Our Madrid adventure started at the Puerta del Sol, a large
public square in the centre of Madrid. Exiting the railway station we saw the
statue of the bear and the strawberry tree. The statue is a representation of
the emblem on the coat of arms of the city.
Next stop was Kilometre Zero, which now contains a plaque,
but in its day was where all distances in the Spanish world were measured from.
We walked past the Palacio Real de Madrid (the royal palace)
and the Madrid Cathedral to Templo de Debod. In 1960 the construction of the
Aswan Dam in Egypt meant many significant sites were to be lost below the
water. Spain provided knowledge and assistance to relocate many of these. Egypt
thanked Spain by donating the 2nd Century BC Temple which now stands
in a park in Madrid.
We spent the rest of the day walking the streets marvelling
at the ornate buildings, stopping for beer / wine and tapas when the mood took
us.
Day 2. We headed straight to the Reina Sophia, Spain’s national
museum of 20th Century art. The curation of the gallery is
interesting in that it is by theme or subject matter rather than by artist or
time period. This gives the opportunity to see how different artists have
tacked the same subject and allows you to review style, fashion and form. It
was interesting to see the variation in Picasso and Salvador Dali’s works as their
careers progressed.
Of course later we indulged in more wine and tapas, trying various bars and locations.
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