Traveling in Spain: Part II: Madrid

I'm back in Cuenca, Ecuador.  It's as if I never left.  I returned from Madrid on Saturday during a three day weekend festival celebrating Ecuadorian independence from Spain.  Everybody in Cuenca must be on the coast or in Quito, the capital.  It's wonderful!  So tranquil, hardly a soul in sight, and all the traffic and congestion is like it never existed.  Possibly,  things may be shaking in El Centro, but there is no movement of groups of people walking back and forth from the center.  Even along the river as I walked this sunny Sunday afternoon, there is hardly a soul in sight.  Monday, things were back to normal, but another beautiful sunny day, and even for the beginning of a new work and school week things were quieter than usual.

No matter where I travel or how much I enjoy it; I am always happy that I have Cuenca to return to.  She may not be as large, culturally sophisticated, or as wealthy as some of these other cities; but she is truly the jewel of the Andes and a wonderful place to live.

I liked Madrid.  I only wished I had allowed a few additional days to take in a few other activities and feel more acclimated to the city as well.  So I'll share some photos with you of my remaining two days, which were spent in Madrid before returning home to Ecuador.  

Once I arrived by the speed train from Barcelona, I quickly wanted to make use of the rest of the day.  Luckily, museums are opened until 10:00 p.m.  I walked the six minutes from my Airbnb at about 4:30 p.m. to the Reina-Sofia National Museum of Modern Art.  This was my lucky day.  No lines and the entry was free.  As I mentioned in my first post on "Traveling in Spain", I wasn't impressed with the Prado and the Thyssen Art Museums, both of which share a triangular complex with the Reina-Sofia.  However, in the Reina-Sofia, I marveled at the paintings for two and a half hours.  Reading many of the placards, snapping photos, and taking time to study the paintings to attempt to actually see what the artists were attempting to convey, and what styles and techniques they used to convey perspectives to their viewers.  I haven't enjoyed a modern art collection this much since I visited the Guggenheim in Venice in 2015.

Surprisingly, of these three art museums, Reina-Sofia allowed photos to be taken.  Unfortunately, photos were not permitted in a few galleries adjacent to one of museum's top attraction, Picasso's "Guernicca", of the destruction of a town and its people during the Spanish Civil War, possibly Picasso's most famous work.

I so enjoyed this museum.  I had a magic wand audio, which worked beautifully with explanations of biographical and artistic technical details of specific paintings.  I wish I had time to discuss what the artists were attempting to convey, but that would take volumes.

There were wonderful collections, particularly of Cubism and Surrealism, and many of the artists like Picasso, Salvador Dali, Esteban Frances, Jean Metzinger, Angeles Santos, Auguste Herbin, Benjamin Palencia, Juan Gris, and Max Ernest--all contributed greatly to the birth and development of Modern Art movements.  Spanish artists were in the forefront of the movement.

                                          John Gris, 'The Bottle of Anis' 1914

               Xul Solar, 'The Walker's Meadow" 1917

Augusten Herbin, 'Portrait of Madame H 1912









Angeles Santos, 'The Gathering 1929

Salvador Deli in his early days of painting, 'Girl at the Window' 1925

 Juan Gris, 'Open Window with Hills' 1923, and the next painting is a variation from 1921.

Juan Gris, 'Inlaid Guitar' 1925

Salvador Deli, 'Still Life' 1926

John Metzinger, 'Still Life with Fruit and Jug' 1917

Esteban Frances, 'Wire Fences' 1937

Salvador Deli, 'The Endless Enigma                  













Salvador Dali, The Invisible Man' 1929-1932

Salvador Dali, 'Face of the Great Masturbater' 1929







Benjamin Palencia, 'Still Life' 1925

Max Ernest, 'Red Birds' 1926

Central Court Yard of Reina-Sofia.

Below is the entrance with glass elevators on both sides of the Reina-Sofia.  There are a number of restaurants on the square and I enjoyed sitting across the square from the entrance for hours, where I had a meal on three different occasions; especially since two of those meals were at a very good Italian restaurant.

