PRADO - TINTORETTO & GOYA

Sunday March 25th
Madrid
Day 24

(We´ll change the pics on here as soon as we get them on a disk. We need spanish one´s now!!)

This morning we had the best buffet breakfast! Black espresso coffee to die for! It was included in our price of accomodation so we have booked another night tonight! Tomorrow we´ll try to see whether we can get accomodation at the hotel we booked before we left seeing we´d already paid a deposit there.

Our plan today was to see the Prado Museum! And we did! On the way there we ended up in the Market Square which was incredible. All these stamp vendors swapping their stamps and playing cards. We thought of Pa and his stamps and how much fun he´d have there! There were guys who collected bottletops. In fact there were people who collected every possible thing. I took heaps of pix. So fascinating. And the cafes were all around. What a place. It just feels so cultural here.

People have different faces. Isn´t it so interesting to be in different countries where the faces have different colours and yet it´s not the colour of the face that stands out it´s the expression on the faces. And the last 3 countries have all had that contrast. In Hong Kong the faces and the movement of their bodies seem intent. They had direction it seemed. A certain kind of business about them. In Africa the people have such big smiles. They lope more. Have a casualness about them. Very much like Australians.

Here they don´t seem to smile as much. It´s weird. They seem strangely engrossed in the people their with somehow. There are girls with their friends. Lovers. Guys in groups. Men in ´salons´, the small little hotels on each cobblestone street. The faces have a contrast.

I can´t quite put a finger on what i mean. But there´s a difference.

Back to the Prado. We eventually got there! After messaging Mum and Elise from Market Square (standing in the middle of it, oblivious to the world going on, there i was messaging, Greg taking photos!) who i have constant contact with and which i appreciate so much. It keeps me connected. What would i do without my ma and my Lisly loos! To know that daylight saving has finished in WA is very comforting. But weird. Daylight saving starts here at midnight. How about that!

The Prado was AMAZING! We were so lucky to see the Tintoretto exhibit!! I didn´t know a lot about him until we saw this amazing exhibition. We learnt so much about Raphael and Michaelangelo by looking at his paintings as well, as he painted such biographical works.

And to see Goya´s works. Now that was brilliant. I recall Lesley, my art teacher talking so much about him when i was doing my art and design course in Gero. Goya was one of her favourites, particarly his dark period. And to see it all in it´s glory here in Spain, his home was just something. We spent FIVE hours looking at his exhibit!

And we found one by Rembrandt as well. I can`t remember what it was called and now i can´t wait to find out more about this particular painting. I´ll never forget the detail on this wonderful lady that was being served by her child assistant. The light on her face, the detail on her pearl earrings, the gold on her dress. Beautiful. It was then i wished i had the internet and could go research when i got home!

We also loved the Reubens. I last saw Reubens at Buckingham Palace (many moons ago - when i was 15!) and I was flabbagasted. And i was again. They are so HUGE!!! I love the art. We´ll go to the other famous art museums here as well. We especially want to see Picasso. That will be for another day. Greg has a few places in store before we go back to the art.

We loved the Goya exhibit so much we decided to go find his resting place, which we found in a twin church. We went into the first church and paid our respects. The place where he now lays had a ceiling decorated by him when he was alive, which apparently was one of his most magnificant works. Pity it wasn´t open to tourists!

On our travels today, and i´m not kidding. We travelled. By foot! We must have walked absolutely MILES all around Madrid. We saw the Palace. We saw the Madrid Cathedral AND went in there too! Nothing like going to church twice on Sundays!!!

In the end, we were HUNGRY so we went to this wonderful cafe, thanks to a guy that was handing out flyers to his restaurante outside the Prado. It was a buffet for 9 Euros and what amazing food. Anyone that comes to Madrid must go to Restaurante Diamantino! YUM! The empanada´s were to die for! (Tuna pie type quiche!) We drank Vina Veintina cold. Getting into the swing of things here that´s for sure.

About the language. I have to laugh at Greg. He´s so confident when it comes to speaking the local language. His understanding of Italian has come in handy. I just love the way he talks to the locals. If only i was as confident. I now understand why people are shy to ´practice´ a language other than their own. But i have learned one word which i have used. Gracias!

I wonder what the spanish word for hello is?

We´ve decided we want to learn a language. But what?

We´re planning our ´Eurail pass´trip at the moment...but we want to stay here for a while too. We want to see Leon, Segovia, Avila, Seville (where Easter is meant to be good! Barcelona, Toledo, Gibraltor...island of Majorca. Oh, all places we want to see....

Not sure what´s next. Where to go next, but i think it´s so liberating not to knów where we´ll be day to day, freeing in a way, and yet comforting when we´re in the same place for more than a day.

Again, we love where we are and want to stay. I wonder if that´s the way to go...leave when you still want to stay?

xxx