The Spain Chronicles – Day 5

Another short post due to even more confusion. I got up early yesterday with more intentions to get to the library...and it turns out that it was closed AGAIN. Perhaps it was because the holy day fell on a Friday and this would give them a long weekend. I can never figure out government agencies. I'll try to make up for it on Monday before I leave for Vigo.

So, now with about 4 extra hours on my hands, I decided to start what I was going to do for the rest of the day - a trip to the museums. If you keep walking down the street past the library, you hit all of the big museums - the Thyssen-Bornemisza (say that 5 times fast), the Prado, and the Reina Sofía. I wanted to see a fourth museum that was supposedly in the area, the Museo de Cervantes, but it wasn't where it said it would be on my map and I couldn't find it on any website! It worked out fine anyway because I was getting tired, and I didn't want to miss out on the Reina Sofía just to hunt down this nonexistent place on a somewhat dodgy end of the street.

I've done the Prado and the Reina Sofía before, but not the Thyssen. The Thyssen was the first one on the Paseo del Prado after the library (it was still a bit of a walk, but not too bad), so I went there first. I didn't find it as exciting as the other two, as it didn't really seem to have a mega-famous piece like Las Meninas or Guernica. It had a Joan Miró exhibit, which was kinda cool. I had my breakfast in the café there, where I remembered how museum cafés tend to be rather expensive - I paid €7 for a croissant and a glass of orange juice! (I should say, though, that the croissant had some kind of honey on top and was extremely good.)

After about 2 hours at the Thyssen, I made my way to the Prado next. The Prado is gigantic - they always say you can't see it all in one day. They do, however, give you a chart of some of their most famous masterpieces, so I made a point to see as many of those as possible. And now for my grad student rant of the day: apparently there is a "Paseo de Arte" where you pay one fee to go to all the museums in one day. I asked about it at the Thyssen, and the guy said I shouldn't get it because the student rate was cheaper at all three places. When I got to the Prado and showed my card, they told me the rate was only for students under 25! After I had an internal rant about that, I found out that teachers can get in for free. I *did* have my faculty card from my old uni, but it was in my hotel room, as I do not carry my entire wallet here when I walk around. ¡Qué lástima!

Anyway, I spent about 2 hours in the Prado as well. The Prado is home to the "old-school" kinds of paintings we learn about in Art History class. Perhaps its most famous piece is Las Meninas, by Velásquez:

Another painting that I saw (and knew about but forgot until just then) was a painting of Jesus, Mary and Joseph with a dog - I can't remember who painted it, but it was cool to see it because it's also hanging in giant mosaic form at my church at home. Anyway, after I made my way through quite a few rooms I decided it was time to move onward and upward. I headed over to the gift/coffee shop and gawked at the prices a bit, then decided to go to lunch.

My guidebook recommended a little place called La Platería, which was on the way to the other museums. Unfortunately, it was the first time this week that I actually regretted what I ordered. I had a salmon tapa (would you call it a tapa in the singular?) which was good but expensive, and a cheese platter. It was too much for one person, and the cheese was very strong and left a heavy aftertaste. All in all, it was expensive and disappointing. But oh well. Onward and upward!

I *thought* that the Museo de Cervantes would not be far from there, but I couldn't find it. It's very possible that I didn't go far enough up the street - I was getting tired and hot at that point, and it was uphill. But even when I asked someone in a nearby shop, he hadn't heard of the place. So I made my way back down the hill towards the Reina Sofía.

I think the Reina Sofía is my favorite of the museums. It is home to more modern, abstract art that makes you think. (Not that old classics don't make you think, but modern art tends to make me wonder (a) what the painting is supposed to show and (b) how can someone be famous for painting squiggles on a canvas!) I also like this museum because the sculptures are integrated with the paintings, so you don't get bored just looking at paintings and then just looking at sculptures. It also has things like films and slide shows, which give you a nice break as well. The masterpiece of the Reina Sofía is one that is perhaps even more famous than Las Meninas - Picasso's Guernica:
It is quite amazing to view it in person. It is absolutely gigantic. It is also very much alarmed - if you walk too close, an alarm goes off (and it did several times while I was standing there!). I stuck around the Reina Sofía for about 2 hours, bringing me up to about 6:00, and decided to head home and crash for a bit.

Back at the hotel I took a short nap, then headed out again. I discovered a second Corte Inglés in the area - this one with women's clothes and a supermarket. I bought some breakfast and a small folding fan. You wouldn't believe it, but women actually do use fans here - they're not just for flamenco dancers!

For a while I seriously considered hopping back on the Metro to go to Sol for dinner. But my feet were hurting a bit, and I'm trying to conserve my energy a bit so I can enjoy myself when I get to Galicia later in the week. So I just did a very easy dinner from Burger King and brought it back to my room.

Today I'm heading to El Rastro, a famous Sunday flea market, and then to mass at the San Jerónimo Cathedral (which is, coincidentally, right next to the Prado). Not sure what I'll do after that - probably laundry to get ready for tomorrow, which is when I leave to go up north to Galicia.

By the way, I've been posting pics on the Flickr. Check 'em out! I haven't added yesterday's yet, but there won't be many as it is generally considered a bad idea to take photos in a museum. :)