Miércoles 16 de febrero
Flamenco, learned 4th and final part of the Sevillanas. Then Health Care class, talked about different configurations of patient cost-sharing. After class, tried to visit the monastery of barefoot nuns (which royal Spanish women often joined if they disliked their husbands) but all tours were full for the day. Walked home along Alcala (raining a bit) and stumbled across an art gallery that had just opened!
An art exposition called "El Futuro del Pasado" by Yinka Shonibare, a London-born artist. I walked into the middle of the free guided tour. There was a giant piece that had been designed for one of the rooms: an 18th century cannon being loaded by 2 headless figures. The cannon balls were a little bigger than softballs and looked very soft, made of that stretchy fabric. The cannonballs and then late 18th-century suits of the men were made out of the same fabric -- which was not only cheap and stretchy-looking but also decorated in garish bright colors. On the other side of the room, there was a giant pile of balls which, the piece implied, had been shot already and had collected in the corner of the room. I guess it was a commentary on our conceptions of violence and the happy-go-lucky, bombs-away attitude towards using weapons.
There were also lots of collages -- some featuring actual photos of dog shit -- with commentary about global warming, environmental destruction, consumerism and all sorts of fabric and newspaper clippings. I really liked the display of 3 statues -- again headless men in similar late 18th-century suits (reminded me of America's founding fathers) made of that bright stretchy fabric (though this time the fabric was worn and threadbare at the knees). The statues had wings and each represented one of the Big Three American car companies: Ford, GMC and Chrysler. The statues were bowing, as if asking for forgiveness, and they each had quotes engraved in their wooden bases which said things like "we have heard your message loud and clear" or "we are committed to the safety of employees" and other snippets of public relation-y spiels.
A similar series: 5 photographs of a man (dressed in the same weird colorful, 18th century costume, but this time with a head and wig) sleeping at a desk while owls and creepy animals of the night swarmed around him. Although you couldn't see the face of the men, you could tell that each man was of a different race. Each picture was entitled the same thing "The sleep of reason produces monsters in X" where X was one of five continents (Europe, America, Australia, Asia, Africa). But interestingly, the apparent race of the man didn't correspond to the race one would commonly associate with that continent. For example, "The Sleep of Reason produces monsters in Africa" had a white guy sleeping; the Asia picture had a black man sleeping, etc.
Finally, there was a very graphic, grotesque series of photographs involving a group of about 12 naked adults depicted as slaves or prisoners -- covered in dirt, exposed, performing hard labor. It made me realize how weird and bizarre those old paintings which depict rape or exploitation (eg. Rubens or Delacroix) really are. I think because I've seen so many paintings of those subjects, I'm desensitized to the violence they depict, but when I see practically the same scene in photograph, it's much more shocking and real to me. Interesting how the manner of representation changes one's reaction and perception of the work.
Returned home for lunch -- fish and potatoes in yellow sauce, salad. Then packed up and headed to the Thyssen museum. First time visiting and it was beautiful! Very elegant -- and amazing to think this was once a private collection. Favorite pieces included:
-portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni -- now the primary image used for merchandise from the museum. The inscription in the background says something like "a depiction of the conduct of this lady's soul could not be more beautiful".
-Impressionists, Degas's "Dancer in Green"
-Rembrandt paintings
-many many portraits, especially Renaissance portraits
-Ernest Ludwig Kirchner paintings -- I especially liked "Fränzi in front of carved chair" (young girl with green face)
-Edward Hopper's "Hotel Room"
After museum, walked to Sol to meet Mamma! We found each other in the street, first had coffee and dessert at the Mallorquesa pastelleria in Sol. Then went for a stroll despite the rain, through La Latina, Lavapiés, Atocha, up the Paseo del Prado, in the Caixa Forum to watch a movie about an Indian orphan with AIDS (el SIDA), then to the Prado museum. Whirlwind tour of the Prado but saw Adán y Eva, El Jardín de las Delicias por El Bosco, Van Der Weyden's Descendimiento, Tiziano's Adán y Eva, Las Meninas por Velázquez, la estatua de Carlos V por Pompey Leoni and a few others in between. It was so wonderful to be able to share what I'd learned from my class and from Isabel with Mamma. But with so much to see were were pretty tired afterwards and went in search of food. Tried to use Lonely Planet to find a restaurant but all the ones recommended weren't open yet because it was only 8pm. Found a place near Plaza de Santa Ana called "El Grotto" and had some tostas, salad, and a delicious apple tart. Walked about a bit more through Las Huertas neighborhood and returned to Hotel Francisco Primero. I ended up staying the night -- too tired to return home!
