Tackling the Prado

 El Museo del Prado, aka "the Prado", is surely one of the world's great art institutions. It is massive in scale and a daunting challenge to the sightseeing tourist. How can you possibly do justice to its overwhelming collection? How can you spend an enjoyable half day there without ending up curled into the fetal position in a dimly lit corner, exhausted and babbling incoherently to yourself?

 Fortunately the museum groups works by period and region of origin, so with a very small amount of advance homework (a decent tourist guide book will suffice) and the handy plan brochures that the museum provides, you can steer yourself without much difficulty to the works you really wish to see. Problem is, it's so darned easy to be distracted from your mission because everything is both fascinating and stunningly beautiful.

  

 

image above courtesy madrid.com

 

image above courtesy The Prado

Another wonderful feature of the Prado is that the spaces are huge; very high volumes with ample floor area so that (at least on the day we visited) you're not overwhelmed by a crush of people. There is room to step back from a huge canvas and quietly contemplate it for a few minutes.

image above courtesy sacred-destinations.com

image above courtesy The Prado

In addition to the art, we were further drawn to the Prado to see the recent expansion undertaken by Spanish architectural master Jose Rafael Moneo.

The very restricted site made enlargement of the building a highly complicated exercise. The original edifice is one of the most revered landmarks in Madrid and is prominently sited on the exquisite Paseo del Prado.

To the rear was a residential neighbourhood and the beautiful old San Jerónimo monastery and cloisters. The solution was to incorporate the cloisters into the expansion and link the new wing to the old with a new entry and service pavilion tucked into the hillside behind the original building.

image above courtesy Architectural Record

above image courtesy the Prado

above, the gift shop with Cafe in background

View of the expansion "cube", a highly sophisticated study in massing & composition. 
Image courtesy Time.com

We spent about three hours seeing the major masterpieces of the collection, but still missed much. Finally we couldn't walk another pace without sustenance and retired to the cafe in the new underground service wing. Refortified, we took a turn through the gift shop (the museum's one glaring weak spot, we thought) then headed out into the dazzling afternoon sunlight to contemplate the new cube. The siting and composition of forms is exquisite. Although we've heard the juxtaposition of the church and the expansion building described as awkward, we beg to differ. We found the massing, textures and materials to be very pleasing together, and to have a dynamic edginess that was carefully measured so as not to be crass. And in the blinding Castillian sunlight, the striking clarity of the forms was not only appropriate, it was necessary.

In the end, despite our best efforts, our tackling of the Prado remains incomplete. Just one more reason why we must return to Madrid....

Seen: Shadowy Window Frame

A Different Lunch...

The authoritative online Maribel's Guide to Madrid lists dozens and dozens of restaurant recommendations for the city. One that is right up the street from us caught our eye so we decided to give it a try. It is a tapas place called Bardemcilla which opens for lunch, and then only resurfaces again at around 8:00PM for the late Madrileño dinner scene.

Tapas have proven a bit difficult as one of us eats only gluten-free. It is surprising how much of that charming culinary category is given over to breads and batters. For our lunch we shared three plates; a delicious paella, succulent fried calamari, and red peppers stuffed with cod. Of the three, two required an intensive effort to strip off the batter. And while the results were indeed delicious, especially the devine cod, the exercise detracted from the free-flowing intent of a tapas repast.

In the end, the real curiosity of this establishment was in it's "pedigree". According to Maribel, it is a "...hangout for the intellectual and acting set...Owned by the family of Oscar winning actor Javier Bardem."

Knowing that the "Bardem" of the name referred to the proprietors themselves, we became curious as to what the "cilla" part meant. According to our online translating resources (which have occasionally been know to produce dubious results) una cilla is a place where grain is stored. Probably what we'd call a silo.

None of this made much sense till we entered this "cilla". It was indeed a repository-- to all things Javier!! Actually a temple is more like it! From childhood pictures, to beautiful leading ladies, to pictures of his pets, and all the usual movie posters, it was a family shrine to the prodigal son! This aspect had been a little downplayed by Maribel we feel. And not to be unkind, but we really struggled to see any family resemblence whatsoever between The Man and any of the management or staff present.

Alas, the hero himself was not to be found (unless he was lurking in the kitchen) And even sadder, no sign of Penelope, either! Perhaps one must linger till the wee hours for even the slightest chance of a sighting. 

 Ultimately we took satisfaction from the real reason for our visit: a delicious lunch.

La Bardemcilla

Calle Augusto Figueroa, 47

Madrid

(metro: Chueca)

*****

...and here's your gratuitous movie star shot...

