28 Mar

Our first full day in Madrid! Our first stop today was the Royal Palace (“Palacio Real”, I think) near the commercial part of the city. On our short walk to the outdoor court, Dad and I noticed some guards by a government office who were packing some serious firepower (AKs, I think they were). It’s one thing to play with these weapons in a video game, it’s something else to see them in person in the hands of a guard who doesn’t look like they have much of a sense of humor. Despite the abundant sunshine, the court was a little chilly with the cool and steady breeze blowing. I guess it’s still a little early in this part of the country for really warm weather. The grounds were entirely stone and though expansive, rather plain. Before our guided tour of the palace and its rooms began, we wandered through the royal pharmacy (never have I seen such elaborate containers for everyday chemicals) and royal armory (too dark to really be impressive).

If the outer area didn’t impress much, the inner rooms certainly did. Elegant, almost baroque at times with ornate bronze, these rooms were works of art. Hand-woven rugs from famous cities in Spain adored the floors of many rooms and glittering chandeliers dazzled our eyes. Some of these state rooms are still in use today for special occasions, such as visits from foreign leaders (presidents and prime ministers) or other important business of the state, such as the signing of the European Union Constitution or whatever document it was that declared Spain as part of the EU. We saw a dining room table long enough to seat over 80 people (and that’s when it was not fully extended!) and centerpieces made literally out of silver and gold.

After we left the Palace, we wandered through the nearby areas of the city. It was most pleasant to stumble upon gardens and little patches of refreshing greenery that really added life to the sterile stone and glass everywhere else. After grabbing a quick lunch, we made our way to the Prado Museum. This museum holds one of the finest art collections in Europe and certainly the best in Spain. From classical greats to modern marvels, its exhibits span the ages of Spanish (mostly) and international art, including some gems from Raphael and Titian. I think Francisco Goya almost had a wing to himself though other major Spanish artists, Velazquez, El Greco (Greek originally but he did most of his work in Spain), Murillo, and others had sizable collections. Again, pictures (without flash, of course) were allowed in this museum. I like the National Gallery in London better, but this place was still impressive. We were a little tired towards the end and took a tea/coffee snack break downstairs before finishing off a final few exhibits and then leaving. I really liked how EU students got in for free! I’ve had good results for student discounts here so far, and I would very much like this trend to continue.

There were several vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs outside the museum and we browsed through their collections. I picked out a nice silver and black wrap. We looked for Saket’s pin but couldn’t find the right one. We had a flamenco show tonight at 20:00 so we needed to find some dinner before getting there. The show was in a small restaurant near the Plaza Real so it was there that we chose to find some food. Not many of the menus seemed to appeal to mom and dad (though I wasn’t too picky) and at last, we decided on an Italian place. The sun had mostly set by the time we finished and with the steady wind, I started feeling quite cold and eager to be inside somewhere. It was nice to people watch though. The food was okay.

A short walk got us to our flamenco placed and we were guided to a table pleasingly close to the stage. There was a troop of schoolchildren at the place and they were thankfully well behaved. They sat there with the Coca-Colas and juices while the rest of the crowd sipped beer, wine, and sangria (essentially a wine cooler; like wine mixed with punch). One drink was included with our ticket price so we all decided to try sangria. It wasn’t as strong as most of the stuff I’ve tried in London but I still didn’t fancy it all too much. Some tables around us were sharing pitchers. The show started right on time.

Four musicians took the stage and three ladies in dresses sat on chairs in front of them. The music started and the women started clapping and tapping their feet to it. I, dumb tourist that I am, started clapping along until one of the waiters politely told me to stop. Boy, did I feel like such an idiot! I learned my lesson and was quiet for the rest of the night. After some singing, one of the ladies got up and started dancing. I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with flamenco dancing, but it is rather different from most American and European dances. It’s very stop and go, individual, deeply personal, and always improvisational. The dancer uses her entire body for the performance and though these ladies were not wearing the traditional, flowy, gorgeous dresses typical of flamenco, they made use of whatever material they had to enhance their performance. While one danced, the other two clapped and said “Ole!” as encouragement. The ladies danced a couple of sets apiece before a young man joined them on stage. He was amazing. He seemed to throw his entire body into his dancing, especially when he did this wonderful tap routine where his legs flew while his arms reached out to the audience for support. He and one of the ladies did a “duet” for a short while. Flamenco is an individual dance, and thus there is little if no touching between the male and female dancers. They would circle each other but never get too close. It certainly played out as an interesting dynamic that enraptured the crowd. Discretely, I shot as much video as I could (though pictures were allowed, video was forbidden). I got some nice shots too.

After the show, we paid our bill and then headed back out into the Spanish night. It wasn’t too late, but I still didn’t like wandering around too much in an unfamiliar area. We finally went to bed around midnight. Tomorrow we take a train to Toledo (which is only an hour or so by train from Madrid). Cheers!