Madrid 2006

Madrid, sitting bang in the middle of Spain and the nation's capital, was our destination for a city trip in July 2006. The weather was incredibly hot, with temperatures a least 35ºC every day. To really appreciate it, you have to fit in with the lifestyle; get up rather late, plan outdoor activities before midday, have a leisurely lunch and a nap, then hit the streets again at 6pm when it is starting to cool down.

For those not so familiar with Spanish geography, all roads lead to Madrid. It was originally named the capital way back in 1561, by Felipe II. Now it is a large city with 3 million inhabitants.
We stayed at this central hotel Ibis (there are a few scattered around Madrid, but this one was very central).

It was a good spot, 50m from the underground and close to the city center as well.
On the first day, we did a walking tour of "historic Madrid". This square, the Puerta del Sol, is the absolute centre of the city. On New Year's eve, thousands of people crowd into the square waiting for Spain's official time to strike midnight.
Mmmmm, some delicious Spanish queso.
Julia considers decorating the living room with some of these lovely contraptions.
A typical courtyard in Madrid.
This is the quiet Plaza de la Villa. The building on the right is the Casa de Cisneros, built in 1537.
This is still in the Plaza de la Villa. On the left is the rather nice 17th century town hall, and on the right is the Casa de los Lujanes, dating from the Middle Ages.
This is the interior of the Basilica de San Francisco el Grande, and it was nice and cool inside!

This cathedral boasts coin-operated electric tea-lights. That's right, no more fuss and bother with hot candle wax, smoke and finding a match, you just put your coin into the slot and the votive candle lights up.
This is part of the dome of the Basilica de San Fransisco. The way it is decorated is very impressive. If you click on the photo, you get a better view.
Before we dive into the royal palace, here is a photo of a typical street in Madrid, just to give you the idea.
The royal palace (Palacio Real), where we spent some time on the first day. It was designed by an Italian master architect, who unfortunately died just after finishing the plans. It was completed by his master student, who scaled down the original design. It has only 2800 rooms, and is a quarter the size of the orginal idea!
A highlight of the royal palace was the Royal Pharmacy. These are plant names.
A very important compound in a royal pharmacy is of course superior coffee (no Blend 43 here). Pieter was dying to get a sample.
Julia reads some traditional Spanish herbal cures. What for?
The throne room. Very opulent.
A freso detail in the palace.
An ornate round chair, with cherubs.
Another detail of a ceiling in the palace.
The wallpaper in this room was embroidered. Very sumptuous and a trifle decadent. It is called the "Salon de Gasparini".
The walls in this room were overlaid with porcelain. The joins between the pieces are hidden by the curling vines.
The royal dining room.
Where to next, Julia?

What about a cold, refreshing, tasty, sparkling, foamy, mouth-watering little something??
Self-portrait: Pieter.
This ancient Egyptian temple was a gift to Spain from Egypt for their help in saving it during construction of the Aswan Dam in 1970.
Pieter, the big tourist, in front of the symbol of Madrid. It is a bear eating a strawberry tree in the Puerta del Sol. I didn't know strawberries could grow into a tree, but maybe a Madrileno could explain it to me one day...
A shot of the night-life in Madrid. We ate at a small restaurant nearby that we can recommend: La Rama, at 26 Calle San Andres.
Life of a policecar in Madrid isn't easy!! If you let your imagination run wild, you can just see the dramatic car chase through the back streets of Madrid...
On the second day we visited the Royal Botanic Gardens, close to the Prado museum.
This painting is in the Museo del Prado. According to Wikipedia: "The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things" is a painting by Hieronymus Bosch, completed in 1485. The painting is oil on wood panels, in the form of a tabletop.

The painting is presented in a series of circular images: four small circles, detailing "Death", "Judgement", "Hell", and "Glory", surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted. At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image lies the Latin inscription Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God is Watching").

See if you can find the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and (last but not least) pride.

(de zeven hoofdzonden met wellust, gulzigheid, hebzucht, luiheid, wraakzucht, jaloezie en ijdelheid).
This painting by the same painter attracted much more attention, probably because of the name: The Garden of Earthly Delights (de tuin der lusten).
Another painting, showing a Saint leaving on a legendary journey. The saint has given away all her possesions and is the woman in the brown clothing in the middle of the group of three on the right foreground.

We liked the painting, because of the light.
The queue to the Picasso exhibition. These people were crazy. It was 39ºC and they were standing for ages in the midday sun. A tip for potential tourists: get there early. It was already 1pm.
Instead, we decided to go the Parque del Buen Retiro to have a break in the shade. And to feed some Spanish pigeons and sparrows.
The central post office in Madrid. No, really.
More typical apartment buildings in Madrid, with cute window boxes and wooden shutters on the balconies. Interestingly, the apartment buildings where people lived were almost on the outside, while at street level the walls were filthy and covered with graffiti.
Here you have an example, well maintained at the top, terribly ugly at street level?!
This restaurant was really nice. We took the mixed tapas. It was called "La Musa" http://www.lamusa.com.es and the website is really cute!
For the record, the temperatures were sky-high on our last day there. And we even exceeded this smiley forecast!
This is the foyer area of Madrid's Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, the modern art museum. Picasso's famous painting "Guernica" is housed here, as well as other paintings by Spanish artists like Goya, Dali and Miro.
A secret photo of the world-famous Picasso "Guernica", taken by the steady hand of Pieter.

Pieter: "Yes, taking photos was not allowed, even without flash! The guards constantly tried to block me, so the framing is not perfect".
This is a public library in Madrid, converted from an old temple. Even though it is a public building, we weren't allowed inside because we were TOURISTS!!!!! We were allowed to stand on a little balcony to take this photo.
Julia checks out the next destination after leaving the library/temple ruin.
Taking the metro to the airport. We were very impressed with the metro. It was cheap (0.65 euro/journey), clean and the people taking the metro were normal.
We arrived back at Basel airport on a warm summer evening. You can see our plane in the background.

THE END!!! ADIOS AMIGOS!!

Pieter: "Unfortunately, my weekend trip continued a few days longer, as my luggage took a detour via Afganistan (I suppose) and arrived four days later".

Julia: "Did it contain weapons of mass destruction?"

Pieter: "Not when I finally received it. Do you think I should have declared them??".