Jueves 17 de febrero.
Woke up a little later than anticipated -- 8am! Showered, quick bfast on the run and then hopped on the metro for the Moncloa bus station. Caught a bus to El Escorial quite easily an enjoyed a very pleasant ride to the region Northwest of Madrid. It's amazing how quickly you find yourself among snow-covered mountains and small pueblos. Not knowing exactly where to disembark, we got off the bus a little too soon and had to trudge uphill in freezing cold weather -- snow from the trees blowing in our face, the icy wind almost knocking us off our feet, which already didn't have great gripping on the icy sidewalks. But soon we reached the pedestrian-friendly old town of El Escorial (elevation 3,500 feet) and made our way to the monastery.
Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial was built by King Felipe II during the Counter-Reformation -- Spain was trying to prove to the glory of Catholicism and defend Spain from the heretic Protestants. The construction of the palace was so expensive and labor-intensive it took 22 years to build (1562-1584) and basically bankrupted the country. It has 2,600 windows, 1,200 doors, over 100 miles of passageways and 1,600 tourists each year (many of whom are actually Madrileños and Spaniards). This was the palace from which Felipe II directed his own Inquisition. The building is supposed to house and represent Catholic piety, education and arts. The building also contains the grand mausoleum in which the deceased Spanish royalty (beginning with Felipe II's father, Carlos V/I) are kept. The monastery was built for the royal family and Spanish court to pray for all the royal souls, the chambers used for political counsels and gatherings, and the complex also has a massive library to support Catholic education.
It really is a beautiful location -- situated in the mountain side with a grand sweeping view of Madrid in the distance. Needing to warm up a bit, we had some coffee and very fresh orange juice in the café of the Monasterio. Even the café had enormous vaulted ceilings and was made of impressive granite stone. Then we began our visit.
First: Chamber of the Honor Guards -- room of tapestries from the 16th century. The first tapestry was a copy of El Jardín de las Delicias por El Bosco! How appropriate since we'd just seen the actual painting the day before. The tapestries were in excellent shape -- colors still vibrant, the yarn still taut. Mamma kept saying they looked like they'd been made yesterday. The information guard lady at the entrance was extremely enthusiastic about tapestries and obviously very proud of the room in which she was stationed. So nice to see how Spaniards are so proud of their heritage and so eager to share that pride with foreigners like us. In the adjacent room was a giant painting "Martyrdom of St. Maurice" by El Greco. Apparently, this is the first painting El Greco made after arriving in Spain from Venice. He had come to Spain, like many artists at the time did, to answer Felipe II's call for artists to depict religious scenes to bolster the efforts of the Counter Reformation. However, El Greco's painting was too complex and subtle for Felipe II's taste (Felipe II really liked El Bosco and some of the more classic Italian painters) and so El Greco moved on and established himself in Toledo instead.
Next came a giant room showing buildings from other cities that were used as inspiration for El Escorial, architectural designs, topographic plans, machinery and diagrams that were used to construct this massive project which lasted a generation, absorbed mucho dinero and basically bankrupted the Spanish empire. Clearly, this was THE building to establish Spain's commitment to the Counter-Reformation and it looks like they didn't cut many corners. We saw massive tongs to lift huge blocks of stone, models of the rooftop structures, tools, tiles, everything related to the construction.
Next entered the gallery of paintings which Felipe II and subsequent monarchs with which chose to decorate the palace and monastery. Felipe II really liked straightforward art that communicated religious virtues clearly and forcefully. Not much ambiguity or pushing boundaries. It was funny to see copies of some works (for example, Mary of Hungary, I think had Van Der Weyden's Descendimiento copied so the royal family could have one copy in Madrid and one in El Escorial). It became very clear which artists were most popular among different kings. I was pleased to start recognizing names of artists I'd never heard of before coming to Spain, but now I recognize because there are streets named after them (and I walk those streets on my way to school!). For example: Zurbarán, Claudio Coello, Ribera, Murillo.
