Looking back, it seems as if I have been in Europe for much longer than just a week and a half. I have visited many places and experienced a great number of new sights, smells, etc. Come to think of it, I have done quite a bit in just the past two days.
Yesterday I really wanted to go hiking. I had been in cities for several days straight and wanted to see more of spain's countryside instead. I found a travel website mentioning a set of trails in the sierras de guadarrama, and so I took the train to cercedilla, where I embarked on a 3 1/2 hour trek. The weather was perfect: clear skies, low humidity, and about 75 degrees. The trails were incredibly well marked ( definitely a plus) and there were some great views to be had from the multiple scenic overlooks. At the apex of the hike, you could see the entire valley region, stretching all the way to Madrid. It reminded me why I love hiking; everything was so serene and quietly beautiful.
Today I went and toured the palace de real - built by king felipe V. There were hundreds of rooms in the building. I was only allowed to view 55, but these were impressive in their own right. Lavish is the first word that comes to mind. Extravagant as well. These rooms were decorated from ceiling to floor in rich tapestries, gold and silver enamel, porcelain embellishments, mirrors, frescoes, crystal chandeliers of enormous sizes, and more. There was a dining room with a capacity for 70guests, and even a room devoted exclusively for the king to put on his royal outfits.
As if this wasn't enough opulence, I next went to the royal armory, where sets of armor - for man and horse - were displayed, along with various weapons of war. Some were ceremonial, others were solely functional, but all were very impressive. After taking a long cut to try and find a local tapas restaurant, I headed over to the caixa forum, which provided free admission to see some of spain's premier works of contemporary art. I'm not always the biggest fan of modern stuff, but these pieces were really sweet. There were two exhibits, one concerning photographs of soviet architecture, and the other showing black and white pictures of life during the 1920's. Both were quite well done, and I especially enjoyed looking at the photos of the roaring twenties - the flapper generation - taken by jacques henri lartigue. His subjects were all people, and he focused mainly with dynamism. Watersports, early racing cars, snow skiing, and the day-to-day happenings of the well to do were some of the topics he covered; all of his shots managed to capture the fleeting moments of a bygone era, and I thoroughly enjoyed catching a glimpse into a world that is now no more.
Tomorrow I am scheduled to take the train to Barcelona. Here is my final itinerary: Barcelona until June 20, Berlin until June 25, munich until June 30, Vienna until July 3, Salzburg until July 6, Innsbruck until July 10, Milan until July 14, Florence until July 17, Rome until July 21, Venice until July 24, Amsterdam and holland until July 29, London until august 7 or 8 ( tentatively), and fly out of Dublin to the states on august 9.
No comments:
Post a Comment