We woke up to a sunny, spring day in Madrid, and headed out bright and early to get in some time at the city's world-famous museums.
The walk down Paseo del Prado is lively and colorful... this little skeleton puppet was playing Lalo's Symphony Espanol, with perfect bowing and string changes.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures inside the Prado, but a good two and a half hours there gave us a chance to absorb the talents of some of Spain's great artists, such as Velazquez, Goya, and El Greco, just to name a few.
Walking down Museum Row, we spotted the Caixa Forum building, a stunning modern structure with a huge floating piece, which caused K, the architect, to stop in her tracks and exclaim, "Wow! Look at the cantalever on that thing!" I loved the living wall along the side.
After lunch, we headed to the Reina Sofia Museum, a modern glass structure housing the city's modern art. I was most interested in viewing "La Guernica," Picasso's reaction to the bombing of the Spanish town Guernica by German bomber planes, testing out new technology, and approved by Franco before the second World War. The destruction at the time was unheard of, and the painting is filled with grotesque yet poignant scenes of death and sorrow, all done in Picasso's signature cubist style.
By 4 in the afternoon, it was time for us to say "adios amigos" to our dear traveling companions of the past 4 days, as they would be heading back to Paris, and we were moving on to Granada, in the south of Spain. We climbed on board a comfortable bus, and relaxed for 5 full hours.
We pulled into Granada at 10:30 pm, starved, and after checking into the hotel, immediately stepped out in search of food. Granada is a fascinating city dominated by moorish influences, and kebab stands abound, so....
lamb kabob bocadillos nourished our weary bodies before we turned in for the evening.
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