July 28 - Madrid

Entrance to Retiro Park

The "lake" in Retiro

Goofin' with some fine feathered friends, another recurring theme on this trip

More "grandness" in Retiro

Inside the Crystal Palace, a lovely structure in the park

First full day in Madrid.  Our apartment is in the La Latina neighborhood just south of the Plaza Mayor.  It’s a lively part of town as evidenced by the street noise that’s a constant in the apartment.  The kids demanded art and culture so we meandered over to The Prado.  Our stroll took us through some immigrant neighborhoods.  Inside the museum we enjoyed paintings by Rubens (lots of Rubenesque nudes in the Prado’s collection), Velazquez, El Greco and Goya.  My favorites included “Las Meninas” by Velazquez and “Maja Desnuda,” “Maja Vestida” and “3 de Mayo” by Goya. 

After getting our fill of art we wandered to Madrid’s principal park, El Retiro.  We took respite from the heat in the park’s shade and had a picnic lunch (yup, jamon y queso).  Rowboats on the pond looked like fun, but we were very focused on shade.  We visited the Crystal Palace in the park then made our way back to the apartment to chill (literally and figuratively).  On the way we passed another art museum, Reina Sofia, which houses Picasso’s “Guernica.”  Would have been nice to see…but no go said the kids.  Next time. 

Flamenco was on tap for the evening.  Nightly Flamenco dancing can be enjoyed at several locations in Madrid, but tickets can run $45.  We happened upon a theater in our neighborhood that had the opening night of a flamenco show.  We bit and found ourselves in a pleasantly air conditioned theater.  Shortly before showtime a cross was projected on the stage.  It seems that the religious theme of the show was lost on the family translator (Tom?).  Soon 34 singers and musicians paraded on the stage and launched in to a spirited evening of song.  Our inability to understand sung Spanish made it seem like a regular ol’ flamenco show, although “el senor” and “santos” seemed to be common themes in the songs.  The music was inspiring, only downside was the limited flamenco dancing, although what we saw was superb. 

Tom