Category: Spain 2025

Madrid, Friday, March 21, 2025

We started the day with a hotel transfer…on the hoof. Our hotel for the rest of the stay, Hotel Orfina, was just ten minutes away. We had planned to drop our bags and go in search of some breakfast, but many surprises awaited us. When we appeared at reception the first question was: “Would you like some coffee?” Then, as we checked in, we were told that they would accelerate housekeeping on our rooms to accommodate our (very) early arrival. Formalities behind us, we were served coffee and a plate of wonderful pastries in the bar. OK, we aren’t used to being treated like this at a hotel. But this hotel was our splurge for the trip: the Orfina belongs to Relaix & Chateaux (it would have been an impossible splurge virtually anywhere else but I had stumbled on a spectacular deal). It is very old world, but understated.

We thought sure that, given what we were paying, we would have been put in a closet. But no.

We spent the morning doing a bit of shopping for the grandchildren. Our route took us down the charming Calle de Barquillo, where we found an incredible model car store…but we already have a car for a certain boy.

The rain was coming down more heavily while we made our way to the Salamanca district, which turned out to be almost exclusively high-ticket international fashion boutiques. Chilled to the bone, we ducked in for a slice of pizza, which was actually excellent.

Thus restored, it was off to the Prado. We had hoped to walk through the Buon Retiro Park, but it was, like the Alcazar Real in Sevilla, closed due to a “weather event,” i.e what we call rain.

The Prado is quite a place. Incredible collection with amazing strength in certain holdings, and big holes as well! Not too much early Renaissance, but a stunning Era Angelico Annunciation that looks like it had just been painted.

Not too much Flemish, but a riveting van der Weyden Deposition from the Cross and a famous collection of Bosch (called El Bosco).

The Raphaels are extraordinary, with an emphasis on late, darker work. On the main floor, one suite of galleries has a series of remarkable Poussins; the galleries end with several luminous Claude Lorraines (what light!).

Across a rotunda is a suite of galleries with Venetian art. This must be one of the great collection of Titians. Not too many Veronese works, but one great one, Venus and Adonis.

There was a special exposition of early El Greco, work painted for the church of Santo Domingo in Toledo. There are two large paintings that, one above the other, make up the high altar. The first is the Assumption of the Virgin.

That’s pretty straightforward. But this Virgin is rising toward…

A kind of Pieta in heaven, with God holding not the resurrected body of Christ but his corpse. Hmmm.

It was getting late, and who can go to the Prado without getting their fair share of Velasquez? I admit that most of his work for Philip IV leave me cold: how much inbreeding can one guy represent (Philip IV’s grandparents, Philip II and Anne of Austria were were uncle and niece, as well as first cousins once removed)? Las Meninas, on the other hand, is endlessly fascinating.

The questions of who is seeing what how arise immediately. If Velasquez is painting the Infanta and her attendants, then it must mean that the the picture surface is a mirror through which the spectator is looking. And where are the Infanta’s parents, who seem to be reflected in a mirror over Velasquez’s shoulder, actually standing? No wonder that Michel Foucault located an essential shift in the human understanding of the world in this picture.

After our exertions at the museum, we met our friend Debbie Compte for an early dinner in the warren of streets and bars in front of the museum. Debbie and I were assistant professors together, and Sue and I touched base with her years later at our church. Debbie is in Spain leading a group of students from The College of New Jersey, and we passed a lively couple of hours with her over seafood salad and Albarino.

All four of us were hungry by the “normal dinner hour,” say 9:30. Paul and Sue opted to stay in and enjoyed a sandwich in the hotel bar. Sue and I struck out in search of a “real” bar and ended up having a glass of wine along with some artichoke confit (seemingly a standard dish on Spanish menus) and Iberico Ham.

Madrid, Saturday, March 22, 2025

We started the day with a nice cup of coffee and pastry at the Maison Kayser down the street. Paul was eager to see the Naval Museum (who knows what passions lurk in the human breast?), so off we went. The first six model ships were interesting; the first six Spanish aristocrats stuffed into naval uniforms less so. But the museum consisted almost entirely of model ships! Except for the stuffed shirts. Even Paul ran out of steam eventually. The one really interesting aspect was the overt nationalism. The defeat at Trafalgar is ascribed to cheating by the other side, while the total destruction of the Spanish Armada is essentially ignored!

When we came out we faced the worst weather of the trip: steady rain, temperatures in the low 40’s, “real feel” in the mid-20’s. We needed some orientation in this big city, so we hopped on the dreaded hop-on bus for a tour of the “historic city.” 90 minutes on the bus confirmed our impression: Madrid is probably an absolutely terrific place to live, but, as a place to visit…there just isn’t much beyond the art museums. Unless, that is, you’re a fan of grandiose, historicizing architecture that was outdated before it was built. Our friend Debbie C. admonishes us that Madrid can only really be experienced in the sun, when everyone is outdoors. We’re willing to believe her…if we ever see the sun.

Warmed up and dried off after our long ride, we braved the rather sodden Royal Botanical Garden for a quick loop walk before striking out for our final goal, the Reina Sofia Museum, where Madrid displays its 20th century art.

After a quick empanada in the museum restaurant, we headed for the art. One huge room is given over to an ensemble of Richard Serra pieces called Equal Parallel Guernica Bengasi; the work was created for the opening of the museum.  Astonishingly, though, they lost the piece: all 33 tons of it! It was put into storage and never seen again. What we saw was a copy that Serra made years later.

The main floor concentrates on Spain’s main contribution to modern art: Surrealism. There is more, of course. A large collection of Republican posters is juxtaposed to a really nice sampling of John Heartfield’s work of the AIZ. And there’s the Guernica.

