Today was my first non-riding day in 8 days so I slept in a bit and went for a leisurely stroll around the center of Madrid through the Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, and the streets around as the city was beginning to wake up and the tourists began to flock the streets.
El Prado Museum does not disappoint ... what an incredible collection of paintings and sculptures ... all those windows into the past makes me wonder how long days must have seem back then ... life today seems to have too many options, too much information, too many choices.
Just sitting there watching life is becoming a new hobby of mine : )
Interesting also to see how religion has played such an important part on how we got here .... why are men so susceptible to believe made up stories by other men that want power and control?
They say art has a unique power to make us be present ... we are drawn into it, we observe, we engage, we get absorbed. Art is indeed powerful.
I did see Las Meninas (Velazquez), La Maja Desnuda y la Maja Vestida (Goya), and Da Vinci's Gioconda.
The visit to the "Santa Iglesia Metropolitana de Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena" and Palacio Real de Madrid were a good reminder of how powerful and rich this country was in the XVI-XVIII centuries.
Stopped a the Mercado de San Miguel for some tapas and empanadas, and sat at an outdoor cafe for incredible churros and Iberian ham.
A good day for being just tourist. Did not miss the motorcycle ... OK, maybe a little : )
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