a bit of a sleep-in in the morning. We are on our own until we catch a 5:00 p.m. train back to Barcelona. I must admit, we are biased: we love Barcelona, its Catalan vibe, its wonderful food, its cozy feel, and will be happy to return there. But before we leave magic Madrid, we'll maybe hit the Prado one more time, or go to the Thyssen, or maybe check out the Royal Palace, or ....
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