It is displayed in a large room of its own and remains deeply troubling after so many years. Or rather it remains troubling to some viewers; like all “famous” art, it is used as the backdrop for many, many merrily grinning selfies.

There are lots of nice Miro’s, too many Dali’s, and a raft of less well known Spanish modernists. But, at the end of the floor, Spain pays tribute to its greatest filmmaker. Bunuel’s Age d’Or runs on the wall at the end of the main gallery. And, in an appropriately smaller, more private space, in the very last room of the floor, we found our Andalusan Dog.

I made my three companions sit and watch all of Un chien andalou. Oddly enough, they didn’t thank me.

Tonight’s dinner was in the hotel restaurant, El Jardin de Orfila. The chef Mario Sandoval Huertas does the recipes and the menus, while an executive chef executes them; the chef’s main restaurant, Croque, has two Michelin stars and the menu costs 365 euros. We were happy to get a whiff. The food was superb. Sue started with a really decadent creme brûlée of foie gras with red fruits and pistachios, while I had a creamy rice dish with duck and chestnuts. Sue’s main was an even more decadent steak tartare, while I had a venison Wellington with foie gras. Sue’s dessert was a sheep’s milk cheesecake, and I had caramelized Brioche filled with pastry cream and accompanied by a nougat ice cream. A really nice way to end the culinary portion of our trip (Paul and Sue have a horrendously early flight Monday morning, and won’t join us for dinner tomorrow).

Madrid, Sunday, March 23, 2025

We awoke to an incomprehensible phenomenon: sunshine. It was still cool, but the sun felt good, and we struck out on a long walk. We ambled south on some pleasant side streets until we reached the start of the Gran Via, the boulevard cut through the medieval streets of the center in the early twentieth century. The boulevard showcases Madrid’s “modernist” architecture.

The building that anchors the new boulevard is the Edificio Metropolis, built in 1911 in Beaux-arts style.

Next to it is the Edificio Grasy, built in 1916 in a style no one seems to care to characterize.

Moving forward a couple of decades we get the Telefonica Building, art deco with Baroque (ornamentation), of 1929.

Things get a little better by the mid-1930’s: the Edificio Capitol takes its design cues directly–perhaps too directly?–from Eric Mendelsohn’s work that is usually identified as Expressionist.

Here is the Edificio Capitol.

And here is Mendelsohn’s Peterdorff department store in what was then Breslau but now Wroclaw, from 1928.

And here are a couple more.

Sorry to be churlish, Madrid fans, but the whole thing just didn’t work for me!

We soon turned west toward the Royal Palace, Cathedral, and Royal Theater. As we approached the palace, we got a view back to the dome of the cathedral.

The gardens in front of the palace are lovely. The palace itself has a complicated history, with many kings radically altering the architecture.

The Teatro Real, Madrid’s main opera house, dates from 1818.

Sue was disappointed that the Sabatini Gardens at the north end of the Palace were closed for construction. We got a glimpse from a belvedere.

From here we hoofed it to the Plaza de Espagne, with a monument to Cervantes in the center.

And then on the Palacio de Liria, the Madrid residence of the House of Alba. We figured we had seen their digs in Sevilla, and like them, so why not go for the double. Especially since the palace is surrounded by a famous garden. Unfortunately, we figured that 20 ‘euros a pop was a little steep for a garden, so we made so with the view through the fence.

After our afternoon siesta, Sue and I took another long walk down through some of the streets in the Chueca district. We then joined Paul and Sue for a glass of bubbly: Sue N. had carted the complimentary bottle of Cave that we had been given in Sevilla through half of Spain! They were headed for a very early bit in the bar, since they had to leave the hotel at 4 AM for their complicated flight to Chicago. We said our goodbyes, which were not at all tearful; it had been a really good, stimulating trip despite the lack of sun!

Sue and I had a simple meal at the Taberna de Carmencita, one of the oldest inns in Madrid (founded in 1854). Sue had a chicken stew and I had rice with seafood, a kind of Madrid paella. Both dishes were fine but not memorable. But the restaurant is lovely.

Madrid and Princeton, Monday, March 24, 2025

For the second time in a row, a United flight departed on time. And, I have to say, the service on board has definitely improved in the last few years, with fewer nasty flight attendants and steerage seats that aren’t lethal.

We had wanted to try the Madrid Metro, and it proved to be very efficient. Even the first, rush hour train from Alfonso Martinez to Nuevos Ministerios was crowded but not impossible; the train from there to the airport is purpose built, with huge carriages and lots of space. It took us less than forty minutes and cost 5.5 Euros apiece.

Unlike our arrival, everything ran smoothly and quickly for our departure, and, after a bite of breakfast, we were soon lining up for the flight.

I finished the really outstanding movie “The Outrun”, which I had started on the way over. Brilliant acting from Saoirse Ronan, gripping directing by the German Nora Fingscheidt, and a terrific script by Fingscheidt and Amy Liptrot, on whose memoir the film is based. Amazing that a quality piece of work like this goes unnoticed while a piece of sensationalistic trash like Anora wins awards. Welcome to our world.

New Jersey Transit and Uber had us home by five and found the hound in good spirits, if as slow as ever.

It had been a very good trip with things we will never forget: the Mezquita in Cordoba, the Alcazar Real in Sevilla, and of course the Alhambra in Granada. We had hoped for some sun and relaxation, but the weather didn’t deliver that. Thinking back, we’ve actually had marvelous luck with the weather during our travels; this trip compares only to our stormy, wet walk through the Cotswolds in 2015.