We arrived in Madrid on Friday evening and immediately became enchanted with this loud, boisterous city. It was a happy discovery to learn that our apartment was located across the street from the Plaza Mayor and on the Calle Mayor which means that we are close to tapas, sangrias, and gelato stores. We set out to explore the city on Friday night and immediately discovered the Almundena Cathedral which is located next door to the Royal Palace. The royal family doesn't live at the palace anymore, but it is open for visits.
Almundena Cathedral (blogger keeps trying to change that to Almond Cathedral) opened fairly recently in 1993 almost one hundred years after work started on it. It's neo-gothic with sweeping columns supporting the brightly painted ceiling and dome. It was beautiful and we decided then to come back for Mass on Sunday, which we absolutely did. Mass was wonderful and a surprisingly short 45 minutes but the pipe organ made with 5,000 pipesplayed and you really got a sense of how important and awe inspiring these cathedrals would be to people attending mass two, three, four, five hundred years ago.
Saturday brought us to the Reina Sofia, a modern art museum in Madrid. Reina Sofia is the home to Picasso's Guernica. People told me before we left for our trip that Guernica needs to be seen and that you don't really appreciate it until you see it in person. Guernica is huge, covering the side of a very large wall in the museum. As our guide book says, it "is not only a piece of art but a piece of history, capturing the horror of modern war in a modern style." I can't add to that, only that it was overwhelming and beautiful and I am glad that I was able to see it in person. Reina Sofia is also home to some works by Goya and Dali, as well as more works by Picasso. It was a good introduction to the city.
Later on Saturday, we decided to track down our old friend Ernest Hemingway at the Cerverceria Alemana where we sat at his table by the window and which now featured a photo of bullfighting on one side and a photo of Ernesto on the other. We enjoyed some cerveza and tapas while soaking in the action of the square and thinking about becoming expats in Madrid. By the way, the people watching here is spectacular.
On Sunday we started the day at the cathedral but quickly got our tourist pants on and went to the Prado museum. Here's the thing about the Prado museum. I could move here, start a blog on the Prado museum and never get to explain everything that is in there or how amazing it is. Prado is filled with treasures. We spent three hours just in the downstairs before we were able to pull ourselves away and track down the great masters upstairs. Who and what did we see? Goya, Diego Velazquez, Hieronymous Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, Picasso, Remembrance, Rubens, and some astonishing Flemish painters. There was a special exhibit on the works of Roger van der Weyden which featured the astonishing Descent from the Cross - a complexly painted piece which came across in 3D and which sticks with you long after you leave. It was beautiful. We also picked up a poster of it because it hit us emotionally.
After Prado we wandered the streets some more, caught a sunset with a good view of the city, and hung out in a bohemian artists bar in the evening for more tapas.
Today we do not have plans. We are going explore the city some more, eat some more gelato, and I am going tourist shopping. It's been a wonderful trip so far and even though we haven't left Madrid yet, I am already making plans to return.
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| Exterior of the Almundena Cathedral. |
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| More from the Cathedral. |
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| The Reina Sofia. |
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| Madrid celebrates pride week. |
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| #wavetheflag at Reina Sofia |
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| Different view of the Cathedral |
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Prado Museo. |
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