A block from my apartment was the opera house, which has trees and bushes, etc growing on and out of the entire one side of  the building.  I am sorry this evening post below is so blurry.  The day time photo under it, shows just how awesome this is.  It is a wall to wall carpeting of vegetation.

Parque de El Retiro

My last full day in Madrid, I walked over to the Parque de El Retiro, Madrid's largest and most emblematic park.  Wow, another free entry, and any exhibits were free as well.  Another gorgeous day, and I wandered about the grounds for three and a half hours.  Not since I visited Kensington Park in London had I been in such a grandeur setting.  The pathways were everywhere., and the vast majority were paved.  I have no idea how much of the park I actually saw.

Some of the settings were cultivated like below.  There was a beautiful rose garden, but by the time I discovered it, I was looking for the exit and my cell phone battery was running low, so no photos of the garden, which was a shame because the roses were in full bloom.

I thought when I spotted this structure that it would be a botanical garden.  Not even close.

There were three or four sculpture pieces in all of this space, and there was the beauty of the park to appreciate as viewed through all the glass.

Another building situated in the park, had an exhibit of a Japanese painter by the name of Tetsuya Ishida.

Ishida's theme through all of his paintings in the exhibit--and there were many--dealt with man's lost of identity in a corporate structure of mindless consciousness.  A theme that was quite popular in Ishidas's heyday as a painter, which was especially held by those Japanese workers who were disaffected by the Japanese corporate culture.

The worker appears to be an automaton, and increasingly meshed with the machine.  Unfortunately, an entire exhibition with this theme gets depressing.  In fact, Ishida committed suicide when he was only thirty-two, so I'll spare you most of the collection.

Views of the park as some were cultivated.  Other areas grew wild.

It was an enchanting way to bring to a close my time in Spain, and to spend my last evening in my Italian restaurant across from the Reina-Sofia, return home to pack, and return to Ecuador the next day.

TRAVELING IN SPAIN : BARCELONA PALAU DE LA MUSICA CATALANA

Barcelona Palua de la Musica Catalana

The Barcelona Palua de la Musica Catalana was designed and constructed between 1905 and 1908 by architect Lluis Domenech Montaner..  It is one of many concert halls in Barcelona, and has been one of its cultural icons providing many concerts, operas, and music of many genres over the last century.

Upon entering through a court yard, I first came upon the cafeteria and gift shop below.

Notice the flower petals on the columns and in the ceiling, a reflection on Catalan Modernism and Gaudian influence.  The concert hall was built in what was then a working class neighborhood.  The architect was of the opinion that colorful floral and tree-like sculptures and tiles would bring something of nature to a neighborhood of brick, mortar, factories and pollution.

Gaudi was enlivened with the concept of making nature organic with art, so it appears that Montaner was influenced by Gaudi's work.

Area below on the way to the concert hall.

Outside area of colorful ceramic tiles and sculptured flowers springing from the tops of the pillars, which became some of the characteristics of Gaudi or Catalan Modernism.

          Beautiful Chandelier and stain glass ceiling inside the concert hall.

Notice the trees and galloping horses as a framework for the stage.

The Pipe Organ, which we in the tour group heard play Mendelssohn's Wedding March exit, served as a reminder of what a major role pipe organ music once played in Western musical compositions and performances.

I am sorry that some of the stage photos have a blank space, which is actually a projector screen, as workers were setting the stage for the next performance that appeared to include the use of the screen.

The concert hall seats about 2,200 people.  The hall is in the traditional style of length as opposed to width in relationship with the stage.  If one sits in the lower level (usually called the orchestra) or in the balcony directly opposite from the stage, one has a good seat.  The side balconies face directly opposite one another.  The side balcony seats were not angled toward the stage.  Not, in my opinion, the best sight views for the side balcony attenders.  

By today's standards, I found the stage to be quite small.  Other auditoriums in Barcelona are larger with larger stages to accommodate the sets often required of major operas, and the seating needed for grand orchestras.  The Palau de la Musica has nonetheless had an illustrious history as every major orchestra conductor of the twentieth and twenty-first century have performed in the concert hall.

