Our first two days in Madrid have focused on food, walking (almost 18,000 steps today!), and a flamenco show. Oh, and seeing what is possibly the most comprehensive art museum in Europe – the Museo del Prado.
The Spanish royal family made a lot of money from the New World gold and silver it plundered. That helped fund the commission and purchase of a lot of great art that now hangs in the Prado – Rafael, Rubens, Titian, Rembrandt. And Spanish masters like Velasquez, Goya and El Greco (who was Greek, but his career was mostly in Spain).
We focused on the highlights and spent about 3 hours there. We weren’t allowed to take photos, but here are some things that stood out to me.
There was a painting of Jesus on the cross that one of the Spanish kings commissioned as repentance when he was discovered cheating on his wife. It was to remind the king that Jesus died for his sins, like infidelity. The painting was given to a convent.
There was a room of paintings only of royal dwarves. Bizarre.
When Titian painted the King and his sons, he deemphasized the royal underbite, which was caused by too much inbreeding among royal cousins.
My favorites of the artists we saw today were El Greco and Goya. Their styles are distinctive and directly influenced modern painters coming after them in the 19th and 20th centuries.
On to the activities we could photograph!
First off – the city Christmas lights are still up. They have been beautiful to see as we walk all over.
Second – the food has been so good.
For dinner tonight, we ate at a market that was all food stalls. Very popular. We ate standing up. Nezzie, Will and I each selected something different. Here are some photos of the food for sale. Mostly tapas style.
Finally – we attended a flamenco show tonight. Flamenco is more typical of southern Spain, but we won’t be there on this trip. So I found a place that was like a flamenco night club. It was a blast.
The footwork and the guitar playing were amazing.
At the end, the guitarist brought up his son to play a song. He looked to be middle school age, but watch how well he played!
Tomorrow, Will and I are headed to Toledo while Nezzie continues exploring Madrid.
Cheers!
Travel Buddies 
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