Next up to the Hall of Battles. This hall contained enormous frescos of several different religious wars (against France, against Moors, capturing the Portugese capitals). It was a good "lesson in warfare" and very clearly demonstrated the battle formations of the times. It was interesting to see how they depicted Moors always with cloth wrapped around their hands, bulky facial features, dark skin and lots of facial hair. Mamma and I spotted one woman in the frescos. Apparently Felipe II didn't like warfare too much, and he only actually participated in one of the military excursions...
Walking towards the Royal living quarters, we passed by some very old, detailed family trees (literally trees with names written in the leaves sprouting from branches). First we saw the bedroom of Felipe II's daughter (she had a great view of the gardens, but her room was freezing cold!! I was shivering under my sweater, 2 coats, gloves and scarf). All the beds we saw were quite small and narrow (Felipe II was extremely pious and obviously didn't allow for indulgences or unnecessary comforts). She had a little writing desk though and beautiful drawer set. In her room were portraits. Mamma recognized Felipe II right away -- all those years in Catholic school certainly have had a powerful effect on her visual memory. Next we visited a chamber with a reclinable chair that Felipe II was carried in in his final days as he died of gout. He was carried to El Escorial from Madrid because he wanted to die here. The chair was creepy and though it had some cushioning, it was definitely barebones. Next we passed through the audience chamber which had a great selection of royal portraits. Mamma and I had to laugh at Rick Steves' descriptions: on the right of Carlos I/V was a guy wearing red tights to show off "his great legs". Facing him was an unfortunate portrait of a blond Carlos II who had a severe underbite, seems to have been a midget, was also epileptic, and died leaving no heirs, hence precipitating the Wars of Spanish Succession. You can tell by his facial features he was the product of too much inbreeding...
Next we entered a long gallery in which Felipe II used to stroll with his children for exercise. The room received lots of light and had a tile floor. There was a very innovate sundial on the floor: it was made of a metal strip positioned diagonally on the floor. Light entered from a tiny pinhole up above and the beam of light indicated the time of day and something about the zodiac too. Very nifty. I liked studying all the maps of the world displayed around this room (Mamma and I had fun looking for places we recognized in the many maps of Holland! It seems like there are connections to Holland wherever we go haha). I also liked seeing the 4x3 ft portable altar than belonged to Carlos I/V. It was very shiny and depicted about a dozen important religious scenes in relief. Must have been bulky to transport though!
Finally we made it to Felipe II's bedroom. I was pleased to see a portrait of Isabel of Portugal hanging nearby (we'd just talked about her in art class -- she was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time, but died relatively young and, not surprisingly, looked grotesque once her body started to decompose. Sparked many people to write and paint about how beauty is transitory and this ideas that the most beautiful people in life are the ugliest in death). Felipe II's bed looked like a twin bed and looked very lumpy and uncomfortable haha. I liked his desk area though -- especially all the exquisite renderings of plants and birds (by Albrecht Durer) hanging in his study. Education was extremely important to Felipe II.
Next passed by the tombs where all the Spanish kings and some of their mothers are buried. Interestingly, there is waiting line for the corpses to be entombed. They have to decompose for a few decades first and there's some sort of hold up in the line at the moment...
Entered the massive basilica -- enormous vaulted ceiling, beautiful round basilica ceiling, impressive frescos depicting hundreds of souls on the ceiling. In the center of the altar piece is a painting of San Lorenzo (saint after whom this Monasterio is named) being killed by Romans on a giant grill. Mamma says she never wants to eat BBQ again haha -- I liked hos Rick Steves said Lorenzo gives new meaning to the expression "turning the other cheek" -- Lorenzo is twisting on the grill, exposing bare buttocks. Seems a little indecent for the center of the altar but I have faith that Felipe II knew what was appropriate for Counter Reformation church décor. Also checked out a beautiful marble carving of Jesus on the cross (all one piece of stone). The artists, apparently, carved this piece for his own grave, if I understood the Spanish description correctly.
Finally investigated the Biblioteca. On the ceiling were giant frescos depicted the 7 disciplines (eg. geometry, theology, dialectic, philosophy). This library reminded me a lot of the library in Melk Monastery in Austria. Here they had a very impressive collection of books -- written in Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, German, Latin -- such a massive accumulation of knowledge! More portraits of Carlos V, Felipe II and Carlos II (I'm getting better at recognizing them now haha). There was also a big model of Ptolemy's conception of the universe: stationary earth at the center with celestial bodies revolving all around. So carefully manufactured but so inaccurate.
