Madrid Part 2 -

At home we typically eat our evening meal around 6 PM and typically at our place for the evening by 7:30. Bedtime is usually around 10:30 or 11 PM. Naps are atypical, for me anyway.

We adjust. Course correct. Go with the flow.

In Spain a siesta is typical. And a good idea. During the heat of the day, say 4-7 PM many stores and restaurants are closed. And it’s been especially hot this last week. In the smaller cities and towns, the streets are empty. Good luck finding something to eat before 8 or 8:30.

We spend a typical day site seeing until early afternoon, then have a late lunch. Afterward it’s too hot to do much. So we adopt the customs of the locals, return to our lodging and relax until 8 or later when it cools down to the 80s. When we venture out for dinner most times we are the first seating, since many locals don’t come out for dinner until 9 or 10 PM.

The streets are bustling with families and friends out for strolls. Benches and sidewalk cafes are packed with folks. Seemingly all of Madrid is out and about. Maybe it’s too hot to cook at home. But maybe it’s part of the personality here, and possibly most of Europe, to enjoy meals for hours, socializing outdoors.

This makes me wonder what is the typical experience in a Spanish home? If most social engagements are happening away from home, then is home some quiet isolation to escape? I’d rather hope it’s a quiet refuge for reflection. What I’m hoping to be doing in a few hours once we arrive home. HOME.

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Del Prado Museum is our destination today, to see Francisco de Goya, Diego Velasquez and other masters. Goya is Tom’s favorite of the Spanish artists. And there are loads of Goya works to see here. Our first stop in the museum is to see the incredible “Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch sometime around 1500. Not much is known about Bosch, but no doubt he had some peculiar ideas. Reading the tryptic left to right, it’s essentially:

Paradise, whimsical and strange

You F@#$ Around, starting to get stranger

And Find Out, a gruesome hellscape, yet still whimsical.

Right off, Tom is reprimanded for attempting to photograph the Bosch triptic. But I’m able to surreptitiously snap a couple pics. I highly recommend taking a closer look at this incredible work. Even when the triptic panels are closed, the piece shows an intricate world, grey and slightly less dramatic.

Also of particular intrigue is the room with Goya’s “Black Paintings”. These are the works of a man with dark thoughts, a stark contrast to his paintings of the royals he was famous for. In his later years he bought a house and he painted these works on the papered walls. Years later they were removed (by a fascinating process) to display here in Del Prado. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to sneak any pics in this room.

Some painters I’ve never heard of before entranced us with near excruciating attention to details. One artist is the Flemish Van Stalbemt, who’s painting The Sciences and the Arts astounds. Also the collaborations between Rubens and Brueghel, The Five Senses, in which Rubens painted the figures while Brueghel painted the settings.

Sharp details are not the only quality in assessing how interesting a painting is, but Van Stalbemt and his contemporaries embraced the “paintings within a painting” technique with such deftness it is simply mind boggling. Don’t tell but I snuck a couple pics.

Tapas at the quirky Las Gatos refuel us for the walk back to our lodging. On our way, we wind up walking through the Barrio de las Letres which owes its name to the substantial literary activity taking place there during the 16th and 17th centuries. Cervantes and many other acclaimed Spanish authors are enshrined, their names shiny brass in the gray street, burnished to a high shine from countless pedestrians passing through. A choice either to marvel at the authors’ words, brush a favorite authors quote with an admiring toe or obliviously stepping over while shopping.

Our last full day in Madrid after another delicious breakfast at Tia Julia’s, we walk to the Real Jardin Botanico. The gardens are beautiful and expansive. We are reminded of all the yardwork that awaits us back in Portland. Later we enjoy dinner at a good Italian place near the Royal Palace. Back in our rooms we prepare for our journey back home.

I’m wondering how difficult our transition back to normal eating and sleeping patterns will be when we return. Not just jet lag. I’d like to retain siesta as a way of life, but late dinners not so much. For one thing, most places close up by 9PM at home. But not in Spain. Things are just getting started.

Now that we’ve been home for three weeks, I can tell you the adjustment was uneventful, rather quick and easy. Coming home is one of my favorite parts of any travel. Unpacking and starting laundry brings order to our temporary nomadic lifestyle. I feel the grounding sense of home, tending to my roots.

I’ve written previously about how the passage of time seems to slow when traveling. One drawback of returning to routine is the sense of the passage of time now begins to speed up. The challenge is to remember to step into the moment as much as possible. But also… begin planning and dreaming of our next adventure meandering through wonderful.

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