Olay Olay!

i woke up at 9:30, later than what intended.  there was plenty to see and only one full day left in Madrid.  first stop was the Placio Rael (Royal Palace).  no body lives there now, but some state meetings are held there.  it has a magnificent architecture, and still in great shape considering that it was completed in 1734.  inside, there are more rooms than i could count and each one is decorated differently according to its purpose.  the styles also varied ranging from ceiling frescos to wall tapestry and everything in between.  there were marble columns and tables, bronze statues, gold plated chandeliers, antique furniture (ugly)...etc.  it was a real palace.  old, but real. not all the rooms were open and sadly, the chapel was closed for renovation.  i am told it was one of the palace's highlights.

after the royal palace, i found my way to the Plaza Mayor.  it is a big square with a giant brick building all around.  in the middle there were restaurants and around the inner circumference there were people selling all sort of stuff: coins, stamps, books, souvenirs, artwork, etc.  the atmosphere was nice, but it was too hot.  the temperature here is around 32-35 and not one cloud.  it is perfect for the beach, but when you are walking all day around the city, you have to walk in the shadow of the buildings.  anyway, i stock up on vitamne D.  after that, i walked the small streets of Madrid where small shops hide.  then i took the metro to Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia.  it is one of Spain's most excellent art galleries.  they ran out of English maps, but i had my radio guide with me.  there were a lot of good paintings.  i recognized many of them.  there resides Picasso's famous Guernica .  ive seen it in pictures but i never realized it is 3.5 X 7.75 meters! it is in a separate room and it is treated the same way the Luvre treats the Mona Lisa.  i think it is overrated.  i dont like surreal art so much. 

ready to cast my judgment on the city

after spending nearly 3 hours there, i walked up the street towards the Prado Museum.  when i got there, i was so exhausted and dehydrated.  i couldn't feel my feet.  i bought a bottle of water, galloped it and i quickly found a shaded patch of green.  i took my shoes off, rested my head on my bag and took a nap....oooohhhhh, that felt so good.  i still remember waking up with a smile.  before going to my next destination, i wanted to go buy a ticket for the bullfighting.  because the subway line that runs across the museum area is under renovation, i had to walk extra kms to get on the metro.  i bought my ticket for the 7pm show and i still had 2 hours. i went to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza .  it is a private art collection but it is on display for the public, in exchange for 8 euros of course.  in short, i think that is one of the best business ideas i have seen.  buy an old building, buy few major art work, and then fill the rest of the building with old, valueless paintings.  this doesnt mean that there werent nice paintings, but it is just funny how tourist will pay for anything touristy!  to be fair, one of the nicest paintings i saw so far, was in that museum.  it is called Moon and Firelight by Thomas Cole (1828).  here is a link: (http://www.allartpainting.com/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=2328 ).  needless to say, the real pictures is much better than the image. 

i finished the gallery quickly because 1) much of it is not interesting, and 2) i had to make it to the bullfight.  i took a cab to the nearest metro, which was still far (or may be i was jus tired and hot).  anyhow, i made it to the opening.  it is a nice coliseum looking-like building (Toros De Las Ventas ).  i would be lying if i said that i didnt enjoy the show, but at the same time i am glad they are stopping it.  it is a very cruel and coward way of killing the bull.  it is not a fight between man and beast.  it is a fight between men and beast.  Yah sure, the matador lands the final blow, but a team of 8-10 other men tire, confuse, stab and exhaust the bull before the heroic matador kills him.  i enjoyed it because the atmosphere is nice.  i felt like a Roman senator watching the gladiatorial games heheheheh.  "Olay, Olay.....kill him" i was shouting to the bull.  i took some nice videos and pics.   i will post on facebook later. 

i went back to my area, found a nice restaurant: all you can eat pizza and salad for 11 euros, not bad eh? i walked a bit more (11:00 PM) around the Plaza del Sol , which is a major traveling and gathering hub. Madrid is very nice at night.  all the people come out, music playing on the streets, very very very nice weather, calm atmosphere.  i loved it.  it felt like Venice minus the water canals and the romannce

i have less than half a day in Madrid tomorrow, but i am ready to cast my judgment on the city.  if Venice is 10, NYC is 9 and Milan is 4, then Madrid is 7.5.  i still cant find anything negative about the city. the stores stay open late, people are on the streets till late at night, all kinds of entertainments are available, not many shopping areas which make it more open in a way and less commercial.  there is lots of history and sightseeing.  many parks and gathering piazas.  if i spend more time there i will probably give it an eight, but i havent seen the extra half a star worth of stuff.  the reason why it is not a 10 is because it is not on the water.  the reason why it is not a 9 is because it sleeps at noon and at night.  however, it is definitely worth the money.