Leaving Toledo behind, we then set sights on Madrid, the captial of Spain. Navigating the traffic in this city is something not for the faint of heart, especially during the mid- to late-afternoon hours. It's only because we had an excellent driver with us that we were finally able to make our way to the hotel, but not before we passed it by because we were on the opposite side of the street and needed to turn around!
With the dawn of a new day, we were off and running again, this time to visit the city that hosted World Youth Day 2011. First stop on the tour was the monument to Miguel de Cervantes (yes, this was his birthplace, and since he's become somewhat of a renound author, nothing's too good for him).
If you look closely, you'll see the that in this case, Cervantes himself is sitting at the base of the column, and the two figures cast in bronze at ground level are Don Quixote and his faithful companion Pancho.
Next stop on our journey, the Cathedral of Santa Maria, a truly modern interpretation which was in fact not appreciated by the first of the Madrid natives who saw it when it was opened to the public only a short time ago. The outside of this building (while certainly not gothic) looks more traditional,
but the interior is decorated according to an entirely different period in time:
Our liturgical celebration for this day was held in the crypt of the Cathedral, the place where gatherings of the faithful had taken place while the upper part of the building was being completed. The décor in the lower part of the church tells a whole different story than the upper segment does.
After Mass, we walked around the outside of the Cathedral to the courtyard of the Royal Palace, (somewhat reminiscent of Buckingham Palace in London) the place where the Spanish royalty used to live.
They still use this building for state functions but don't actually live here any more. Apparently the current King, Juan Carlos found this place too stiff so he moved to one of his other palaces.
No visit to Madrid would be complete without a momentary nod toward the city's bull fighting stadium, a marvelous example of moorish archtecture which still assembles up to 60,000 fans every week to witness the time-honoured ritual of bull fighting.
... and the final stop on the circuit: to appreciate the frescos of Goya. Unfortunately, while we were permitted to take pictures of the outside of the church, located not far from our hotel, we were prohibited from snapping images within ... all in the interest of preserving the precious artwork.
There are no liturgical celebrations held in this particular location nowadays. While it once was used for worship, it is now a museum of art, and what art it contains!
With the dawn of a new day, we were off and running again, this time to visit the city that hosted World Youth Day 2011. First stop on the tour was the monument to Miguel de Cervantes (yes, this was his birthplace, and since he's become somewhat of a renound author, nothing's too good for him).
 |
| Monument to Miguel de Cervantes, Madrid |
 |
| Rear view of the monument to Miguel de Cervantes, Madrid |
 |
| Cathedral of Santa Maria, Madrid |
but the interior is decorated according to an entirely different period in time:
Our liturgical celebration for this day was held in the crypt of the Cathedral, the place where gatherings of the faithful had taken place while the upper part of the building was being completed. The décor in the lower part of the church tells a whole different story than the upper segment does.
 |
| Crypt of the Cathedral of Santa Maria, Madrid |
After Mass, we walked around the outside of the Cathedral to the courtyard of the Royal Palace, (somewhat reminiscent of Buckingham Palace in London) the place where the Spanish royalty used to live.
They still use this building for state functions but don't actually live here any more. Apparently the current King, Juan Carlos found this place too stiff so he moved to one of his other palaces.
No visit to Madrid would be complete without a momentary nod toward the city's bull fighting stadium, a marvelous example of moorish archtecture which still assembles up to 60,000 fans every week to witness the time-honoured ritual of bull fighting.
... and the final stop on the circuit: to appreciate the frescos of Goya. Unfortunately, while we were permitted to take pictures of the outside of the church, located not far from our hotel, we were prohibited from snapping images within ... all in the interest of preserving the precious artwork.
There are no liturgical celebrations held in this particular location nowadays. While it once was used for worship, it is now a museum of art, and what art it contains!
No comments:
Post a Comment