Seen: Pierced Sky

The Ladies & Gentlemen Who Lunch

The Circulo de Bellas Artes is a venerable institution on the Madrid arts scene and as its name suggests (Circle of Fine Arts) the place has a clubby atmosphere about it. We had seen a few photos of its elegant cafe and decided that a post gallery-viewing lunch was in order. The weather was spectacular and the streetside terrace gracious and inviting, but we could not pass up the opportunity to dine in the grand salon.

The crowd was largely of the Ladies (& Gentlemen) Who Lunch set, of a certain age and well established  members of cafe society. No doubt there were individuals amongst them who took their lunch here, alone, every day.

There was a surprisingly strong representation though by the business lunch crowd, and of course there were those like us who were visitors to the institution. And finally, most endearingly, "real artists" (!), those grungy, wiry, well-pierced young folks in their torn up, paint stained black tee's & black jeans. Here in the Circle of Fine Arts the artists were welcomed with arms as wide open as those for the ladies with pearls and cashmere.

The menu decidedly favoured the principal patrons- Old Lady Food one might bluntly call it- but it was executed with classic competence.

One of the many charms of Madrid is the Menu del Dia, a lunchtime offering of first course, entree, beverage and dessert or coffee for a highly affordable price. We have taken to making this our main meal of the day and today was no different. For 12 euros we started on the one hand with an excellent gazpacho, served with finely diced condiments (peppers, cucumber, etc) and on the other, a vegetable paella which in itself could have constituted a main course. 

We followed with sliced roast beef in a lovely port reduction sauce, served with classic vegetables and piped potatoes mixed to within an inch of their lives with cheese. See, we told you it was Old Lady Food!

Oh, and did we mention that the beverage that's included in the price is as much as you care to drink of the bottle of wine placed at your table? One could get very used to this! Two people, two substantial courses, a coffee and most of a bottle of vino tinto for about $35CDN. This three hour siesta thing is really growing on us!

More on the Circulo de Bellas Artes in a future post.

Our fav..La Roitfeld

Here is an amazing article from the New York Times,On The Runway, by Eric Wilson.
A Q&A with fashion editor extraodinaire: Carine Roitfeld

 Carine Roitfeld continues to be the most "french" of fashion editors and has been at the helm of French Vogue since 2001.

We have always loved "La Roitfeld",not only because she so idealises,in our minds, the fashionable french woman,but because of her true sense of what "french" fashion is,and promotes it!

Some say,(and has had her hands slapped for it,)at the cost of European fashion.

Though we highly reguard and admire Voque editor, Anna Wintour but can't help think who we would have a much better time out with on a Saturday night.
Here are a few thought from this Parisian icon, on being a fashion editor in this "new" age.
 http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/q-a-with-carine-roitfeld/

As well, an excerpt from Masquerade Magazine describing what one might expect of French Voque's 90th birthday issue.
Ah to be fly on the wall at the celebrations in Paris last night....

Wouldn’t it be nice to go to the Vogue Paris 90th Anniversary ball? If you haven’t received your invite from Carine just yet the latest issue of Vogue Paris might be enough to raise your spirits. The festive theme runs throughout the issue culminating in a stunning editorial by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. VP regulars like Lara Stone, Freja Beha Erichsen, Crystal Renn and Mariacarla Boscono join newcomer Daphne Groeneveld and dance star Roberto Bollé for a visual feast styled by Mme. Roitfeld herself. The graphic black and white images show off some of fall’s most innovative pieces and perfectly capture the vitality we’ve come to expect from Vogue Paris.

Though we hate buying books and magazines while on holiday....(we already had "weight issues" leaving home and we haven't even started shopping yet !) we may just need to pick this 90th anniversary issue up.

How could we not.

UPDATE:
We got it!!

Huelga General...aka General Strike

Before we left for Spain, we had heard 

that on our first Wednesday here

we were going to experience a country wide strike.

Having had the opportunity of seeing some "strikes" up close in France, we made plans to stay close to home, no venturing out since the subways would surely be closed (they were not). Perhaps write a few postcards, getting them ready to mail on Thursday since surely the post office would be closed on Wednesday as well. (it wasn't).

Much to our surprise it was a non event here in Madrid.

Other that the planned demonstrations and the usual vandalism that these sort of events breed, all was normal.

(have we become de-sensitized after certain events this summer?)

Add to this the fact that in this part of the country siesta is still very much in practice so one didn't know if the shops were indeed closed for siesta or if they had sympathized with the workers unions.

In general though we came to the conclusion, after reading a bit and listening a bit, that most people in the capital realize the need for austerity in these difficult economic times. Most sympathized, but when push came to shove, they were not about to lose a day's pay to go and attend a demo.

Madrid..Still Life

'nuf said

Calle Prim after the Theatre

We're staying above a small (and thankfully, quiet) theatre. A few shots from above just before and just after the show let out last evening.The blue hue on the building opposite is from the marquis lights.

Forecast for Madrid: Scattered Clouds...