Needless to say, the Palau de la Musica Catalana is an architectural and musical gem that is highly treasured in Barcelona as a reflection of Catalan tradition and culture.

Exterior of Palau de la Musica Catalana from a street view, which is actually located at the rear of the auditorium.  There are also a number of other concert halls and practice rooms in the building, which allows for multiple areas of practice, since four or more unrelated concerts can be performed in any given week in the main concert hall.

Cuenca Perspectives by Jim: Cuenca Perspectives by Jim: TRAVELING IN SPAIN: C...

Cuenca Perspectives by Jim: Cuenca Perspectives by Jim: TRAVELING IN SPAIN: C...: Cuenca Perspectives by Jim: TRAVELING IN SPAIN: CUENCA, S PAIN: Cuenca, Spain How could I travel for my first time to Espana, and not v...

TRAVELING IN SPAIN : VALENCIA

Valencia

Surprisingly to me, Valencia is about fourth in tourism among cities in Spain.  It's population for the city proper is about 700,000.  Much smaller than the 3,400,000 of Madrid.  I like this city a great deal.  Valencia is large enough to offer everything a larger city offers.  Yet it is more sophisticated than most cities its size with an offering of many international restaurants, universities, and high level historical and cultural activities.  

The city is very beautiful and clean.  It can be divided by me into three areas:  First, the beaches along the Mediterranean Sea which  unfortunately, I did not have time to visit.  I would enjoy the comparison of  coastal Valencia with its many beaches with the Mediterranean coastal area of Beirut from my visit there of two years ago--an area which was quite developed and attractive.  Second, the newer area of Valencia is where the awesomely splendid City of Arts and Sciences exist.  Third, the historic area, which is very charming, and still Valencia's biggest tourist draw.

Of all the cities I have visited, Valencia most reminds me of Honolulu and Waikiki.  It is coastal; at times windy and with  similar climates; and the people and the pace of life is more laid-back than in most cities.  Along with the ubiquitous palm trees, people drive sanely here.  There is no rush, and drivers seem as if they are moving in slow motion much like they did in Honolulu.  It is unusual in this day and age to be in a city where traffic isn't noisy and congested.  Valencia's major roads are laid out correctly, so that major highways don't converge into fewer lanes in the heart of the city, the way Honolulu's traffic did.  Valencia has two other advantages over the city centers of Hawaii.  I visited both in the month of May, and Valencia has not been inundated with massive crowds of tourists as had been the case when I was in Hawaii, and the food is more diverse and better than in Honolulu.  

It will take more than one post to cover Valencia:

The City of Arts and Sciences  

The photos on the Internet blew me away when I saw this massive architectural gem, and I was even more impressed to experience it in person. 

I have had some wonderful tours to date in Spain, but my tour of the Arts and Sciences complex was the most outstanding tour package to date.  The evening was immeasurably enhanced by an excellent guide, Nick Denton, a young man who is very personable, passionate about what he does, and is considerate of his clients and their needs.  He is well educated, and someone who truly can be called a Renaissance Man.  We had many interests in common and so little time to share them, but what time we did have made for an interesting evening of conversation.

Nick took me and the one other guest for the evening, Barbara Sanders, who was from the Frankfort area of Germany, on a fascinating one hour tour of the complex while he explained its historical,  architectural, and engineering feats.  

I must digress:  (Here comes the history lesson.)

  

This incredible complex was "designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, the project began the first stages of construction in July 1996, and was inaugurated April 16, 1998 with the opening of L'Hemisfèric. The last great component of the City of Arts and Sciences, El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, was inaugurated on October 9, 2005, Valencian Community Day."  (Wikpedia)

There were cost overruns, and the complex never attracted the numbers of tourists that were the promised projections to pay for it.  Needless to say, the tax payers have been paying the bill as is so often the case with such public projects.  The architects are no longer very popular in Valencia.  I hope the day will arrive when the Valencians will one day appreciate what a treasure these men have given to the city.  Ah, a reminder of the Biblical verse that says, a prophet is not honored in his own home town.  

