As planned, our Sunday was spent in part at the pen show and
then in the afternoon at The Prado.
Before going on, however, I must once again thank Alfonso
Mur for the wonderful show. For the record, if I possibly can do so I will
return, if not in 2015 then in 2016. Fantastic show!
The Prado: despite spending three or four hours there, I
cannot say that we saw but a tiny corner of the museum. But what we saw was amazing.
Not just the painting, but the mode of exhibition and the interpretation were
world class. Just from that brief encounter I undserstand much more about Velásquez
and Goya and the evolution of Spanish painting.
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| San Jeronimo Church |
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| The view from the side facing the church |
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| As were many others, we were enchanted by this classical guitarist |
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| Many tourists wanted pictures taken with Goya. |
The Prado: despite spending three or four hours there, I
cannot say that we saw but a tiny corner of the museum. But what we saw was amazing.
Not just the painting, but the mode of exhibition and the interpretation were
world class. Just from that brief encounter I undserstand much more about Velásquez
and Goya and the evolution of Spanish painting.
 |
| Just for reference, we covered about thirty rooms in all |
We began with the
Cloisters
of San Jeronimo, the building itself was incorporated into the Prado butoriginally
served the church across the street. Among other things it houses some
sculpture and was the only place I was able to take pictures.
From there we went into the main Villanueva building and
barely saw what the museum has to offer. We were greatly hindered by the fact
that jet lag (SF to Ohio, back to SF, and then to Madrid in two weeks) finally
caught up with me big time. I was exhausted and just barely ambulatory. But
still the museum rocked me. Sharon was in heaven, but concerned for my state of
advanced debility.
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| The front at the end of the day |
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| Apartments facing the museum. Nice, huh? |
Monday morning we made our way to the Atocha railway station
and after one false start were able to get our SEAT Ibiza (there’s a reason
they don’t export these cars). We then covered about 400 km to
Bilbao, there on Tuesday to tour
the Guggenheim and with time left look at this city founded as a 14
th
century commercial hub which grew to become the unofficial capital of the
Basque territory. Wednesday, Zaragosa on our way to Barcelona.
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