Before Xmas in 2019 my better half & I went for our annual eoy trip – this time to Madrid. We looked forward to some days in Southern Europe w/ blue skies, sunshine … The photo shows exactly this heavenly sky together w/ one of Madrid’s iconic buildings, however, we only experienced this fine weather for quite a short period. Most of the time it was cloudy, drizzling, rainy, hard raining, stormy. Nevertheless we had some relaxing & interesting days at Madrid. (Weather can never beat us!)
Were there any Xmas trees in Madrid?
Yes – like this (see below). All over the city we found these majestic cones glittering & sparkling w/ lights, decorated w/ white or red ribbons or balls or whatever.
When was our last trip to Madrid?
It turned out that we were in Madrid about 20 years ago – a long time back. Then – I remembered vividly – I was very keen to contemplate the Majas (i. e. Goya’s la maja desnuda & la maja vestida) which was mainly driven by the myths hovering around the origin of the paintings & the model. Unfortunately then both paintings were traveling to a special exhibition somewhere …
… but now …
Voilà: this time we were successful.
(Keeping in mind the rainy weather it became obvious that we preferred in-house visiting trips.)
The Museo Nacional del Prado was a great experience.
Both paintings are next to each other in the museum …
Besides the hours in the Prado we also walked to the Palacio Real.
Slowly we approached one of the largest palaces in Europe w/ 3,418 rooms. It’ll take you some hours to cover the grounds inside & outside. It was mid of December – so there weren’t any big crowds of tourists around.
Queen Isabella & King Ferdinand created the basis for Spain & the Spanish colonial empire not least because they funded Christopher Columbus’ adventures leading him to America.
The palace is full of exquisite pieces – unfortunately there is a very restrictively management concerning photography.
Vis-à-vis of the palace is the cathedral, Santa María la Real de La Almudena. (This is a usual arrangement comfortable for the royal family – you’ll find it all over Europe.)
It took about 500 years to complete the cathedral. It is an interesting mix of delicate & gorgeous features as well as very simple & clear designs.
… & the sky just got darker preparing for the next rain!
Let’s finish the area of the palace with some of the lions.
Madrid’s alleyways are very nice for walking, window-shopping, having a coffee or a glass of wine, some pastries … watching all the busy shoppers …
… leading us to Plaza Mayor …
… & more iconic buildings …
… & then there was only „Good Bye“ left to say!
