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Published: October 19th 2013
My second day in Madrid, I actually got to sleep in. Sleep in!!! Like, I woke up at 9am, took a shower, had a huge breakfast, and lounged around until it was time to meet up with Jamie and Addi at 11. The breakfast was good, but at 17 euros was not worth it; nevertheless, I had lots of fruit, eggs and BACON. 😊
We met up and made our way over to the Royal Palace. We arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard, a ceremony that only happens on Wednesdays. We hadn't planned it, it just happened, one of many of our lucky timings this trip.
My friend had recommended we take the guided tour and he was so very right. There were lots of kids groups at or near the palace, but fortunately, we didn't really see them on the tour (except when they were packed around the pharmacy, pre tour, which we avoided or when their tour started just before ours - thankfully they had their own guide!!!). We had a cute little old lady named Paz, which means "Peace" (Jamie thought she said "Bees" - I was wondering why she thought
"We are NOT going in there!"
loud school kids outside the Pharmacyher name was so cool...) Anyway, Paz was firm but informative. She showed us the palace, answered our questions and took us through some back rooms not available on the regular tour. Unfortunately, no photos allowed in the palace, but there were many things we saw and heard that I found interesting:
Carlos IV (previously mentioned in yesterday's Prado visit as the subject of the Goya painting) lived here in the Palace. We were able to walk through his rooms and dining room. He was fond of hunting and clocks, and thus there are many clocks all over the palace. Seriously, the clocks are incredible! Very specialized, beautiful, intricate - just incredible.
There was one room that had motifs throughout - the Porcelain Room - when you walk through it, you just kind of hold your breath. It was a floral design, but in reliefs. It took 60 people two years to restore this room. Just phenomenal. I believe Paz said they still use this room for tea on state visits.
The banquet hall was also impressive. The table as set seated 90 guests but the table could be elongated to accommodate up to 140 people. The
king and queen sit opposite each other in two slightly higher chairs, and the table is elongated from their seats in the center of the room. There is a band room behind with good acoustics that can entertain the dinner guests.
The throne room is slightly ostentatious, with two large thrones against the back wall and four lions with their paws on a globe protecting the chairs. The lion is one of the symbols of Spain. Even though the thrones are still there, it is more for aesthetics as the king and queen actually do not sit in these, preferring to stand at the base of the throne dais to greet their guests.
One of the back rooms showed a small study, where there was a portrait of Isabella I, the Catholic, as well as about 13 miniatures of paintings of christians scenes, dating from the 15th century. There were originally 28 of these miniatures, which tell a full story, 13 of which are at the palace, a few are at D.C., Berlin and London, but the rest are missing. Incredibly, they have never been restored but display the original vibrant colors.
There are the violins and
Sequence 8 show
no photos during, but this was the venue. we had good seats! cello made by Stradivasant (?) which form a quartet. Actually, it is supposed to be a quintet. I believe it was Carlos III who bought the set for his son (Carlos IV - the guy who liked clocks and hunting) when he found out of his interest in music.
There is an armory, two stories at one end of the plaza. The most impressive thing to me was the armor created for the young princes (infantes) for training. There is also the previously mentioned Pharmacy, which is quite impressive when you think about the chemists making the concoctions.
Afterwards, we head north of the palace, trying to find this ice cream ("helado") place with good views of the city. After walking a couple of kilometers and not seeing anything, we finally realized the abandoned store on the corner was the old ice cream shop. Strike two for "the book". Instead, we walked down to a nearby restaurant and had lunch, which was ok, not great. The beer was the best part. We then went next door to Haagen-Das to satisfy our ice cream craving.
For the evening, Jamie had booked us tickets for
this show which is based on the Cirque-du-Soleil, though I believe it is an contemporary independent troupe. I think they're a Canadian company called Les Doights de la Main, performing their show Sequence 8. The show runs to the end of October. Can I just say: INCREDIBLE. From beginning to end. It starts off somewhat slow and artistic, but the pace quickly picks up. The first of these acts is one man, Eric Bates, juggling three blocks; it sounds simple, but it was phenomenal to watch. The music also adds to the performance. Another guy, Dev, makes climbing a tall pole look simple and one girl, Alex I think, gracefully flits about on a suspended hoop. The highlight is two of the guys using a see saw to propel each other into the air while doing stunts. Probably the most exciting part of the show is seeing them make the mistakes, which drives home just how dangerous their job is!
As kind of a let down of a terrific day and evening, we went for Paella nearby. It satisfied my craving and desire to have paella before I left, but it was no bueno.
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