Madrid is well known for its three great museums, the Prado, the Sofia and the Thyssen. There are also other cultural delights such as Spanish food, the Egyptian temple, various food markets, and Flamenco. The city is filled with large plazas and pedestrian zones and the architecture is beautiful. The Tandem Spirits soaked it all in.
Our reservation to the Prado wasn’t until 3:00 pm, so we thought we had ample time even after getting up a bit late. One complicating factor was the Madrid Marathon. Many streets were blocked off so getting to places was not as direct as it could have been. We walked over to the Royal Palace, but the line was too long to consider a visit. We decided to visit the Catedral de Santa Maria L Real de La Almudena next to the palace instead.
Catedral de Santa Maria L Real de La Almudena
El Templo de Debod
Next we walked to El Templo de Debod, an Egyptian temple from the 2nd Century BC located in a park near the palace. It was a gift offered by the Egyptian government to Spain as a token of gratitude for its assistance in restoring the Abu Simbel temples in Upper Egypt. Entrance is free, and the line didn’t seem long, but the museum staff would only allow 6 – 8 people in at a time. Fortunately it was a beautiful day to be outside.
The Prado Museum
We spent a few hours in the Prado Museum. It is grouped by artist and period, and we thought we would just go to areas with works we knew we wanted to see. While we did just pass through some rooms full of portraits of the over-bred, high and mighty or creepy children, we found ourselves drawn to works by a lot of artists we were not familiar with. Oh, one of the disappointing things about the Prado is that photos are forbidden. We don’t know how it happened, but James’ camera accidentally snapped several pics.
Museo Nacional Cento de Arte Reina Sofia
The next day we hit the Museo Nacional Cento de Arte Reina Sofia. There were a lot of Italians “in line” with us as we waited for the museum to open. One of the reasons this museum is famous is because it houses Picasso’s Guernica. This museum is full of small rooms and it is a bit like an art maze. The audio guide is very good in providing direction about which room to go next. There were various groups of schoolchildren out on day trips. The Guernica and the studies Picasso made for it are amazing. We were also drawn to a number of Spanish and South American artists.
Guitars, James likes guitar paintings!!!!!
Cardamomo Flamenco
That evening we saw the Cardamomo Flamenco group perform a number of dances. The venue is small and we thoroughly enjoyed the music and the dancers. And, of course, after the show, we enjoyed some delicious food at a restaurant just up the street.
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
On Tuesday we walked to the El Retiro park, then wound our way back to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. We had a morning reservation, and no plans for the afternoon, which is a good thing because we spent the majority of the day there. We even had lunch at their excellent restaurant. We started with two temporary exhibits, Lucian Freud New Perspectives, and Modernism in Ukraine. We had seen some of Freud’s work some years ago at an exhibit in Rome.
Madrid was Spectacular and then on to Barcelona!!!
It’s unfortunate that the Tandem Spirits couldn’t include more about our adventure in Madrid. We saw some amazing art, ate excellent food and wandered the streets and plazas of a great Spanish/European capitol. We’re looking forward to returning to Madrid!
Next on the itinerary: Barcelona!
