Madrid Day 3

 First thing we did today was to hire bikes and ride through Retiro Park. There were lots of interesting things to look at and it was very peaceful. However, there were no squirrels, despite a map suggesting there were some.

After that we walked to Atocha station, which was closed - the Metro part anyway - for renovations. 

For lunch we set out to have another local delicacy: bocadillos calamares, which is simply a calamari sandwich. These were quite good - fresh calamari and bread - but it was literally just squid and bread; it could have used some ailoli or something like that.

Next up was a visit to the Lavapiés area of Madrid to look at street art. Then we made our way to the Prado to see some more traditional art. We spent four hours there - way more than expected - because it's very, very big. Too big, in fact; that they have so much Velazquez and Goya and a few others that it actually dilutes the experience.

After that  we walked back to the hotel, stopping for dinner to try another local delicacy, huevos with patatas and jamon. With some very nice pork that came with a cheese & pepper sauce, unlike anything I've had before. And beer.

The pictures start with us riding around Retiro Park.

A loose peacock.

There's a shiba inu in there somewhere.

The bocadillo calamares.

Street art in Lavapiés.

A wee bus.

One entrance to the Prado.

It's about this time we go to the Prado. After dealing with what I've come to consider to be the normal level of dysfunction in this country - there was a line for where you go to buy a ticket and a different line for where you show that ticket to someone to get inside the museum; for some bizarre reason they'd roped off sections of both lines in such a way that you couldn't actually get from one to the other. Asshats.

Anyway, once inside we started looking at paintings. You can't take photos there, but I made notes of the things I liked and/or found amusing.

One painting I didn't find was Caravaggio's David with the Head of Goliath, which was being restored. This annoyed me greatly; it was one I very much wanted to see. It looks like this:

Anyway, now to paintings they did have on display.

Portrait of a Dwarf, by Juan van der Hamen.

One by Jusepe de Ribera, this one is Magdalena Ventura with Her Husband and Son.

El Greco, Fable. They have a lot of El Greco at the Prado but this one struck me the most.

Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas. It's very impressive.

Alonso Cano, St Bernard and the Virgin - yes, she is shooting breast milk into his mouth. What the heck is wrong with people?

Hyacinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV.

Rubens, Marie de Medici.

Joost Cornelisz Droochsloot - possibly the most Dutch name in history - Winter Landscape with Skaters

Raphael, The Cardinal. This was mesmerising, and one of my favourites of the visit.

Rubens, Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma.

Rembrandt, Judith at the Banquet of Holofernes. I'm never unhappy to see one of his.

Three from Dürer: Adam, Eve and Portrait of a Man.

Jusepe de Ribera again, Saint Jerome Writing. This was the first one I had on my list but Blogger likes doing stupid things with the order of photos it uploads, so now it's here.

Velázquez again, Saints Anthony Abbott and Paul the Hermit. I can't help but think the thing the bird is diving with in its beak is a doughnut...

Van Dyck, The Crowning With Thorns. 

Bosch, The Garden of Eearthly Delights triptych. Probably the highlight of the visit; I've seen this reproduced many times, but to see the original up close was very special. Another I could have spent hours looking at.

Francesco Salviati, Holy Family with a Parrot. The parrot doesn't look especially impressed. It's probably pining for the fjords.

Giovanni Tiepolo, The Immaculate Conception.

The Nun Jerónima de la Fuente, also by Diego Velázquez. She seems nice.

Van Dyck's portrait of Martin Ryckaert

Rubens, the Rape of Europa. Another great animal expression. If you aren't familiar with the story, Zeus turns into a bull to entice Europa onto his back, after which he runs of with her. Yeah, those wacky Greeks. But this doesn't appear to be reflected in the bull's expression; it just seems a bit confused.

The Surrender of Breda, by Velázquez.

Brueghel the Elder, Triumph of Death. Lots going on here.

And that was our visit to the Prado. It was getting dark by the time we got out - closing time, essentially. We didn't get to see everything, which was a bit annoying; they had a whole medieval section that I didn't get to see any of, and I very much like that era. But I knew they had a good amount of that at the Thyssen-Bornemisza, where we'd be going in a few days, so I wasn't that upset.

Dinner. Ham, egg and chips - Spanish style. 

Pork, chips and patron peppers. The peppery cheese sauce was excellent.