After spending the past 2 hours wandering through this giant building with its 100 miles of walkway, we decided to leave and venture into the town to see if we could find lunch at the absurdly early hour of 1pm. Not much was open and once it started to snow we became desperate to find a warm seat! But we discovered a well-lit hotel, Michelin-recommended, in which Spaniards were beginning to sit for lunch. Of course, food didn't arrive until 1:30 but it was nice to sit anyway haha. For Mamma, this was a good introduction to the way Spaniards do food. Delicious fresh bread, and plenty of it. If you order vino you'l get a bottle by default (need to specify a copa if that's what you want). I had a starter plate of grilled vegetables (mushrooms were delicious) and mamma had a set menu. Her starter was potato soup. We tried to signal to the waiters we were ready for mamma's second plate but they wouldn't bring hers until I had finished my plate (because it was a starter too). The segundo plato for mamma was basically fish and chips -- so typical. Dessert was a creamy tart, and again, Spaniards won't bring the bill until the dessert is finished. Of course, lunch ran much longer than we had anticipated, but after almost finishing the bottle of wine between the two of us, we weren't too worried. In fact, we arrived at the bus station just before the bus took off for Madrid -- perfect timing!!
Arrived in Madrid to catch the metro, pick up my school stuff and head to class -- leaving Mamma to tour the Palacio Real on her own. Spanish class was laid back as usual. At 7pm I met up with Mamma and we walked through Calle Serrano in the rain. Ducked into El Cortes Inglés for a bit and then a Basque pintxo place for wine and a couple of tapas. Then we meandered passed La Plaza de la Independencia, ending up in Santa Ana Plaza at another restaurant a little less swanky. Enjoyed tortilla, salad with mariscos and an empanada, then couldn't resist the homemade ducle de leche cake, but eventually made it back to Mamma's hotel. I then returned to Sain de Baranda to pack and get ready for Viaje Bing!
Flamenco, learned 4th and final part of the Sevillanas. Then Health Care class, talked about different configurations of patient cost-sharing. After class, tried to visit the monastery of barefoot nuns (which royal Spanish women often joined if they disliked their husbands) but all tours were full for the day. Walked home along Alcala (raining a bit) and stumbled across an art gallery that had just opened!
An art exposition called "El Futuro del Pasado" by Yinka Shonibare, a London-born artist. I walked into the middle of the free guided tour. There was a giant piece that had been designed for one of the rooms: an 18th century cannon being loaded by 2 headless figures. The cannon balls were a little bigger than softballs and looked very soft, made of that stretchy fabric. The cannonballs and then late 18th-century suits of the men were made out of the same fabric -- which was not only cheap and stretchy-looking but also decorated in garish bright colors. On the other side of the room, there was a giant pile of balls which, the piece implied, had been shot already and had collected in the corner of the room. I guess it was a commentary on our conceptions of violence and the happy-go-lucky, bombs-away attitude towards using weapons.
There were also lots of collages -- some featuring actual photos of dog shit -- with commentary about global warming, environmental destruction, consumerism and all sorts of fabric and newspaper clippings. I really liked the display of 3 statues -- again headless men in similar late 18th-century suits (reminded me of America's founding fathers) made of that bright stretchy fabric (though this time the fabric was worn and threadbare at the knees). The statues had wings and each represented one of the Big Three American car companies: Ford, GMC and Chrysler. The statues were bowing, as if asking for forgiveness, and they each had quotes engraved in their wooden bases which said things like "we have heard your message loud and clear" or "we are committed to the safety of employees" and other snippets of public relation-y spiels.
A similar series: 5 photographs of a man (dressed in the same weird colorful, 18th century costume, but this time with a head and wig) sleeping at a desk while owls and creepy animals of the night swarmed around him. Although you couldn't see the face of the men, you could tell that each man was of a different race. Each picture was entitled the same thing "The sleep of reason produces monsters in X" where X was one of five continents (Europe, America, Australia, Asia, Africa). But interestingly, the apparent race of the man didn't correspond to the race one would commonly associate with that continent. For example, "The Sleep of Reason produces monsters in Africa" had a white guy sleeping; the Asia picture had a black man sleeping, etc.
