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Today we took an excursion to Madrid. For this they didn’t let us take photos anywhere so I think that the internet will suffice as far as images for you.
We took the bus out of Segovia at 9 this morning and arrived at the Palacio Real at 10:30. The Palace is absolutely huge. King Louis XV (son of Louis XIV who is famous for being one of the most brutal leaders in the history of Europe) built the Palace. Just as a side note: Does anyone else notice how interbred the great monarchy’s of Europe are? Like the King of Spain is the son of the King of France. There are more connections but those are not important. The palace was gigantic. It consisted of more rooms than I can count. We had a really rude tour guide that we all wanted to strangle, but it gave you the “important location” feel that you get around the world. The coolest room that we saw was one were the wall was decorated with porcelain that could be removed for cleaning. This was another reference to how rich these people were. Here is a link to the website for more information
and pictures:
http://www.patrimonionacional.es/Home/Palacios-Reales/Palacio-Real-de-Madrid.aspx.
I have a quick cultural lesson for you. Inside the palace are statues of lions always in even numbers, symmetric, and with a ball under one paw. Many people do not realize that this is taken from the Chinese, which had established trade with Europe since the Roman Empire through the Silk Road. The thing that is incorrect about these lions is that the one on the left (facing the entrance) is supposed to have a baby under its paw. The globe represents the world and symbolizes power. The baby signifies importance of protect of the young and the future. I think (and this is just my opinion) that this Error is a representation of old Europe’s obsession with power and disregard with balance with the world around them, building palaces and castles and cultures in places that they do not belong and disregarding other cultures underlining their ultimate defeat in colonization. Just a thought.
The next part of the day we saw the Museo del Prado of Madrid. Here is a link to their page:
http://www.museodelprado.es/en/. The museum is chucked full of painting bearing immense value, both cultural and monetary. Included are the works of Goya and other great artists.
For lunch I had a delicious stuffed eggplant and fish with a raspberry and cheesecake dessert. Yummers.
After the museum we went to the streets and took to shopping around the city before returning to Segovia. That is all I have today. I will have another blog in a couple days. Later…
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dad
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The benefits of in-breeding!
Why of course they're related. They're just really, really related, if you get my drift. The castle looks awesome. Think how awed people travelling to spain centuries ago were by the power of the architecture. By the way, they are filming Ender's Game as we speak. It's got the girl from the new True Grit movie and Harrison Ford . I'll keep following your blogs. Love, Dad.