We´ve seen many wonderful sites here in the capital. Our first full day here, we went on a bus tour of the city. The next day, we left on a tour of southern Spain; but since we´ve gotten back, we´ve seen some amazing sites. The Royal Palace is a majestic building with several wings. Each room was designed with a different theme in mind. Some have statues of famous kings or personages from mythology. Others have tapestries and intricate rugs with scenes of famous events - most with a religious or mythological theme. All of them have painted ceilings - some Renasaince style similar to the Cistene Chapel, others with geometric designs in color coded patterns. Each room had it´s own purpose, and the king and queen had several rooms each to take care of various functions (sleeping room, dressing room, personal dining room, etc.) The palace also had wings for the Royal pharmacy, the Royal armoury, the Royal theatre, etc. The palace is no longer used as the personal residence of the king and queen, but is being preserved as a national monument.
The Cathedral of Madrid is a massive church on par with the cathedrals in Sevilla and Granada. It´s main claim to fame however is that it is still used by the monarchy to perform royal weddings. It is located right next to the palace.
The Prado is the most famous museum in Spain. It has four floors with paintings, statues, and sculptures of famous artists from around Europe. Although most are Spanish (Goya, Velazquez, El Greco, and Murillo among others), there are many sculptures and paintings from other famous artist from Italy and France. The most famous name I recognized was Rafael. The main themes were once again Christian themes (particularly Christ´s death and birth) and mythology. Naturally, there were many works of art that portrayed the human body in its natural form.
The Retiro is the most famous park in Spain. It has acres and acres of footpaths, trees, and lakes. On a typical weekend, thousands of visitors will flock to the park to jog, row boats on one of the lakes, look at the statues, fountains, and "palaces", feed the fish and ducks, or walk around and enjoy the various entertainments. Others make their money by selling food or nick-nacks to the passersby, performing small skits, puppet shows, songs on musical instruments, juggling, magic shows, or posing as statues in exotic outfits. I probably saw only 20% of the park in the hour and a half we were there.
If you go for a walk downtown, you will see marvelous buildings built with arches, columns, and spires in various architectual styles from classical to gothic to modern. There are dozens of plazas with statues and fountains and monuments at almost every major intersection. It would take a full size picture book to do justice to the many sites to be seen - I know because I bought one. We could spend another month here going through the various museums and parks; but instead we´ll probably visit some of the smaller towns on the outskirts to get to know another part of Spain that isn´t as evident in the cities. We did see the temple from the outside (it´s beautiful) and plan on doing a session later. I´m looking forward to it. You may have noticed that I´ve posted three long posts today. That´s because the museums are closed on Mondays. I´m planning on going back to El Retiro after this - now that it´s starting to cool down. See you later, Brad.
The Cathedral of Madrid is a massive church on par with the cathedrals in Sevilla and Granada. It´s main claim to fame however is that it is still used by the monarchy to perform royal weddings. It is located right next to the palace.The Prado is the most famous museum in Spain. It has four floors with paintings, statues, and sculptures of famous artists from around Europe. Although most are Spanish (Goya, Velazquez, El Greco, and Murillo among others), there are many sculptures and paintings from other famous artist from Italy and France. The most famous name I recognized was Rafael. The main themes were once again Christian themes (particularly Christ´s death and birth) and mythology. Naturally, there were many works of art that portrayed the human body in its natural form.
The Retiro is the most famous park in Spain. It has acres and acres of footpaths, trees, and lakes. On a typical weekend, thousands of visitors will flock to the park to jog, row boats on one of the lakes, look at the statues, fountains, and "palaces", feed the fish and ducks, or walk around and enjoy the various entertainments. Others make their money by selling food or nick-nacks to the passersby, performing small skits, puppet shows, songs on musical instruments, juggling, magic shows, or posing as statues in exotic outfits. I probably saw only 20% of the park in the hour and a half we were there.If you go for a walk downtown, you will see marvelous buildings built with arches, columns, and spires in various architectual styles from classical to gothic to modern. There are dozens of plazas with statues and fountains and monuments at almost every major intersection. It would take a full size picture book to do justice to the many sites to be seen - I know because I bought one. We could spend another month here going through the various museums and parks; but instead we´ll probably visit some of the smaller towns on the outskirts to get to know another part of Spain that isn´t as evident in the cities. We did see the temple from the outside (it´s beautiful) and plan on doing a session later. I´m looking forward to it. You may have noticed that I´ve posted three long posts today. That´s because the museums are closed on Mondays. I´m planning on going back to El Retiro after this - now that it´s starting to cool down. See you later, Brad.
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