After having an excellent breakfast, I looked out the window and saw the shining sun on the crystal blue sky. Lovely morning, and this morning is perfect for unhurried strolling. However, the main point of destination for today should be the Prado Museum (the Museo Nacional del Prado), which I marked yesterday when I was exploring the city.
Prado museum. It was established in 1819, and the first catalogue of the museum included 311 paintings which belonged to the Spanish Crown.
Today El Prado has the most comprehensive collection of Spanish painting in the world. It includes the works of El Greco, Velazquez, Goya, Zurbaran, Ribera and Murillo. Hieronymus Bosh, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Durer, Rembrandt, Van Dyck and many others are also presented in the museum.
As a whole, the museum houses more than 8000 paintings, however only 2000 are on public display.
For the sake of justice, El Prado is not the only 'first-rate' museum in Madrid. For example, the Reina Sofia Museum, contrary to the Prado Museum, which specializes mainly in the art from the period between the 16th and 19th centuries, contains a collection dedicated to 20th century and contemporary art.
Speaking about the fares, for students and people with age under 18 and age after 65 it is absolutely free. Moreover, there is a free admission if you enter two hours prior to the closing. No wonder, that at this time the queue is extremely huge.
Nevertheless, I bought a ticket with two visits for 22 euro, because it is simply impossible to cover the entire collection within one day.
Among my favorites paintings there are "The three graces" by Rubens, "The naked Maja" by Goya, the portraits of the Cardinal by Raphael, "Durero" by Durero and "Adam and Eve" by the same Durero.
Another masterpiece, which drew my attention, was an extraordinary creation of the painter from the 15th century El Bosco - "The Garden of Earthly Delights". It is triptych, where the left panel shows paradise and the right one depicts Hell; but the central panel shows a world which has surrounded itself to lustful abandon. The message, which is conveyed here, is about the fragility and ephemeral nature of these sinful pleasures. Nevertheless, it looks like the creation of Dali.
Unfortunately, you are not allowed to make any photos here. However, you can make the copy by drawing it. It is a common situation when in front of some painting an artist is sitting and trying to reproduce a canvas.
After visiting the Museum I had a nice walking along Atocha street (Calle de Atocha), and at the end of the street I bumped into the open space, Plaza Mayor, which is the Madrid's main square with nine entrance ways.
This perfectly rectangular square, measuring 129m x 94m, is mostly surrounded by three-storey houses with 237 balconies looking out onto the square. The Plaza is home to many traditional shops and restaurants with rather high prices. Still, this is a marvelous place to sit out, taste some tapas with excellent Spanish wine watching the passersby.
Another 700 metres along and you will find yourself near the Royal palace. You my enter this palace, but be ready for waiting in a long queue. I preferred not to go inside and after taking some photos I continued my walking.
Instead, I visited the Almudena Cathedral, which is situated across from the palace. It is a relatively modern building, started in 1883 and not completed until 1993. The church is 104 m long and 76 m wide. It constructed of granite and marble, with a large neoclassical cupola and two towers at the main entrance. The building is a mixture of styles with a neoclassical exterior, a Gothic revival interior, and a Neo-Romanesque crypt. Unusually for a church, it is not oriented east and west, but has its orientation north and south, as it was originally conceived as an integral part of the Royal Palace complex.
At Plaza Mayor I stayed in one cafe to taste the traditional Spanish delicacy - Churros. Actually, it is fried dough, and it is crunchy. Usually they eat it with hot chocolate for breakfasts. For me, it was too greasy.
I continued my strolling around the city without any purpose. Here and there I met the bright examples of street art as graffiti.
The evening approached quietly. Planning how to spend the rest of the day I saw at Calle De La Cruz the promoter, who was advertising the show "Flamenco essential". So, the ticket cost me 25 euro.
Before the beginning of the show I stopped in another tapas bar, where I tasted the local red wine. The olives were complimentary.
The ticket to the show included a complimentary drink. With sangria in my hands I took the place in anticipation of the performance. There were very few spectators, but it did not affect the quality of the show at all.
In general, the band consisted of 6 people. There were one drummer, one singer, one violinist, one guitarist, a male dancer with a female dancer. They had various individual acting and performances in the groups. To my mind, the dances, presented by the woman, were the most convincing.
To sum up, flamenco is an essential thing, which everybody must experience while visiting Madrid. You will be definitely guaranteed the positive emotions for the rest of the day and night!
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