The grungier side of Madrid and some 400-year-old art

 

We are up early for a brisk walk to Tara’s run club. I tag along and find a cafe where I can do the Spanish thing of ordering a coffee with churros. Because I am hungry I also order some lamb cutlets and asparagus. At 9am!

I visit the ‘Prado’, joining the queue at 10am, opening time, and it is already around the block. Tara says you can’t come to Madrid without visiting the Prado. It houses some of the world’s most prestigious and magnificent classical artworks by greats such as Goya, Rubens, Ribera, El Greco, Bosch, Serra and Flandes. Some of these artworks date back to the 1300s. Most of what interests me is the 17th century stuff. At the time Shakespeare was popular over 400 years ago, so was grand scale art that for the first time depicted abstract ideas such as heaven, angels, the holy trinity and lots and lots of death. 

I start with the Italian classics, and photograph a few before being told I’m not allowed to. Here, for your pleasure, is a sample of those early Italian works - most of which depict biblical scenes. The crucifixion features quite a lot - timely, given it is almost Good Friday.

Upstairs, there is a whole section on Dutch painting from the 17th century. Rubens features here with many paintings of important figures and stories. The depictions of Greek gods and their hijinks are quite gruesome. I am quite taken by the quality of the works. Rubens was the key influence for Rembrandt. I look forward to seeing more of the Dutchies when I travel to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks.

The Prado is huge. It goes on forever and I spend two hours getting lost amongst all these glorious artworks, sculptures too. Some of the paintings are huge. I had thought Guernica was large, but there are many that rival it in size at the Prado. I may go back to the Prado before I leave Madrid to see some of the art that I didn’t quite get to. Nick has a yearly pass and goes frequently with his Spanish teacher to study the art in small batches. What a lovely way to spend some time.

I wish I could share more of the art with you here but it’s not something we are able to share so all I can do is encourage you to one day visit the Prado yourselves. They really are impressive in real life, up close, seeing all the brush strokes and the cracks in the oil paint. Some of the portraits looked so real you could see the wrinkles and lines in their faces as if they were actual skin. I wanted to touch them.

From there, I walk briskly towards our meeting place for lunch. It’s on the grungier side of town. I am meeting Katherine, a friend from high school who has lived in Madrid for 18 years. She has two children aged 14 and 16 but she’s not bringing them today. Last I saw her was in Auckland in 2016. I can’t wait!

Tara and Nick join us too. We meet at a plaza (courtyard where lunches and dinners are served outdoors) and trade stories of how we got to where we are now. It’s a lovely catch up. Katherine (Kaff) wants to take us to the markets across the road for some seafood. We’re keen, but Nick heads home so it is just the girls from here on.

Kaff knows what she wants. We go to the fish market and queue up at the benches for raw fish and shellfish. She barters hard to get us a deal on some tuna, large prawns (as big as scampi back home) and - get this - goose barnacles!

Her Spanish is perfect. Her day job is teaching English and I am quite impressed with her language learning skills (she also chose to learn Arabic ‘for fun’). She negotiates with some locals to find us a place to stand and eat using a shopping trolley as a shelf. This place is madness, people are packed in like sardines, and they are eating sardines! We wash the seafood down with a small glass of local white wine. The tuna goes down easily - the first time I have eaten it without soy sauce, just olive oil and sea salt. The prawns are meaty and delicious. 

Then, Kaff shows us how to eat the barnacles. I am so out of my comfort zone, but I do it. I eat several, and so does Tara. You take off the claw, and slide off the casing and the bit that you eat is called a worm. I almost gag but am pleasantly surprised at the salty sweetness of the meat inside. What’s travel if you don’t try new things?

We carry on talking at a nearby cave bar. I wish I had photographed it. It was literally a cave. We have so much to talk about. Old friends are indeed the best friends.

The train is the best transport home and we call it early at about 7pm. I’m zonked and head to bed.