Palacio Real
Oh, oh, I am sooooo lagging on the blog here. Please forgive me, for I have been ill and busy. It's been a couple of weeks since I visited the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) in Madrid, but I wanted to share the photos and impressions. Unfortunately, the experience was tainted by food poisoning that hit me right in the middle of my visit. And to think, it was one of the best pasta salads I'd ever eaten...
I took the metro to the stop nearest to the palace and made my way to the plaza in front of the palace. Directly across from the palace is the Catedral de la Nuestra Señora de Almudena. The church is striking, but the doors were what really impressed me.
Catedral de la Nuestra Señora de Almudena
Door One
Door Two
And What's Behind Door Three?
I then made my way to the palace grounds, paid the entry fee, and started to walk around. First, I took in the views from different angles in the courtyard.
Main Entrance to the Palace
View from the Courtyard Looking South
Happiness Before the Intestinal Tempest
That view from the courtyard overlooks Casa de Campos, the park that borders my house. If you look really closely, somewhere in the upper left is the amusement park that is connected to my metro stop. OK, maybe you can't see it, but it's there, trust me.
I moved on to the Royal pharmacy, and started to wonder why this was a must-see sight on the Madrid tour checklist. Rows of jars and flasks are not really my idea of important historical artifacts.
The next section was a special art exhibition featuring paintings by Italian painter Corrado Giaquinto. He was the official painter for the royal court of Ferdinand VI. Giaquinto did many of the frescoes in the Royal Palace, and his paintings in the exhibit were really intense. As I walked from the exhibit to the main entrance, I was immediately awed by his work on the ceiling of the Great Stairway into the palace.
His frescoes decorated the walls and ceilings of many of the rooms, and I loved how they often overlapped the intricate inlays and sculptures throughout the palace, giving them a three-dimensional feel.
I was soon convinced that this was definitely a must-see on the Spanish tour. I have never seen such extravagance as I witnessed inside the palace... or at least I'd never seen it done quite like that.
Some of the rooms were decorated completely in a theme. The one below took its inspiration from the orient, I believe.
One room was decorated entirely in porcelain. The pieces are jointed for easy disassembly and cleaning.
More beauty in room number 48 or something like that...
The throne room was also really amazing, but way too dark for me to get a photo. Here's a kind of sketchy pic from someone else who had a little faster camera - or maybe a good connection with the security guards :)
By this time, I was doubled over in agony, but no pain is too great to keep me from finishing my photos for a blog entry, hehe. It was like a million degrees outside, and I needed water badly, so I got a water to go at the cafeteria and barely made my way to the metro home. After sleeping for several hours, I felt much better. Many stomach troubles on this trip, but I'm hoping it's on the up and up.
Moral of the story: GO to the Palacio Real if you get a chance. BE CAREFUL of warm pasta salads. GET air conditioning if you're moving to Madrid.
Love,
Chrome
Oh, oh, I am sooooo lagging on the blog here. Please forgive me, for I have been ill and busy. It's been a couple of weeks since I visited the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) in Madrid, but I wanted to share the photos and impressions. Unfortunately, the experience was tainted by food poisoning that hit me right in the middle of my visit. And to think, it was one of the best pasta salads I'd ever eaten...
I took the metro to the stop nearest to the palace and made my way to the plaza in front of the palace. Directly across from the palace is the Catedral de la Nuestra Señora de Almudena. The church is striking, but the doors were what really impressed me.
I then made my way to the palace grounds, paid the entry fee, and started to walk around. First, I took in the views from different angles in the courtyard.
That view from the courtyard overlooks Casa de Campos, the park that borders my house. If you look really closely, somewhere in the upper left is the amusement park that is connected to my metro stop. OK, maybe you can't see it, but it's there, trust me.
I moved on to the Royal pharmacy, and started to wonder why this was a must-see sight on the Madrid tour checklist. Rows of jars and flasks are not really my idea of important historical artifacts.
The next section was a special art exhibition featuring paintings by Italian painter Corrado Giaquinto. He was the official painter for the royal court of Ferdinand VI. Giaquinto did many of the frescoes in the Royal Palace, and his paintings in the exhibit were really intense. As I walked from the exhibit to the main entrance, I was immediately awed by his work on the ceiling of the Great Stairway into the palace.
His frescoes decorated the walls and ceilings of many of the rooms, and I loved how they often overlapped the intricate inlays and sculptures throughout the palace, giving them a three-dimensional feel.
I was soon convinced that this was definitely a must-see on the Spanish tour. I have never seen such extravagance as I witnessed inside the palace... or at least I'd never seen it done quite like that.
Some of the rooms were decorated completely in a theme. The one below took its inspiration from the orient, I believe.
One room was decorated entirely in porcelain. The pieces are jointed for easy disassembly and cleaning.
More beauty in room number 48 or something like that...
The throne room was also really amazing, but way too dark for me to get a photo. Here's a kind of sketchy pic from someone else who had a little faster camera - or maybe a good connection with the security guards :)
By this time, I was doubled over in agony, but no pain is too great to keep me from finishing my photos for a blog entry, hehe. It was like a million degrees outside, and I needed water badly, so I got a water to go at the cafeteria and barely made my way to the metro home. After sleeping for several hours, I felt much better. Many stomach troubles on this trip, but I'm hoping it's on the up and up.
Moral of the story: GO to the Palacio Real if you get a chance. BE CAREFUL of warm pasta salads. GET air conditioning if you're moving to Madrid.
Love,
Chrome
posted by Chromest*r at 2:21 AM
1 Comments:
Wow! Beautiful palace - and nice pics. Hopw your tummy woes are behind you. ;) (Oh you KNOW that pun was intended...)
Congrats on getting your blog "ready" for public consumption!
Matt
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