Slept embarrassingly late. Huge wooden shutters on my 9 foot-tall windows are very effective. Still caught up with Henrietta, and dawdled a bit catching up on my blog reflections.
Her flat is in a building that used to be an open-air theater, built around a courtyard. A huge double staircase leads to each floor, and boxes were arranged around the courtyard stage. It was converted to a single residence in the 1860s, and later into labyrinthine flats of many rooms, with gorgeous tile and plaster-work.
Eventually I ventured out into Madrid and headed for the Prado. Big bucket list item. My dear friend Sarah Lowe is right; the Prado is an astonishing place. Most of you have been already, so you'll know the collection is mostly Spanish and Dutch, with some notable Italian rooms as well. I have some favorites, which thanks to Beth Meredith's suggestion of reading Michener's Iberia, I was primed to see. The room dedicated to El Bosco, Hjeronimus Bosch, was amazing. The Garden of Earthly Delights is mesmerizing. My mom's beloved Murillo Madonnas were upstairs. But I was dumbstruck by van der Leiden's Descent from the Cross. It is rightly considered one of the great European masterpieces. Seeing is believing in this case.
4 hours, with a gazpacho break, was about right. I then undertook more than my ankle appreciated by walking the Plaza Major and Mercado San Miguel.
My ankle may not appreciate it, but I did!
Plaza Major impresses, which was its intention , I'm sure.
I found a street of rope makers, including two shops that make hundreds of espadrille shoe designs. I might go back tomorrow.
And the Mercado! Oh my! Stall after stall of wine bars and amazing tapas.
Wish I'd had time to graze through it all!
After sampling some wine (had to make sure it was good before bringing it to Henrietta) I went in search of frozen peas and then back to her flat. I played Sous Chef to her Chef, and we had a fantastic meal and great conversation at a very Madrid meal time of 9:30.
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