Sunday, October 30, 2011

But wait, there's more!

Just when I thought it was over, there's more.

On Friday, after a full day at the Prado, Yolanda and Eduardo asked me for dinner.  I expected to be eating at their house, and didn't bring my camera.  More fool me, as we ended up going to a dive somewhere in central Madrid and saw and heard the most wonderful flamenco.  The entire place had ten teeny tiny tables, and ours was the one closest to the stage!  It was nothing short of  fabulous!  I don't think I have ever seen so much sexual energy on the stage!  This was definitely not your "staged for the tourists" flamenco.  Five stars!

Once the car was parked in the garage, I wasn't going to take it out again, so stayed close to home on Saturday, but walked into the local town and ate - Chinese food!   I know, I know, I always swore that I wouldn't eat Chinese food anywhere outside of Vancouver, but I had to try what Chinese food in Spain was like.  Well, it was like what we used to get in the States and Canada 25 years ago!  Well, now I know!

Today, I was party to a local parade.  I thought it was possible a Spain Day, or an equivalent of  Flag Day, but Yolanda tells me that it was either a local thing, or possibly put on by one of the political parties, as thre is an election coming up on November 20.





And yes, Hank, I got you a flag!  You would have loved it!

When I told Yolanda that I had not had Paella while in Spain, and that I loved it, she insisted on inviting me over to their place and making Paella.





She's a great cook, and she and Eduardo are wonderful hosts, and with a lot of grunting and miming on my part, we even managed some good conversation.  A splendid meal, after which we went to the Parque de Europa nearby to walk it off.  It is a huge park with great landscaping, and copies of lots of the sights in Europe (and some of the sights in Spain too) such as the Eifell Tower, the Brandenburg Gate, Denmark's Mermaid and even the Trevi Fountain.





And that's all she wrote, folks.  The bags are packed, and the anxiety about making connections has begun!  I let you know how it all came out!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Winding Down

The last few days of touring.  On Thursday, I did the second day of the on again/off again bus, and returned to the church of San Francisco el Grande, now open.


The picture doesn't at all do it justice - the interior was magnificent, with fabulous pictures and stained glass and exceptional pink marble all around the dome, purportedly the lasgested domed structure known to man.  The story goes that when it was built it was examined by the then "department of works" who found that the columns as planed would not hold the dome, so the architect had to rethink.  Apparently, in those days you could still correct an architect!

I had to return to the Restaurant Botin for another try at their food - the roast lamb this time, accompanied by a splendid glass of Spanish red, preceeded by garlic soup with egg and followed by their special cake.  So much for having to eat at 9:30 - I probably should never eat again!

Perhaps because the trip was coming to a close, I was very aware of the street decorations on every wall and building.  The following are but a few examples.










I closed out the afternoon by returning to Atocha Station, where there was an exhibit of photographs from  a train trip from St Petersburg to Vladivostok, just the one I want to take!  That was happenstance, though; I actually went to see the memorial for those killed in the bombing in the station in 2004, which Hank and I had missed on our first visit. 

And then home, to an evening with Wine and Kindle (what a godsend that has been.  I have been totally amused on all those Metro lines, having long ago learned not to miss my stop)

No pictures today, as I spent the whole day - or at least 5 1/2 hours - revisiting the Prado, this time with audio guide.  I have still only barely scratched the surface.  Of note: tucked away in a corner of the museum  upstairs where perhaps 30 pictures by the young Goya, when he was still cheerful and optimistic.  Of particular irony, especially given his later pictures, was a charming one called "Boys Playing at Soldiers".  Also of note were what were called "cabinet paintings", basically drafts - but done in full oil on canvas - for a lot of the murals and other large works done by the greats.  It was fascinating to see how much work went into even the drafts. 

Given that I clearly couldn't see everything, I concentrated on the Spanish painters, so I saw about every El Greco, Goya, Velazquez, Murillo and others in the museum.  It will have to do.

Before the day started, though, I ran into two markets, near the Metro station.  One, a produce market, was huge, and the variety of wares would put Granville Island to shame.  The other was a clothing market, where, in spite of my resolve, I bought two pairs of shoes.  I've already jettisoned one pair of old ones, and another was going to get tossed anyway, so I will have room..

More general notes:  I saw a horrific car accident today, the third that I have seen.  The roundabouts are great when they work, but when people get impatient or forget that the center has the right of way, it is horrible.  I have been trying to listen to the news in Spanish.  I probably get every fifth word, but since their news cycle repeats as ours does, and it comes illustrated, I think it is helping my language skills.  In any event, it appears some things are the same the world over.  The weather, for example.  I almost didn't go out yesterday, as the weather report said is was going to be beastly out.  Either I was wrong (possible) or the weatherman was wrong (probable); the weather was a glorious fall day.  They have bait cars here, to trap the auto thieves (they are immensely helped by the cameras which seem to be everywhere).  TThey have street racing.  They have people pie-ing politicians.  And protests are increasing (I ran into another one yesterday) about the economic conditions and against the bailouts of banks, not people.

