Be they of art
Or of ham
Madrid has got it all.
My first foray into AirBNB went really well, even with the late arrival of my flight (fog in Dubai) and subsequent 2 hours on the metro (Sunday timetable) to get to Calle Lope de Vega in the Barrio de las Letras our home for the next week. The flat was smaller than I anticipated but it was comfortable and well appointed. And 3 minutes walk from the Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums. Not to mention the myriad food and drink choices around. Almost every corner had a local bar serving drinks and tapas including the ground floor of our building. The first evening was a quiet one, D was sick and I'd just crossed 6 time zones in 2 days so I waited for my soul to catch up. Day one proper and it was straight to the Prado, straight to the Goya black paintings and to stand in front of Saturn, one of my favourite paintings in the world. And then off to explore and spend up big in the gift shop. Then to a market for snacks and the beginning of day drinking (vermouth is my tipple of choice) - its the socially acceptable thing to do in Spain! After which I totally get the whole siesta thing! There are a number of old markets in Madrid that have been gentrified to have tapas stalls and bars and we liked them a lot. Mercado San Migual and Mercado San Anton were good examples. The following days were a series of museum visits and eating and drinking. I did lose a day to a vicious bout of tummy troubles but around that there were many highlights. The Thyssen - the history of western art in one building. From the personal collection of a rich family bequethed to the nation you start with 14th century egg tempora on panel on the top floor and end in the 80s with some Lucien Freuds before exiting to the gift shop. A fantastic museum, one I loved just as much when I was last in Madrid 15 years ago. I also went to the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, a dimly lit, ecclectic collection in a beautiful old building. It had an old fashioned cast room and a truly terrifying carved wooden diorama of the Massace of the Innocents that has to be seen to be believed! But hands down, my favourite museum is the Reina Sofia. Concentrating on Spanish art, it is thematic as well as chronological with the 2nd floor being before the civil war and the 4th after. The laminated room information cards are academic essays which I found facinating. I spent a good 3 - 4 hours there even though I was under the weather - it was so fascinating I couldn't bring myself to leave! Another favourite was Retiro, the huge park next to the Prado with lakes, pavilions, formal gardens and woodlands. It has its own 'Crystal Palace' which is rather fab but unfortunately closed for the installation of an art work. The Reina Sofia uses it and the nearby 19th century Palaco de Velazquez, to show temporary exhibits and while I was there there was a small retrospective of Carl Andre installations. I'm more of a a Richard Serra fan but the setting suited the works well and I really enjoyed it.
I also checked out the Temple of Debod - a 2nd century BC Egyptian temple rescued from the formation of the Aswan dam in 1968 and installed in a park with a fantastic view over the west of Madrid. Close to this was at small church that has some rare Goya frescos in situ.
Some time was spent revisiting places I remember from 15 years ago - the afore metioned Museo del Jamon near Sol, the cafe with the bulls heads where I learned tostada is toast, and of course the museums. But now that I'm older and more of a bar fly I was gratified to find an amazing rooftop bar on the 7th floor of the Circulo de Bellas Artes exibition space. Madrid is relatively low rise city so the 7th floor had an amazing view.
It was wonderful to spend nearly a week exploring and getting a better feel for a city that 15 years ago I didn't quite get. Next stop - Cordoba and some Moorish history and architecture.
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