October 16, 2022
The prior three Sundays I walked in Spain were filled with frustration over closed (or late opening) bars and cafes. But my experience today was remarkably different. I was in the capital city of Madrid, with all the hustle and bustle of any major international city.
In fact, Sunday might be the best day of the week to visit Madrid! The police block off one of the main boulevards near the museums so people could walk in the streets past fountains and some of the prettiest architecture in the entire city.
Buskers set up in the narrow parks providing a soundtrack. The city is simply alive with the energy of locals and tourists alike. Moreover, on Sundays the Prada Museum and Reina Sofia Museum have free hours in the early afternoon (as opposed to the evenings).
This Sunday was a perfectly sunny warm day, so I decided to head down to the city center to stroll around and take in the sights. I knew I couldn’t possibly see everything I wanted in my 36 hours in Madrid before flying back home, so I needed to prioritize my desires.
I’d already visited the Prado at the end of my last Camino – taking in the massive amounts of classical art contained inside its walls. So this time I opted for the Reina Sofia Museum and its modern art.
If I’m being completely honest though, there was one particular painting I felt compelled to see during my visit today. After waking through the Basque town go Guernica on day 5 of my hike and admiring the Picasso mural there, I wanted to lay my eyes on the original artwork.
Seeing “Guernica” seemed to be everyone else’s aim too, and a giant crowd stood in front of the painting the I arrived. Signs instructed visitors not to take photos of the overwhelming large painting, but museum employees repeatedly had to scold obtuse patrons who tried to ignore the prohibition.
On the opposite wall across from the painting, the gallery held a display of successive pictures from Dora Maar, the French photographer who helped document the painting’s creation (and who would become Picasso’s lover for nine years).
Most visitors were enraptured by the massively large painting and kept their back turned to this exhibit. But not me. These photos showing Picasso working on the artwork in stages was a major highlight of my visit. The fact that he was able conceive of the piece, sketch it out, and complete it in five weeks’ time was just amazing.
I was similarly enamored with another Picasso sitting on one of the side walls of the gallery which was entitled, “Study for Horse Head, for Guernica Composition” (1937). I felt like this smaller oil painting was akin to having a ladder, and getting to perch three feet away from the more famous Guernica to inspect its details up close.
Knowing I only had a limited time during the museum’s free admission hours this afternoon, I tore myself away from the Picassos to visit some of the other interesting surrealist, cubist, and modern art by Joan Miró, Salvador Dali, Juan Gris, and others.
Walking though the museum was a journey in art itself. From the architecture of the building to the sculpture pieces in the museum’s interior courtyard.
It was a whirlwind of a visit, but one that reminded me I would be back to Spain again. There is never enough time to see it all. And this lovely country keeps calling me to return.
Tomorrow I would be heading to the airport for the long journey back to North America. A circuitous trip that would required me to fly to Frankfurt, then Seattle, then to my hometown of Eugene, Oregon. This adventure was formally winding down. And all that was left was to hop on a plane and savor my memories of the Spanish coast.
