The bullet train was fun - a new experience for Mike and me. We have taken the train in Europe, but this was our first experience with high-speed rail. How wonderful if we could do this in our country! I can envision a great route running from Washington state to the Mexican border, and one running from at least Jacksonville to at least Washington, D.C. Oh, yeah, and a smaller one from Tallahassee to Atlanta, please.
We arrived in Madrid before noon and set off to check into the hotel. It's within sight of the train station (an architectural marvel itself) and an easy trek pulling our little rolling bags. An NH hotel, it's a bit fancier than our digs in Barcelona, which is nice - but certainly no more comfortable. It shares one characteristic of the Barcelona hotel: it is right in the middle of the action.
After checking out our rooms, a few of us strolled down the street to a little plaza directly across the Paseo del Prado from the Prado Museum, found a small sidewalk cafe and had a nice lunch, a prime feature of which was an absolutely enormous glass of sangria filled with fruit and ice - just what we needed on a hot day. I know, I know - sangria is so cliche. But man, did it taste good! (And no, the men had beer.)
(Above - Mike's lunch. Following - a massive paella.)
After lunch, we gathered in the hotel lobby again to go as a group for an afternoon guided tour of the Prado. The Spanish word "prado" means meadow, and the museum, which was one of the first in the world to be constructed specifically as a museum (the Louvre, for instance, was once a palace before it became an icon of the art world), was built in a meadow. Originally it was conceived as a natural history museum, but our old pal King Ferdinand decided it should become the Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures. Today the Museo del Prado is one of the world's great art museums.
We have heard Diego Velazquez's "Las Meninas" referred to by more than one OLLI instructor as the greatest painting of all time. How one could even decide to choose the world's greatest painting is beyond me, but I must admit that it is a phenomenal work, and one painting that is a don't-miss. (We are planning to purchase some Las Meninas dolls for Ava, but shhhh - don't tell her.)
Once our guided tour was concluded, Mike and I headed for one room we had already planned to see together - the Hieronymous Bosch room. There we gazed at the real "Garden of Earthly Delights" and the "Table of the Seven Sins." Pile these up with the paintings from Goya's black period and you have a bunch of seriously disturbing works. It's hard to imagine their having been very desirable for the drawing room or the dining room - but we suppose they were!
We are now back in our room having a little toes-up before dinner. Mike's FitBit tells him he walked over seven miles yesterday (and I was right there with him), and we are just plain tired. So a little later we'll venture to the Plaza Major for a nice dinner, then home to bed.
Tomorrow we have an extensive walking tour of the city led by our wonderful instructor, Arleen - and we hear that the Reina Sofia is open with no charge tomorrow from 7:00-9:00 p.m. We must see Picasso's "Guernica"! And maybe on Thursday, before we leave, the Royal Palace.
1 comment:
Bosch! Amazing. How I would love to be with you. But 7 miles is a little much for me. I know Michael has been "training" walking 5 miles a day in Tallahassee, but We have not. Walking around Wal-Mart for a half hour makes my back ache sorely.
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