I'll sign off now for a few days.  I'll be mostly at home, doing laundry, cleaning the house, and, of course, doing the marathon trip home.  I will let you know when I am back in Vancouver, and what the verdict is on continuing the blog.  It is still time to get your votes (no tweets please) in!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Oh, no, a tour bus!

Yesterday, I finally did what most people do on the first day - get on the hop on/hop off bus to see what's available.  I sat on the top deck, naturally, although I swear it feels like snow, and had a wonderful time.  When we passed the Palacio Real (which Hank and I saw the first day), I hopped off so that I could see the nearby cathedral, which had been closed for the interminable Spanish lunch breaks (often 1 to 4, just when the tourist day gets started).  Not only did I get to see the changing of the guard outside the palace








I saw this - literally, a three block wait for entrance to the Palace (Hank and I had strolled right in.





The Cathedral de la Mudena was worth it too. More modern than any that we had seen thus far.  And yes, I did climb to the dome, it is not so bad when the stairs are (although numerous) wide and well lit.







Then, back on the bus, for a stop at the Church of Toledo, which was - wait for it - closed for lunch!  I did get a shot in the garden, though



but that's what's great about the bus, I can go back tomorrow, as I got the 2 day package.  (Also a plus, I got the senior rate, which I have been doing all over Madrid.  In Rome and Florence they required that you be an EU member country resident in order to get the discount.  Not so here, and it is nice to be getting the benefit of living to the ripe old age of 65!)

So, back on the bus.  It went pretty far afield from the center of the city.  I even got to see the stadium where Real Madrid plays soccer.  (there is a huge museum, apparently full of soccer paraphinelia, and no, I didn't go in)   In fact, there was quite a bit of soccer talk - this is were the opponents play, this is where Real Madrid fans celebrate the wins, this is where the opponents - who are nicknamed the mattress tops for their red and white stribed jerseys - celebrate their wins,this is the big sports bar, blah, blah, blah.  My first thought was "bread and circuses", but hey, whatever gets people through the night. 

And now that I have figured out the eating thing (eat a big lunch so I don't have to eat dinner at 9 P.M., or at all), it must be almost time to go.

Back on the bus today!

By the way, I am thinking about keeping up the blog after I get home.  People seem to like it, and it has the benefit of  a) making me edit my pictures - I deleete more than half of them - every day; and b) clarifying my thoughts, as my journal used to.  My life looks like it will be peripatetic enough to be vaguely interesting, at least to my friends, and at least you will be able to know where I am, and what phone number (if any) to call.  Okay, show of hands.....

Rewarded for Persistence

Yesterday made up for the prior day - I batted a thousand.  Every building was where is was meant to be on the map, and those that were meant to be open were open.  I got a Church (the Oratory of the Caballero de Gracia,



a private collection (where they were snooty as could be about who they would let in, but the collection was worth it,




and an Egyption temple (dug up when they were building the Aswan Dam  and presented to whoever was king at the time.


Not to mention my continued love affair with the architec ture, old and new...






and the parks and circles


If that's not an El Greco sky, I never saw one!

And Cervantes, with Don Quijote and Sancho Panza



I even found a craft market in the park (not stellar, but different.  I think I forgot to mention the food market I found yesterday).  All in all, a good day.  Today was great too, but I will save that for next blog!

Want to close this one whith a few general thoughts.  Madrid seems determined to be very green.  Every place has lights that seem to be motion activated and go off automatically.  They have built all the new neighborhoods with recycling bins everywhere on the streets.  For a city as large as it is, it seems very clean, not only the Metro but the streets as well, and I always see people throwing trash in bins rather than on the ground.  I think I have mentioned the politeness in the Metro; that follows through on the streets as well, where there is hardly ever a horn heard in anger.  There are signs of the 20% unemployment - lots of beggars, as well as street musicians (different music than Italy.  Italy there were accordians, here there are guitars and fiddles!).  I hope their financial woes don't bring too much change - they seem to like their life the way it is, and it certainly is a joy to visit!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Batting - 0!

It was cold and rainy, but I resisted the temptation to stay home (maybe tomorrow, though, if it keeps up).  However, the tourist gods were not with me, in spite of my bravery.  My focus was on the older part of Madrid, north of the central area, called the Districts of Maravillas and Chueca.  It is full of narrow streets and small squares, with a lot of architecture in what is called Madrid baroque.  However, every single spot of interest (including the History Museum, where I might have ducked in out of the rain, or the Romantic Museum, or the churches, likewise) were under construction.

This was but one of a myriad of sites I struggled to in the rain, to find my entry barred!

However, there were some consolations. 



Not too many statues of women about, so I took a picture of this one.

The squares were available, of course, including the one commemorating the May 2, 1808 uprising.




I stumbled on the gay district, which was of course full of young people and neat shops, trendy and interesting.  And just walking the streets, with the juxtaposition of old and new architecture is a treat, even in the rain.




I found the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court...





They still like Christopher Columbus here...



And, of course, every city has to have its Wax Museum


And no, I didn't go in, even to get in out of the rain.  I went to a wonderful old cafe, instead, for sustenance to see me home.  Maybe tomorrow I'll stay home....