"On the Road in Madrid" a Madrid Travel Page by Roadquill

I have had the pleasure of being able to return to Madrid for a third time. I expect to return again and again. It is just way to cool of a place not to go. Wonderful people, great food, excellent wine, ( I guess I could stop here). A city that has been knocked to the canvas time and again and still comes out Madrid in all its glory. And art!!!
I only really began to appreciate the great masters after I saw El Greco, Valesquez , Goya.

Goya's summed much of it up in his painting Allegory of Madrid. Although it is interesting that it was commissioned to celebrate Joseph Bonaparte being head honcho by painting his portrait on the wine cask. Then the Madridlianos kicked the French out and they replaced it "revolucion" or" constituion", then had to repaint it when the French came back. Once the French were finally booted, they couldn't put in the original slogan so in they stuck "dos de mayo " to celebrate when the locals revolted against the French mercenaries.

I like museums a little at a time. Between the Prado, the Reina Sofia, the Thyssen Borenmizma, throw in the palaces, El Escorrial, etc. and you have seen some dried paint. On Sunday's, when Prado and Sofia are free, there is usually a line, such as in the photograph. But the line here at Sofia flows pretty quick. There was a line at the main entrance to the Prado, which moves much slower, but if you go to the back entrance, well there was no line.

The Prado is the grand poobah of the Spanish Museums. This is the collection of paintings assembled for the most part by the royalty of Spain from around 1400 to the late 1800's. When they had money to burn and subjects to look down upon. It is over powering. Let alone the Rubens, Rembrandt and Titian's, but the Spanish masters shine. Goya's war protest painting of the Colossus is as impressive and appropos today as it was to the Napoleonic Wars that inspired him to paint it. Unfortunately, there are few important Italian paintings and I don't think a single English. Some French. I guess that is a reason to go to Florence.

The Thyssen Bornemisza Museum has a better variety, including expressionist and North American artists.

The Sofia Reina with its Picasso's and Dali's is actually fun. They had a Lichtenstein show (obviously) when I visited. I wonder if Roy nicknamed his wife Dot?

I thought it was a good old cat fight. There were a bunch of women surrounding this booth and arms and pieces of clothing were flying this way and that! It turned out to be around 20 women trying on various articles of clothing at this one particular booth. And where were the men? On benches under the trees wondering if their woman would ever be seen again. Unfortunately my pic of the men under the trees did not turn out, but pic of the women did. Then there are the thousand other booths selling everything from second hand fryin pans to t shirts.