Finally, there was a very graphic, grotesque series of photographs involving a group of about 12 naked adults depicted as slaves or prisoners -- covered in dirt, exposed, performing hard labor. It made me realize how weird and bizarre those old paintings which depict rape or exploitation (eg. Rubens or Delacroix) really are. I think because I've seen so many paintings of those subjects, I'm desensitized to the violence they depict, but when I see practically the same scene in photograph, it's much more shocking and real to me. Interesting how the manner of representation changes one's reaction and perception of the work.
Returned home for lunch -- fish and potatoes in yellow sauce, salad. Then packed up and headed to the Thyssen museum. First time visiting and it was beautiful! Very elegant -- and amazing to think this was once a private collection. Favorite pieces included:
-portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni -- now the primary image used for merchandise from the museum. The inscription in the background says something like "a depiction of the conduct of this lady's soul could not be more beautiful".
-Impressionists, Degas's "Dancer in Green"
-Rembrandt paintings
-many many portraits, especially Renaissance portraits
-Ernest Ludwig Kirchner paintings -- I especially liked "Fränzi in front of carved chair" (young girl with green face)
-Edward Hopper's "Hotel Room"
After museum, walked to Sol to meet Mamma! We found each other in the street, first had coffee and dessert at the Mallorquesa pastelleria in Sol. Then went for a stroll despite the rain, through La Latina, Lavapiés, Atocha, up the Paseo del Prado, in the Caixa Forum to watch a movie about an Indian orphan with AIDS (el SIDA), then to the Prado museum. Whirlwind tour of the Prado but saw Adán y Eva, El Jardín de las Delicias por El Bosco, Van Der Weyden's Descendimiento, Tiziano's Adán y Eva, Las Meninas por Velázquez, la estatua de Carlos V por Pompey Leoni and a few others in between. It was so wonderful to be able to share what I'd learned from my class and from Isabel with Mamma. But with so much to see were were pretty tired afterwards and went in search of food. Tried to use Lonely Planet to find a restaurant but all the ones recommended weren't open yet because it was only 8pm. Found a place near Plaza de Santa Ana called "El Grotto" and had some tostas, salad, and a delicious apple tart. Walked about a bit more through Las Huertas neighborhood and returned to Hotel Francisco Primero. I ended up staying the night -- too tired to return home!
Jueves 17 de febrero.
Woke up a little later than anticipated -- 8am! Showered, quick bfast on the run and then hopped on the metro for the Moncloa bus station. Caught a bus to El Escorial quite easily an enjoyed a very pleasant ride to the region Northwest of Madrid. It's amazing how quickly you find yourself among snow-covered mountains and small pueblos. Not knowing exactly where to disembark, we got off the bus a little too soon and had to trudge uphill in freezing cold weather -- snow from the trees blowing in our face, the icy wind almost knocking us off our feet, which already didn't have great gripping on the icy sidewalks. But soon we reached the pedestrian-friendly old town of El Escorial (elevation 3,500 feet) and made our way to the monastery.
Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial was built by King Felipe II during the Counter-Reformation -- Spain was trying to prove to the glory of Catholicism and defend Spain from the heretic Protestants. The construction of the palace was so expensive and labor-intensive it took 22 years to build (1562-1584) and basically bankrupted the country. It has 2,600 windows, 1,200 doors, over 100 miles of passageways and 1,600 tourists each year (many of whom are actually Madrileños and Spaniards). This was the palace from which Felipe II directed his own Inquisition. The building is supposed to house and represent Catholic piety, education and arts. The building also contains the grand mausoleum in which the deceased Spanish royalty (beginning with Felipe II's father, Carlos V/I) are kept. The monastery was built for the royal family and Spanish court to pray for all the royal souls, the chambers used for political counsels and gatherings, and the complex also has a massive library to support Catholic education.
It really is a beautiful location -- situated in the mountain side with a grand sweeping view of Madrid in the distance. Needing to warm up a bit, we had some coffee and very fresh orange juice in the café of the Monasterio. Even the café had enormous vaulted ceilings and was made of impressive granite stone. Then we began our visit.
