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Published: June 11th 2011
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You will see from the photos that I did a bit of wandering through Madrid today. Pretty much all sites that I had seen before but that I wanted to see again. There is something about seeing something a second time around. Although it is the same place, the experience remains different. Case in point, last time I was at the Cathedral del Almuneda, it was quiet and the stained glass projected beautiful colours on the columns. The church is just as beautiful as it was last time. The difference is that there is now restoration work which is definitely not quiet. And where you had the beautiful colours on the columns ... now off limits because of the restoration works.
Then there is a perk to seeing something a second time. At the Templo de Debod, I got to visit the inside this time around. This was something that I was not able to do last time.
I think that there is also a difference because of the time of year. I was here during the low season last time. Plaza Mayor is definitely more lively and the street performers out in greater numbers at this time of
year. Last time, I only had one guy playing the accordion and another dressed as Yoda. I love Plaza Mayor. Great square with a great energy. As you can see from the photos, I also had me a hearty helping of paella and un vaso de sangria! Yum!
I then decided to head out to the Museo del Prado. This is one of the most important art museums in Spain, if not the world. I had not seen it last time and in planning the trip had put it on the "maybe" list. Odds of me coming back to Madrid at this point are slim to none so I thought that I should probably fit it in this time around. To give you an idea of the size, when you walk in to start the visit there is an arrow that points towards the portion of the building that houses the permanent collection and it indicates that it is this way for rooms 1 to 102. Holy crap ... 102 rooms. There are about 1,000 works on display and they are working towards a reorganization that would actually allow them to display even more pieces. In case you are
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You are supposed to stand behind them and have your photo taken wondering ... I did about 90 of the 102 rooms plus the two temporary exhibitions. That was a whole lot of art!!
As always, there are standouts. The newly restored Adam and Eve by Durer is just beautiful. There was a Mona Lisa as well although not credited to Leonardo da Vinci nor to one of his close followers. It has been left as "Anonymous". There are an incredible number of Goya. I can't say that I enjoyed them as much as other works. Mariano Fortuny was a discovery for me and I loved a painting of his children in the "japanese room". I did enjoy the Joaquin Sorolla paintings. There were Flemish paintings that were ridiculously detailed. One temporary exhibit was on the Young Ribera ... that was interesting although I could have lived without seeing a painting of St. Bartholomew holding his own skin. The other temporary exhibition was called No Solo Goya and was really interesting. It was drawings and photographs that really caught my attention.
And at that ... I would call it a day. I have given myself the task of getting "The Art Book" once I am home. I need to expand
my horizons a little ....
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