Monday June 22
Madrid
We breakfasted at our hotel, and made our way towards the
Prado. The streets of Madrid this morning were much quieter than the previous
two nights! Still, busy. We walked through Puerta del Sol, the centre of
Madrid, the centre of Spain. It is from here that all Spanish roads are
measured/mapped/logged – Point Zero.
It is an interesting choice, as there have never been bears in Madrid, nor do strawberries grow on trees.
The streets of Madrid are lined with fabulously monumental
buildings. The Bank of Spain and the Post Office each take up a whole block.
Many are topped by very powerful statues and have ornamental facades. It gives
a very strong sense of might and power.
It was very hot, 32 degrees at 10:45, and we were pleased to
reach Paseo del Prado, a very busy, very wide road, with a centre avenues of
lovely leafy trees providing shade along the walking path. Fountains were
placed along the way.
We reached the Prado, and were surprised and pleased not to
be queuing in the hot sun or negotiating tour groups. We went straight in and
bought a three museum pass (Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen). We have a year to
use the pass, but expect to use it in the next three days. We spent the next
five hours feasting on the glorious collection of Picasso, Goya, Velasquez,
Raphael, Titian, Botticelli, Breughel, Hieronymus Bosch, Fra Angelico.
Unfortunately, no photos are allowed. There were no signs and I took a photo of
Picasso’s “Two Brothers” and then a guard came rushing over and the camera was
consigned to the bag. I snuck another one of a Velasquez’s “Christ on the
Cross” from a distance on the stairs.
We saw all we wanted to see and walked back to the hotel for a rest before our Madrid Food Tour this evening.
The food tour was fantastic. We have done food (and Gin)
tours in Rome, London, Porto, Lisbon and now, Madrid. Our tour guide, Debbie,
is an English girl who has lived in Madrid for five years. We visited five
restaurants/bars and as we walked around Debbie gave us information of the
placas, plazas, buildings, streets as we walked through.
We had Jamon Iberica,
toasted bread with fresh tomato and a sweet Spanish vermouth at Taberna Real;
freshly pickled anchovies in garlic and parsley, Cabrales cheese whipped with
Asturian cider and meatballs with white wine from terra de Leon at Bodegas
Ricla; grilled mushrooms with a red wine from Ribera del Duero at Meson del
Champinon; grilled garlic and chilli shrimp with a red wine at La Casa del
Abuela; grilled eggplant, pork loin, crumbed fish, eggplant and red wine from
Madrid and a cookies made by local nuns
and a Madeira wine at Casa Toni to finish.
Absolutely fabulous!
As we strolled back to the hotel at midnight we stopped to
watch a group of young break dancers/acrobats/entertainers in Puerta del Sol,
the heart of Madrid.
No comments:
Post a Comment