The trip up was just as uneventful and scenic as the trip down. We didn't watch the movie, but did enjoy watching the other passengers get settled and argue over who was in the wrong seat but that it didn't really matter, and worked on our plans for the next few days. We didn't yet know if we were going to Segovia or to Toledo, or both, or when. And I was still waiting to hear from my friend from Ecuador who was moving to Seville. As you've guessed by now, I did not meet him in Seville, as he did not receive his visa from the Spanish Embassy in time. I still didn't know his travel plans, but figured that he would be traveling direct to Seville when he did arrive, owing to his class schedule.
We had a little trouble finding the entrance to the hotel, and negotiating the super oddly-shaped elevators, but we did it. Then we set out for some lunch, trying to find one of the restaurants in one of our guide books. Sadly, we couldn't. We finally compromised and ended up at a pizza place, but one that looked pretty reasonable based on the crowds and dishes we could see. Turns out, it was actually pretty good. We then spied one of the city's most famous bakeries, and had ourselves a little treat. (I had a palmera, which was amazing, but I think sent me into sugar shock.) Then, we were off.
Our first stop was a museum towards the outskirts of town, El Museo del Traje (the Fashion Museum). Wendy was really keen on this one and wanted to do it first since it was the greatest outlier on our plan. We took the metro which, I think, must have been designed by the same person who designed the system in Brussels. The only photo I have of the museum did not turn out, and no photography was allowed inside. But there were several parks in the area (see photo above).
The museum was fantastic! It has a wonderful collection, and I really like the way it was organized and set up. It told the history of fashion, and used wonderful timelines that illustrated not just Spanish fashion but items from the world of fashion that had dramatic impacts, such as the invention of velcro. Each section had handout sheets, rather than label text on the walls or in the displays. Although I lamented all the paper, I loved the fact that I could take it with me, and now I have all that extra vocabulary.....
But the best part were the special exhibitions. They had costumes from a new film coming out about Rome, which was interesting. My favorite, though, was the exposición especial de Arturo Elena. This was a retrospective of 25 years of his drawings for major fashion magazines such as Cosmo (España), Victoria & Lucchino (a high end designer based in Seville), etc. They were fun and whimsical, colorful and opulent, and just lovely. My only complaint was that there was no reasonable book or catalog of the show, not even a postcard! But I assuaged my hurt feelings with a truly opulent purchase of a multi-hued grey silk scarf by one of the designers featured in the collection. I have just a few items that, when I tried them on, the eyes of the person with whom I was shopping clearly told me that it was a piece very suitable to me. This scarf, judging by Wendy's reaction, was one of them.
So we headed back down to the center of town, because Reina Sofía was open late this evening, and was free. I had my ICOM card, which I expected to get me in free to any major museum in Madrid, but free was good for Wendy.
El Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. The original building was a hospital in the 1700s. Today, it's home to modern art, mostly Spanish, mostly 20th century.
The museum floor plan is amazing, listing every artist on display and the room in which the work can be found. I was stunned to see my favorite American artist on the list: Alexander Calder! And with three works. The first was in the courtyard, and since the light was fading, we headed right there.
Entering the courtyard you're greeted by this wonderfully whimsical Joan Miró sculpture.
But then.... I didn't even need a sign to know I'd found it!
The red and yellow flags, on the other side, are white. But they didn't spin, at least not while we were there.
Not a bad photo by Wendy! Yes, I was so happy to find a Calder! More, one that I could walk up to, and stand next to, and touch. Amazing.
Inside, we found the other two: this small mobile, and a model of a much larger piece that is also in Spain.
In addition to Miró, other greats in the museum and collection include Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. It's actually full of amazing and wonderful pieces.
Guernica is the masterpiece of Reina Sofía. It's a Picasso, and really is stunning. It must be about 8 or 9 feet in height, and about 20 feet long. I can't honestly say that I like it, but it really is remarkable.
I'm not usually a fan of Miró, but there were several pieces of his that I would say are more minimalist and geometric, and these really appealed to me.
It was getting dark. Through one of the windows we saw the Atocha train station, which is where we came into the city. It's really amazing, with an incredible botanic garden in the middle!
We were tiring, and knew that we had a busy day of museum going ahead of us the next day. By Madrid standards, things weren't even getting started yet. (It was close to 8:00, on a Saturday night. Madrileños are well known for enjoying the night life. A "typical" weekend evening had been described to us like this: around 8, go for drinks, then go to a show; between 10 and 11, have a light dinner; after that, hit a club; then another, or perhaps another show; if you're still ready for more, there are many restaurants and places that cater to the early morning breakfast crowd.) Needless to say, while I was game for trying some of this, I wasn't game for doing it by myself, and this really didn't fit our plans. But we were hungry.
On the way back, we stumbled on a fun-looking place with a wonderful tapas menu. So we decided to try it. estado puro was amazing, and I would not have minded going back there another evening. I had pulpo ajillo con garbanzos (octopus with chick peas) and boquerones en vinaigre (anchovies). The dishes were artfully done, beautifully presented, and super tasty. Then, honestly, we crashed. We were no Madrileños, probably not even worthy of staying downtown. Then again, our hotel was around the corner from the prostitutes, so maybe that wasn't so bad.
The lovely wall in estado puro.
No comments:
Post a Comment