First: Chamber of the Honor Guards -- room of tapestries from the 16th century. The first tapestry was a copy of El Jardín de las Delicias por El Bosco! How appropriate since we'd just seen the actual painting the day before. The tapestries were in excellent shape -- colors still vibrant, the yarn still taut. Mamma kept saying they looked like they'd been made yesterday. The information guard lady at the entrance was extremely enthusiastic about tapestries and obviously very proud of the room in which she was stationed. So nice to see how Spaniards are so proud of their heritage and so eager to share that pride with foreigners like us. In the adjacent room was a giant painting "Martyrdom of St. Maurice" by El Greco. Apparently, this is the first painting El Greco made after arriving in Spain from Venice. He had come to Spain, like many artists at the time did, to answer Felipe II's call for artists to depict religious scenes to bolster the efforts of the Counter Reformation. However, El Greco's painting was too complex and subtle for Felipe II's taste (Felipe II really liked El Bosco and some of the more classic Italian painters) and so El Greco moved on and established himself in Toledo instead.
Next came a giant room showing buildings from other cities that were used as inspiration for El Escorial, architectural designs, topographic plans, machinery and diagrams that were used to construct this massive project which lasted a generation, absorbed mucho dinero and basically bankrupted the Spanish empire. Clearly, this was THE building to establish Spain's commitment to the Counter-Reformation and it looks like they didn't cut many corners. We saw massive tongs to lift huge blocks of stone, models of the rooftop structures, tools, tiles, everything related to the construction.
Next entered the gallery of paintings which Felipe II and subsequent monarchs with which chose to decorate the palace and monastery. Felipe II really liked straightforward art that communicated religious virtues clearly and forcefully. Not much ambiguity or pushing boundaries. It was funny to see copies of some works (for example, Mary of Hungary, I think had Van Der Weyden's Descendimiento copied so the royal family could have one copy in Madrid and one in El Escorial). It became very clear which artists were most popular among different kings. I was pleased to start recognizing names of artists I'd never heard of before coming to Spain, but now I recognize because there are streets named after them (and I walk those streets on my way to school!). For example: Zurbarán, Claudio Coello, Ribera, Murillo.
Next up to the Hall of Battles. This hall contained enormous frescos of several different religious wars (against France, against Moors, capturing the Portugese capitals). It was a good "lesson in warfare" and very clearly demonstrated the battle formations of the times. It was interesting to see how they depicted Moors always with cloth wrapped around their hands, bulky facial features, dark skin and lots of facial hair. Mamma and I spotted one woman in the frescos. Apparently Felipe II didn't like warfare too much, and he only actually participated in one of the military excursions...
Walking towards the Royal living quarters, we passed by some very old, detailed family trees (literally trees with names written in the leaves sprouting from branches). First we saw the bedroom of Felipe II's daughter (she had a great view of the gardens, but her room was freezing cold!! I was shivering under my sweater, 2 coats, gloves and scarf). All the beds we saw were quite small and narrow (Felipe II was extremely pious and obviously didn't allow for indulgences or unnecessary comforts). She had a little writing desk though and beautiful drawer set. In her room were portraits. Mamma recognized Felipe II right away -- all those years in Catholic school certainly have had a powerful effect on her visual memory. Next we visited a chamber with a reclinable chair that Felipe II was carried in in his final days as he died of gout. He was carried to El Escorial from Madrid because he wanted to die here. The chair was creepy and though it had some cushioning, it was definitely barebones. Next we passed through the audience chamber which had a great selection of royal portraits. Mamma and I had to laugh at Rick Steves' descriptions: on the right of Carlos I/V was a guy wearing red tights to show off "his great legs". Facing him was an unfortunate portrait of a blond Carlos II who had a severe underbite, seems to have been a midget, was also epileptic, and died leaving no heirs, hence precipitating the Wars of Spanish Succession. You can tell by his facial features he was the product of too much inbreeding...
Next we entered a long gallery in which Felipe II used to stroll with his children for exercise. The room received lots of light and had a tile floor. There was a very innovate sundial on the floor: it was made of a metal strip positioned diagonally on the floor. Light entered from a tiny pinhole up above and the beam of light indicated the time of day and something about the zodiac too. Very nifty. I liked studying all the maps of the world displayed around this room (Mamma and I had fun looking for places we recognized in the many maps of Holland! It seems like there are connections to Holland wherever we go haha). I also liked seeing the 4x3 ft portable altar than belonged to Carlos I/V. It was very shiny and depicted about a dozen important religious scenes in relief. Must have been bulky to transport though!
