There's a church next door to the hotel called Iglesia de San Martin de Tours (patron saint of France) on, ironically, Calle del Desengaño, an alley frequented by junkies and 'hos at night. We went to the 1pm mass on this first Sunday of Advent. We did not understand the homily at all, since the Padre was speaking very fast, but oh well. The site of the church was not lost on us either: Christ after all ministered to the marginal members of society, not the all pious, holier-than-thou set.
We headed down Gran Via toward the Prado Museum. Along the way, K took plenty of pictures, the most poignant of which was the Monumento a los Caídos por España with its eternal flame.
We visited Iglesia San Jeronimo, one of the oldest churches in Madrid and where King Juan Carlos I had his coronation about 30 years ago. The church is right by the Prado Museum.
K wanted to have lunch at this place called Maceiras. Apparently, the rest of Madrid had the same idea as there was a long wait (over 40 minutes!). The food is mostly Galician, so it would be interesting to compare it to the Asturian we had the other day. After freezing our ass outside, we were finally escorted in - and the taberna was simply packed!
(1) Wait for a table (2) Packed Taberna (3) Copa de Albarino wine (4) Almejas (clams) in Albariño sauce (5) Carne Asada (6) Pulpo (octopus) in Olive Oil (7) Empanada (8) Caldo Gallego
Okay, we love Galician food and that Caldo soup was simply out of this world! Better than Asturian. I've had octopus before, but this was fresh and awesome. For dessert, we crossed the street and had some awesome hot chocolate concoction - dark chocolate with amaretto and rum and dark chocolate with orange and cinnamon.
We were just in time to get into the Prado Museaum for free (1700 - 1930 hours on Sundays). The line to get in was pretty long and we probably had to wait for about 45 minutes. But once inside, it was a treat to see lots of Medieval and Renaissance paintings, along with Roman statues.
Afterwards, the work of Garavaggio doesn't differ much from that of Velasquez. The only one I could recognize at sight was El Greco, but who couldn't? Don't get me wrong, I love the classics, how they brilliantly captured the lighting and many many details. But maybe I'm partial to the modern movement - the impressionists, the abstract, the bohemians. When artists didn't get commissions from the church anymore but simply created their own art at the point of material starvation.
On the way back to the hotel, K had to take more pictures, some of which are:
We headed down Gran Via toward the Prado Museum. Along the way, K took plenty of pictures, the most poignant of which was the Monumento a los Caídos por España with its eternal flame.
We visited Iglesia San Jeronimo, one of the oldest churches in Madrid and where King Juan Carlos I had his coronation about 30 years ago. The church is right by the Prado Museum.
K wanted to have lunch at this place called Maceiras. Apparently, the rest of Madrid had the same idea as there was a long wait (over 40 minutes!). The food is mostly Galician, so it would be interesting to compare it to the Asturian we had the other day. After freezing our ass outside, we were finally escorted in - and the taberna was simply packed!
(1) Wait for a table (2) Packed Taberna (3) Copa de Albarino wine (4) Almejas (clams) in Albariño sauce (5) Carne Asada (6) Pulpo (octopus) in Olive Oil (7) Empanada (8) Caldo Gallego
Okay, we love Galician food and that Caldo soup was simply out of this world! Better than Asturian. I've had octopus before, but this was fresh and awesome. For dessert, we crossed the street and had some awesome hot chocolate concoction - dark chocolate with amaretto and rum and dark chocolate with orange and cinnamon.
We were just in time to get into the Prado Museaum for free (1700 - 1930 hours on Sundays). The line to get in was pretty long and we probably had to wait for about 45 minutes. But once inside, it was a treat to see lots of Medieval and Renaissance paintings, along with Roman statues.
Afterwards, the work of Garavaggio doesn't differ much from that of Velasquez. The only one I could recognize at sight was El Greco, but who couldn't? Don't get me wrong, I love the classics, how they brilliantly captured the lighting and many many details. But maybe I'm partial to the modern movement - the impressionists, the abstract, the bohemians. When artists didn't get commissions from the church anymore but simply created their own art at the point of material starvation.
On the way back to the hotel, K had to take more pictures, some of which are:
Post script: At mass today, K was very amused by this little girl, around 7-8 years old, who she said reminds her of C when she was a kid.
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