Amy's Adventures!!

Monday:

I did all right by myself today. I was turned around when I got off the train though. In my defense, the station was on the edge of my map. First, I went inside the Basilica de San Isidro. He is the patron saint of Madrid. They were in the middle of one of several daily Catholic services so I sat on the back row until they finished. Not many worshippers were there. I had no clue what was being said so I just prayed a lot of the time. After the service, I quietly walked around the sides since some worshippers were still sitting in the pews. Second, I went to the Royal Palace, which was magnificent so I bought a book to remember what it looked like on the inside and what I had learned from the audio guide. It is a little like the White House with its color-themed rooms and dishes room, but not really. It is in the Baroque and Rococo styles. One room had porcelain walls and ceiling. The Royal Pharmacy had several hundred jars for drugs to keep the Royal Family and their employees in good health. The Royal Armory had both protective and festive metal suits worn by both people and horses through the ages. It was very interesting to see items over 500 years old. The audio guide was good except in the armory where it went into way too much detail.

Tuesday:

Temple of Debod - This temple was dismantled in the Nile and reassembled here because it would have been flooded by the Aswan dam, which Spain helped Egypt build (remember they are practically neighbors). I enjoyed the scenes carved on the stone walls.

Plaza of Spain – I took pictures of the Don Quixote, Sancho, and Cervantes statues.

Museum – I found something nearby that was free. I learned about May 2, 1808 when Napoleon and the French invaded Spain and put Jose Bonaparte on the Spanish throne. There was a sound-only presentation that was interesting. Also on exhibit were some clothes and household items from the different classes of people in the Madrid area around that time. Another part of the museum complex was for contemporary art, which had everything from the insightful to the bizarre.

Royal Palace park – I enjoyed walking through the park and taking pictures of the fountains and the peacock that was roaming free.

Goya’s tomb – He is buried in a building beneath a dome that he painted with sponges. There are magnifying mirrors placed strategically so that you do not have to look up at the dome to see it if you don’t want to.

Wednesday:

Today I went to the Prado, the biggest, most renowned art museum in Madrid. I am not a fan of Caravaggio or Rubens who do the chubby, naked people style for lack of a better description. Greco is ok because his style is so different. Mengs painted the Royal Family and was mentioned several times during the Royal Palace tour. The two really famous paintings I recognized were Velazquez’s Las Meninas (ladies in waiting – these young women attend to the little princess) and Goya’s The Third of May in Madrid (referring to 1808 – see Tuesday for what happened that year). Bosco’s The Garden of Earthly Delights was another really famous painting there. Goya had several paintings there: regular, from his dark period, and “cartoons” that are bright colored happy themes on which several tapestries are based. A few painters were in the museum to paint the masterpieces on their own. The museum had a few sculptures. My favorite part was the Treasure of the Dauphin (http://www.museodelprado.es/en/ingles/collection/artes-decorativas/tesoro-del-delfin/). I can’t believe it has been 3 weeks! I am ready to go home. Hopefully, my flights will go smoothly this time. A big thanks to Erica for inviting me!!!

Amy's Adventures!!