Finally we made it to Felipe II's bedroom. I was pleased to see a portrait of Isabel of Portugal hanging nearby (we'd just talked about her in art class -- she was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time, but died relatively young and, not surprisingly, looked grotesque once her body started to decompose. Sparked many people to write and paint about how beauty is transitory and this ideas that the most beautiful people in life are the ugliest in death). Felipe II's bed looked like a twin bed and looked very lumpy and uncomfortable haha. I liked his desk area though -- especially all the exquisite renderings of plants and birds (by Albrecht Durer) hanging in his study. Education was extremely important to Felipe II.
Next passed by the tombs where all the Spanish kings and some of their mothers are buried. Interestingly, there is waiting line for the corpses to be entombed. They have to decompose for a few decades first and there's some sort of hold up in the line at the moment...
Entered the massive basilica -- enormous vaulted ceiling, beautiful round basilica ceiling, impressive frescos depicting hundreds of souls on the ceiling. In the center of the altar piece is a painting of San Lorenzo (saint after whom this Monasterio is named) being killed by Romans on a giant grill. Mamma says she never wants to eat BBQ again haha -- I liked hos Rick Steves said Lorenzo gives new meaning to the expression "turning the other cheek" -- Lorenzo is twisting on the grill, exposing bare buttocks. Seems a little indecent for the center of the altar but I have faith that Felipe II knew what was appropriate for Counter Reformation church décor. Also checked out a beautiful marble carving of Jesus on the cross (all one piece of stone). The artists, apparently, carved this piece for his own grave, if I understood the Spanish description correctly.
Finally investigated the Biblioteca. On the ceiling were giant frescos depicted the 7 disciplines (eg. geometry, theology, dialectic, philosophy). This library reminded me a lot of the library in Melk Monastery in Austria. Here they had a very impressive collection of books -- written in Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, German, Latin -- such a massive accumulation of knowledge! More portraits of Carlos V, Felipe II and Carlos II (I'm getting better at recognizing them now haha). There was also a big model of Ptolemy's conception of the universe: stationary earth at the center with celestial bodies revolving all around. So carefully manufactured but so inaccurate.
After spending the past 2 hours wandering through this giant building with its 100 miles of walkway, we decided to leave and venture into the town to see if we could find lunch at the absurdly early hour of 1pm. Not much was open and once it started to snow we became desperate to find a warm seat! But we discovered a well-lit hotel, Michelin-recommended, in which Spaniards were beginning to sit for lunch. Of course, food didn't arrive until 1:30 but it was nice to sit anyway haha. For Mamma, this was a good introduction to the way Spaniards do food. Delicious fresh bread, and plenty of it. If you order vino you'l get a bottle by default (need to specify a copa if that's what you want). I had a starter plate of grilled vegetables (mushrooms were delicious) and mamma had a set menu. Her starter was potato soup. We tried to signal to the waiters we were ready for mamma's second plate but they wouldn't bring hers until I had finished my plate (because it was a starter too). The segundo plato for mamma was basically fish and chips -- so typical. Dessert was a creamy tart, and again, Spaniards won't bring the bill until the dessert is finished. Of course, lunch ran much longer than we had anticipated, but after almost finishing the bottle of wine between the two of us, we weren't too worried. In fact, we arrived at the bus station just before the bus took off for Madrid -- perfect timing!!
Arrived in Madrid to catch the metro, pick up my school stuff and head to class -- leaving Mamma to tour the Palacio Real on her own. Spanish class was laid back as usual. At 7pm I met up with Mamma and we walked through Calle Serrano in the rain. Ducked into El Cortes Inglés for a bit and then a Basque pintxo place for wine and a couple of tapas. Then we meandered passed La Plaza de la Independencia, ending up in Santa Ana Plaza at another restaurant a little less swanky. Enjoyed tortilla, salad with mariscos and an empanada, then couldn't resist the homemade ducle de leche cake, but eventually made it back to Mamma's hotel. I then returned to Sain de Baranda to pack and get ready for Viaje Bing!
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