We got a wake up knock from housekeeping this morning at 11:00 am. What a shocker. We thought going to bed at 10:00am would solve the jet lag. Guess we were wrong about that. Alternatively, we have adjusted quite well to siestas.
We spent the entire afternoon at the Prado, a museum which lives up to its world class reputation. I saw works I’ve never before seen except in reproductions. Some of them surprised me with unexpected color and details. Among those we were most delighted by were Velazquez’ Las Meninas, Goya’s 3rd of May, Durer’s Self Portrait, and for those of you who got the visual joke in yesterday’s post, the real Naked Maja. Kathy, we saw Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights and were reminded of our lovely time with you and John in the Lisbon Museum of Antiquity. There was a room entirely dedicated to murals removed from Goya’s home. His personal works are so much more expressive than the court pieces. Perhaps the piece that impressed upon both of us the most was Van Der Weyden’s Decent from the Cross, a work of near perfect composition, technique, color and emotional impact.
After, we enjoyed some small tapas at the bar* next to our hotel. I thought my Spanish was working really well until Wayne pointed out that our waiter spoke English.
We returned to the hotel where Wayne worked out while I ate chocolate and listened to Leonard Cohen. Then we returned to the area behind our hotel of muchos tapas bars for dinner. I ordered what I thought was grilled mushrooms but was in fact steak. All was good, but I obviously continue to work on my comprehension skills. Hasta mañana. *
kathrynlima
Sounds like when we met you in Lisbon and all overslept because of the darkening shutters in the room! And I’m with you on the siestas. Javier Falcon, the Inspector Jefe in Seville in Robert Wilson’s series, has lunch at 1:00 and sleeps until about 4:00 or 5:00, after which he resumes his day. Dinner at 11:00 p.m., of course. Muy bien!