Madrid Wandering

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Well I started the day with breakfast and an orange!


And then it was off to walk the sunny hills of Madrid.


I got my ‘Camino passport’ stamped at the Cathedral 




The scale and the position of the Cathedral next to the Royal Palace on a commanding hill underscores the power of their connection especially in Spain’s ‘Golden Age’ 



The Spanish Civil War has been an interest for a while. In fact one of my reasons for starting in Madrid was to visit the Reina Sofia Gallery which houses Picasso’s Gernike - his 1937 mural of Nazi bombing (at Franco’s invitation) of the people of Gernika in northern Spain - a city that I plan to walk through in coming weeks. The mural has stark contemporary imagery and relevance. . . sadly The mood among everyone was solemn to say the least, it was hard not to be moved - I was …




On a lighter note , I laughed out loud when I came across this one from Picasso. It’s called ‘The Swimmer’ Hmmm does the style and technique resemble anyone familiar? 


Best then to finish my wandering this afternoon with some refreshments 


Tonight I am heading to a Flamenco Show at a place called “1911”  - should be fun. I’ll try and get a photo or two if I’m allowed for the next post 
Adios from Madrid!






Comments

  1. Anonymous7 October 2023 at 02:25

    Sounds like a great day, Mike. I'm glad you got to the Reina Sofia. This quote from John Muir is doing the rounds in walking circles at present. I like it. Neils --- Hiking - "I don't like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike! Do you know the origin of that word 'saunter?' It's a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, 'A la sainte terre,' 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them."
    - John Muir

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