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Published: October 31st 2009
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Madrid, home of the famous Real Madrid soccer team (they MUST be famous if I know who they are!) and and a suprising quantity of art. Naturally I began my visit at The Prado art gallery, one of the best in the world. I was very excited to see The Garden of Earthy Delights by Bosch because I'd written about it in an assignment in uni and always found the hell panel facinating. There's also a large collection of Goya's works but to be honest with you I didn't think they were anything startling. I spent at least two hours exploring this immense gallery before heading to the Retiro Gardens nearby for a touch of nature.
I couldn't help thinking that dying should never look so beautiful as I watched a tree drop it's autmun leaves like confetti at a wedding. The colours in these gardens are captivating at this time of year and it's very easy to find your own quiet little corner and enjoy watching the (suprisingly healthy!) stray cats in the area. One actually hopped up on my lap and tried to stick its head in my bag of cashews. (Strangely enough as soon as I offered
it a bit the cat decided it didn't like cashews so much afterall. Suprise suprise. Hehe). Within the park there is also The Crystal Palace which is (as it's name suggests) completely made of glass. They had a weird art installation inside but i was far more interested in the view across the lake through its windows. (if the building is completely made of glass do you call them windows or walls?). There's also the monument of Alfonso XII across another lake which is lovely. You can hire a little boat and have a go but I had more fun watching others.
Another great spot to visit is Plaza Mayor, it's FULL of street performer which gives it a bit of a carnival feel. I sat near a saxophonist and just listened for half an hour. I've noticed that the musical buskers in Spain always seem to be of a pretty good quality compared to back home. Although some of the people who dress as statues and things are plain weird (there are quite a few tables with three painted heads sticking out and emitting freaky laughs. Don't see the point myself).
I met this fantastic woman from
Canada, Lorraine, that night and after enjoying some Haagen Daas icecream (she'd never tried it before!) we discovered a fantastic jazz bar right across the road from the hostel! You've gotta love that! The next day we headed off together on a walking tour of the historical area of Madrid around the palace. It was only €3.50 and was very interesting (you can buy tickets from the info desk in Plaza Mayor). We did actually go into the palace later in the day. It was incredibly nice to go into a building with FURNITURE after visiting so many empty palaces and houses over the last couple of months. Although I've gotta say I think that the people who designed some of the rooms and their furnishings must have been smoking something pretty strong. There's no sense of flow from one room to the next and some are wonderfully classy while others are like a slap in the face. One yellow room was so gaudy I actually felt a bit sick and had to move through it!
In Madrid there's a heap of galleries but the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sophia is home to some of Picasso's work.
Now I've never been a fan of this type of art but I used to think that I didn't like Van Gogh and then I saw Starry Starry Night in person and was blown away. So I figured I had to give Picasso an actual chance to impress me. Sadly, he didn't quite pull it off. 😊 His sketches and plans are far more interesting than his paintings, but I officially don't like them at all. There was some weird Russian art too which was aweful. I did like some of the shadow casting sculpture things though.
Final thoughts, I like the feel of Madrid. It's got some great places to visit and then it really comes alive at night. It's good fun just going for a wander and people watching. And you feel fairly safe there too.
The next morning I headed to Toledo, but didn't know that the clocks had been wound back in the night and I could have slept another hour! Grrr....
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Ramz
Ramanan
Superb snaps and writing too.
Hi tracey, As usual yuor snaps are too good, he palace and botanical gardens are awe some. This place is really class. Looks like you have not travelled much after May 2009 or you did and not blogged ? We Do travel and post more blgos and upload more snaps, its too good. How's your teaching job on ? We did manage some short trips around our state and out side do visit teh site when you find time. bye, Ramz