A Day of Subtlety

Today was all about being subtle. By which I mean, today was about not being subtle at all, but instead being entirely over the top. It was about a master pushing his art to the furthest extreme. It was about art nouveau, modernism, avoiding straight lines, breaking rules and making new rules. It was a […]

Where Pork is a Vegetable

I woke this morning and left the hotel early. I wanted a little better orientation to town and so headed toward the Gothic quarter. I stopped along the way and bought a croissant. I thought it had a fruit filling – I was wrong, though; it was filled with ham. Come to think of it, […]

A Day of Transition

Today was a day of transition. I got up knowing the day would be split, with me leaving in the early afternoon for Barcelona. This coincided with check-out time at the hotel, which was convenient. In the morning I got up and headed to the Hermitage of San Antonio de La Florida. I went there […]

This City Isn’t Old At All

One of the things that strikes me about Madrid is its relative youth. While the area has been settled since prehistoric times, it remained small until the royal court, and therefore the Spanish capital, was moved here in 1561. Only after ~1600 did it really start to grow. What that means is that, for all […]

They Don’t Speak English? Then Let’s Speak Italian!

Madrid is in the same time zone as Rome, which is weird because they are a long way apart. There is something right about its location at the far west of the time zone, however. The sun is just barely risen at 8 am, but it turns out that’s ok. The Spanish morning operates at […]

I Can Just Eat Tapas

I met my tour guide at noon. He is a former art history professor who has, I think, some eccentricities. It sounds as though he has a habit of railing against sacred cows, which leads to some amusing anecdotes. Personally, I value those who are willing to challenge the status quo, so we got on […]