If anybody knows any billionaires out there, the complex needs $500 million to complete the project, specifically the exhibition center.  Right now, the billionaires are focused on restoration of Nortre Dame.

The architects created space of lightness from humongous forms of heavy concrete.  So much detail was paid to the sight-lines, angles, and visual impact of each structure in relationship with the others, as well as with the overall layout of the complex.  The imaginations of these architects were majestic and far-reaching.  The three of us wondered to what degree all that we saw and observed had been anticipated by the architects themselves.  Certainly these artists could not have imagined every angle and perspective of the viewer.

I was reminded of Frank Loyd Wright's designs, which often times appear to defy gravity.  Wright, considered to be the greatest of American architects, has suffered some loss to his reputation in recent years.  Some of Wright's buildings while uniquely designed, and challenged the engineers of his time; are now having difficulties surviving with age.  Nick and I wondered if the same, with time, would also haunt the works of these architectural geniuses, or if more modern engineering techniques might prevent some of the load problems that afflicted some of Wright's works as they aged.

Above is a harp like structure.  The four poles to the right were not a part of the original design, but needed to be added for structural

support, which according to Nick, are not necessarily functioning with the support intended, and is one of the few flaws in the design.

I believe the above is the Hall of Science.  Other major buildings include Europe's largest Oceanic Aquarium, which is housed in a number of separate structures dependent upon the types of aquarian mammals and reptiles; an exhibition center; an IMAX theater; and an Opera House or Concert Hall Complex housing three or four large auditoriums.

Nick said that the window below was specifically designed to capture the complex that appears in front of the window completely in its sight.  I hope you can see it in the reflection.

After our tour Nick took us to a rooftop tapas and wine evening in an apartment with balcony, which overlooked the entire complex.  All of this was part of the tour package, which also included private transportation from and to our accommodations.  We were able to take aerial photos of the complex, sunsets, and at different times of the evening as darkness descended and we could get illumination shots of the complex.

Above and below, the blue areas are the reflecting pools.

Notice the parks of walking and bike paths.  These green belts extend along the City of Arts and Sciences and beyond, uninterrupted, for nine kilometers (about six miles).

My Uber driver the next day after I returned to the City of Arts and Sciences to spend the afternoon at the Oceanic Aquarium said of the city, "It is as if space aliens had landed in Valencia."

The photo below doesn't do justice to the point I wish to make.  However, even the high-rises outside of and aligned with the complex of the City of Arts and Sciences appear to be staggered angled, and designed in ways meant to complement the design of the city.

                        







Barbara, Andress, and Nick

Andress, in the photo above and to the left, is an intern responsible for preparation of our meal and tapas.  His university major is in hotel and tourist management.  I thought it was impressive that Nick's company required the interns to know first hand the food preparation as well.

I was scolded by my son and one other friend for talking about food and the splendid tapas I had during my last night in Madrid, but failed to show any photos.  Problem partially corrected in the photos below, which were some of the savoring tapas we had that evening.

Upon arrival in Spain, when I first viewed menus of tapas and their prices, I thought I was going to have to pay a fortune just to eat enough tapas to equal a meal.  It's amazing how quickly tapas can fill a person.  Usually the tapas are eaten sparingly by the Spaniards  over time with beer, wine or sangria, in a casual afternoon of conversation. 

                 Andress, Nick, and Barbara.  

Nick and Andres explained in detail the dishes and tapas, and much information about the wines that were served.

At various parts of the evening we would go unto the terrace to take photos of the complex and the changing night sky as the darkness cascaded over the city.

 

Cuenca Perspectives by Jim: TRAVELING IN SPAIN: CUENCA, ECUADOR

Cuenca Perspectives by Jim: TRAVELING IN SPAIN: CUENCA, SPAIN: Cuenca, Spain How could I travel for my first time to Espana, and not visit the city from which my home in Ecuador received its name?...