 |
| So fortunate to have a day to spend at this amazing museum |
Wednesday, November 06, 2019 Madrid
We began our morning today with our last lecture on Madrid architecture by Elizabeth at 8:30. We slept in, went directly to the lecture and then ambled over for a leisurely breakfast. Stan asked to go with us to the Prado. We met at 10:30 and walked over through the beautiful neighborhoods in the way to the museum.
 |
| The Museo del Prado was established in 1819 - celebrating 200 years of art |
 |
| The new entrance to the museum is down a long flight of stairs |
 |
| The Catholic church - San Jeronimo el Real - dating from the 1500's sits at the top of the staircase |
The Museo del Prado is ranked as one of the great art institutions in the world, and I was grateful to finally visit it. Inside the Prado, we decided to use the audio guide. I started with the 3 hour tour, but after about 20 minutes, just proceeded as we wished, being sure to see as many of their renowned treasure pieces as possible. I also focused on the Spanish masters. The Prado doesn’t allow photography, which meant a quicker trip through the exhibits. They had a special exhibition of Goya illustrations (cartoons) for the tapestries for the royal palace. Fitting for the use, his subjects focused on hunting scenes and country life, and the scenes and faces were full of life.
 |
| We were fortunate to view this special exhibition of Goya tapestry cartoons |
 |
| A sneaky photo of one of the Goya cartoons |
 |
| Lots of El Greco paintings - this one of a nobleman was one of my favorites |
 |
| Copying Caravaggio |
It was time for lunch when we finished, and we found a great tapas place – Estato puro – near the Neptune Fountain. We had a fresh tasting sangria, grilled octopus, artichokes with pesto and tempura vegetables. It was a great stop and I would return in the future.
 |
| Time for a lunch break - starting with a refreshing sangria |
 |
| Light and crunchy tempura vegetables |
 |
| Grilled artichoke with pesto and caviar |
 |
| Grilled spiced octopus |
 |
| Mike's going to have beer dumped on his head if he's not careful! |
 |
| Advertisement/wall painting in the tapas restaurant |
 |
| Estate puro - great place for lunch near the Neptune Fountain |
I've added a few extra photos below of the wonderful neighborhood architecture that we saw as we walked over from our hotel to the Museo del Prado - most of the buildings are due west of the Retiro Park.
 |
| San Jeronimo el Real church |
 |
| Statue of Goya outside the Prado - devils and naked ladies at his feet?? |
No comments:
Post a Comment