Madrid...The Last Mile

Greetings friends and family,

Madrid is the last mile of my trip, over the course of three nights. I’ve made good progress in the time that I have been here.

Time is blending together, so I will try to recall what I did when.

So Wednesday night, Leslie and I went to the Reinas Sofia Museum. We were able to gain entry during a “free entry” time that was the last two hours of their open hours. It’s mainly modern art, and I am reminded that I am not a big fan. However, it does house some works by Picasso, including the famous Guernica. It also houses some Salvador Dali’s, who I have actually liked through the ages despite the fact that he’s part of the Surrealism genre.

Thursday morning, went to the Royal Palace and the Cervantes Monument. The monument has two sculptures of the woman he loved. It’s interesting. One showed how she really looked (older, plain, worn) the other showed how he viewed her, which was beautiful. It was quite touching because love does cause our eyes to see something beautiful.

In the late afternoon, I tagged along with Leslie because she wanted to see the Temple of Debod. My understanding is that Egypt gifted the temple to Spain after Spanish architectures helped the country do some work. It was very cool! There were some very pronounced hieroglyphics and the piece dates back 2000 years or so. It is dedicated to Osiris.

Then walked around Puerta del Sol, which is a thriving center. Walked along the Gran Via, which is kind of like their Fifth Avenue. And back to Plaza Mayor, which is where we walked the first day there. It’s fun walking the city at night, especially in the many squares along the way. People are everywhere, just enjoying being outside.

Today, Friday, I spent time in the Retiro Parks. It’s very warm out so it was fun to people watch as people enjoyed the sun.

Also went to the Prado Museum, which Rick Steve’s votes as having the greatest collection of paintings by the European masters. There were works by Spanish artists Goya and Velazquez as was well as Italian and Flemish painters. I meant to spend two hours there, but I ended up spending a little over three. There was so much to see, and I ended up covering pretty much all of the museum.

Then, as if that was not enough, I went to the Thyssen-Bornemisz Museum. They actually have some of the works of Edvard Munch in a special exhibit. I like his works, and there was a smaller drawn out image of the Scream that was there. There were several quotes from him littered about:

“I do not paint what I see but what I saw.”

“I see people behind their masks...who restlessly scurry along a tortuous road to the end.”

Yeah…he sounds a little blue.

The permanent exhibit had some Picasso, Dali, Monet, etc.

This is my last night here (sob). I fly out tomorrow morning. I did enjoy Spain and Portugal very much. So much history in one place.

I think those are the highlights. The rest of the time was just spent wandering around different areas of the city. It has a strong pulse. It’s feels less chaotic now than when I arrived.

I actually feel like I am coming home early. I have spent the previous three Halloween nights in Europe. This time, it will be a day of travel to arrive home in the midst of the festivities.

I hope Linus finds the right pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin.

"Another winter day has come and gone in even Paris and Rome…”

Segovia

Greetings friends and family,

Spent a few hours in Segovia, which is very close to Madrid. It’s the place where people from Madrid go to escape the summer heat.

Right off the Plaza Mayor is the church where Isabella was crowned Queen of Castile.I forgot about her path to the throne, and this trip was a nice reminder of some of the Spanish history that I have learned over the years.

There is a really cool Roman Aqueduct. Segovia was the site of a Roman military base. It was built to provide water and is nine miles long, though only part of it is exposed. It’s about 2000 years old. I am amazed at the engineering! I’m looking at it wondering how on earth they built it. It’s mind blowing.

Walked through the former Jewish Quarters.

Went into the Cathedral, which was very impressive. It’s the last Gothic style church built in Spain.

Then visited the Alcazar, which the Spanish say is the castle that inspired Walt Disney’s Beauty and the Beast castle. So have been able to locate a few castles but no prince! It has a chapel where Philip II married his fourth wife. Poor dude. He lived a long life for that time period and all four of his wives died.

The place is famous for its suckling pig. I was tempted to try it, but it’s like the baby pigs are killed when three weeks old…dilemma. Poor Babe! But dang, it looked really good (in all caps)!

(Holy) Toledo (Batman)

Greetings friends and family,

On the way to Madrid, made a quick stop in Avila to see the wall surrounding the city. Timing is everything because St. Theresa of Avila is the saint that Ronald suggested we read.

Then a stop in Toledo. Toledo was Spain’s former capitol until Philip II moved the capitol to Madrid. My time there was spent wandering around the Old Town.

I saw the Cathedral, but now I am blanking on whether I just saw it on the outside or went inside. The days are starting to run together, and I am behind in my blogging. This is why I try to blog ASAP. Memories blend, and my notes to jog my memory make no sense (or I can’t read my own handwriting).

Went to the Santo Tome, which houses El Greco’s famous The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. This is the church the artist placed it in 400 years ago but in a different location because of the number of art lovers who come to see it.

I did a spur of the moment zip line ride. I’m not sure what possessed me because it definitely wasn’t on my bucket list. I screamed the first few moments (seconds) then I held on for dear life. I will not need to do that again. LOL! But I still want to ride in a helicopter and go on a hot air balloon ride.I'm not what you would call a thrill seeker.

Also walked through the old Jewish quarters, which is where the Jewish people lived before Jews and Muslims were expelled from the city. Went to a synagogue that was turned into a church. It was built by Muslim workers, so it has some mosque like features. It’s interesting to see the blend of the three religions in some of the buildings, especially in Southern Spain. It’s also interesting to see how the Moors recycled Roman stones in their buildings, and the Christians recycled Muslim stones in their building. Then the workers were sometimes Christian or Muslim building places for the other religion, and there is a blending of all three in a lot of the places. I have encountered many churches built where mosques used to be as well as former mosques that were turned into Christian churches or former synagogues that were turned into Christian churches. In both cases, there are tell-tell signs that tell the history.

Jeez. We can go back in history and see a time when people actually were able to live together in unity.