Today was my first chance to get a real view of Madrid as I got in late last night. However, I liked it from the start. First of all, it was sunny. This might not seem very important, but you have to know that up to this point, I had experienced nothing but clouds and rain. This was much better. Also, it was hot - about 34 celcius (94 farenheit). This place was much different from France. Everyone walked with a much more languid pace ( in the shade if they could), many wore shorts, and no one seemed to be in a real hurry. All of this suited me just fine.
I began my day with a couple of errands and then headed over to the museo del prado, spain's finest art museum. There were over 1000 paintings and sculptures, and I'm pretty sure I looked at them all. Durer, goya, valazquez and bosch were the most famous and prominent artists, but there were many other French, Spanish, and Flemish painters who also had some really nice contributions.
I made sure and saw the big ones: duress's Adam and eve, goya's 3 rd of may, bosch's the garden of earthly delights, the naked maja and the three graces. I liked most all of them, but especially enjoyed the huge (20 or 30 feet tall) church altarpieces, as well as the landscapes that were featured. The place was huge; it also had the potential to be exhausting. Between the depictions of royal palace life, commissioned portraits, and hundred of religious scenes, I got my fill of paintings for the day.
I then walked next door to the parque del bien retiro. It was a combination arboretum- botanical garden-college quad style place. I liked it, and took a nap on one of the many lawns. Everywhere there was a grassy spot or bench it seemed, and quite a few people - mostly young couples and twenty-somethings - were reading and sunbathing. Fortunately none of them were topless that I know of.
Within the park there was a beautiful rose garden, a small lake with rowboats for rent, and a metal and glass building called the palacio de cristal (nothing to see inside but kind of cool). I enjoyed it there, and am planning on taking a run along one of it's trails tomorrow.
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