Spain - Our Top 10

Over our four weeks in Spain we were able to cover a lot of ground, visiting Madrid, Barcelona, and a number of cities in Andalusia with a short stopover in Lisbon part way through. Here are our favorite sites, most memorable meals, and must see attractions from our time in beautiful Spain!

Mezquita 

If you've had a chance to read up on our visit to the Mezquita in Cordoba, it's probably not a surprise that it took the top spot. From our first steps inside we were captivated by the forest of red and white arches, while the detail of the Mihrab and the stunning Renaissance chapel and alter rendered us speechless for the duration of our visit. 

Segovia

A popular day trip from Madrid, Segovia grabbed out attention with it's stunning aqueducts and held it throughout the afternoon with a display of breathtaking viewpoints, a fairytale like alcazar, and an incredible gothic cathedral.  

 
 

Markets Galore 

Travis may go for the food and Calli for anything kitschy, but in the end cheap prices and people watching is the great equalizer. We've found wonderful markets throughout Spain, from La Boqueria in Barcelona to San Miquel Market in Madrid, and wonderful small flea markets throughout Andalucia, we definitely got our fill of window shopping.

 

 

Alhambra 

The last and greatest palace complex of the Moorish civilization in Spain is not only Granada's crowning jewel but a definite must see as well. The lines may be long, the admission process a bit convoluted, and the site expansive, but any confusion and sore feet are immediately forgotten upon entering the Nasrid Palace. 

 

Seville's Alcazar 

Like much of Andalucia, the beauty within this building lies in the seamless melding of Islam and Christianity. Rennaisance ceilings in some rooms, intricate tile work in others, and a central garden and reflecting pond made famous by Ridley Scott.

 

Gaudi 

Gaudi devoted over forty years to shaping Barcelona's architectural landscape and today, the city, and millions of tourists each year, pay homage to his creative genius. With seven of his buildings categorized as protected UNESCO World Heritage sites there are plenty of chances to contemplate his unique style. 

 
Prado Museum 

Although the French Impressionists at the Thyssen topped our list of Top 10 Art - Spain and Portugal, the Prado museum won us over in the end. With a seemingly endless collection of paintings and sculpture it's possible to spend a week here and still not see everything.

 
Madrid's Architecture 

From the Cathedral to the Royal Palace to the Piazza Mayor to the Gran Via, no city thus far (except maybe Zagreb) has put on such a display of architecture. Wandering through the city we didn't know where to look next, or where to focus the camera.

 

 

Plaza de Espana 

Hearing it was a worth a look, we decided to wander towards Parque de Maria Luisa one morning during our time in Seville. We ended up spending half the morning exploring and photographing the amazing Plaza de Espana. In a city boasting one of the largest cathedrals in the world and the only alcazar still in use in Europe, the Plaza has some heavy competition and it definitely holds its own.

 

 

Atletico Madrid Match 

We had a blast walking around the stadium, watching old people scream at the players, and laughing as a young guy paced up and down the aisles "coaching" the players and yelling instructions to the (actual) coach across the stadium. Oh and seeing a 30 yard volley to win the game in the 94th minute wasn't too bad either.

 

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Top 10 Art - Spain and Portugal

After Travis' in depth review of Madrid's Museum Triangle and subsequent visits to the Calouste Gulbenkian and Berardo Museums in Lisbon (post coming soon), we thought it only fitting to share some of our favorite pieces from these collections, and possibly settle once and for all who has the better eye when it comes to art. 

You'll find our top five masterpieces below - I use that term loosely as we still aren't quite sure who determines what is and isn't art...

Travis' top five:

The Goya Sketches - Prado Museum

I am Still Learning (via)

There is Plenty to Suck (via)

Waterloo Bridge, Andre Derain - Thyssen Museum 

(via)

 
Dream caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second before Waking up, Salvador Dali- Thyseen Museum

(via)

Cana du Midi, Henri Matisse - Thyssen Museum

(via)

Mata Mua (In Olden Times), Paul Gaugin - Thyssen Museum

(via)

Calli's feelings on Travis' list (just for fun): A strange mix of styles, mediums, and themes, Travis' love of art mirrors his love of food - extremely varied, often exotic, and always in generous quantities. I'm really struggling with the Dali; where do you hang something like that and not a) have to see it every day or b) immediately create the impression that you are living in a horrible 70s bachelor pad, complete with ninja swords, an overly large taxidermy collection, and shag carpet? The only thing that would make that painting more scary is clowns.

Calli's top five:

Isabella II, Veiled, Camillo Torreggiani - Prado Museum

(via)

Portrait of a Peasant, Paul Cezanne - Thyssen Museum

(via)

Charing Cross Bridge, Claude Monet - Thyssen Museum

(via)

Racehorses in a Landscape, Edgar Degas 

(via)

Colored Campbell's Soup Can: 1965, Andy Warhol - Berardo Museum

Travis' take on Calli's picks (remember this is for fun...): To say that these are Calli's "favorite pieces" is maybe a bit of a stretch - these are more like the ones she found the least repulsive. To be fair though, this may have been a result of the 20km of "museum walking" that we did over two days, and the fact that on one of the days we had probably two hours of sleep on a bumpy bus ride through the night. Also, very little art has perfectly symmetrical straight lines...

So there you have it, our favorites from the museums we've visited in Spain and Portugal. We have a few more museum stops planned for the second half of our trip so make sure to circle around and see how we make out - Calli has tried to initiate a rule of one museum/week (on average) but it isn't gaining much traction.  

In the meantime, why not weigh in on the debate and share your opinion on our top five lists?

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Toledo Daytrip - Cathedrals, Art, and a Train Station

If you've had a chance to read up on our day trip to Segovia. you are already aware that we also decided to visit Toledo during our time in Madrid. If you weren't aware, sorry to have ruined the surprise.

We arrived in Toledo mid morning and were immediately impressed as our train pulled into the station. Our first real taste of Moorish inspired architecture, the station's brick facade is rivaled only by it's intricately tiled interior complete with original wood carved ticket windows and stained glass. 

Exterior with clock tower

Carved wood ticket counter and tile floors

Tiles walls, arched windows, and stained glass

Upon exiting the station we were met by the regular row of taxis and open-top tour buses offering transportation for 6-10 Euros. Although more affordable than most transportation offers we've encountered, being frugal and fit we chose to start walking and see where we ended up. The choice was a good one, as Toledo is only about 5 minutes be foot from the train station (albeit uphill), and the walk offers some great views of the city walls and the Tagus River. 

City walls and Alcazar

Bridged entryway

We spent a few hours exploring the narrow streets before stumbling onto the Cathedral, where a zumba group of about 250 people was part way through their workout routine in the main square. With techno blaring from the surprisingly large speakers, it was quite a sight to see tourists, old and young, joining in on the fun. All the commotion made entering the Cathedral a bit of an ordeal; however, once inside we found solitude, with only the faint rhythm of some Coldplay drifting through the main doors. 

The interior was impressive, an over-the-top gold alterpiece with multiple floor to ceiling organs as well as a second, ornately carved and painted Baroque alterpiece, all surrounded by richly decorated chapels. In addition to the stunning alters, the Cathedral features a small museum of original paintings, with multiple notable works by El Greco. 

Gilded Cathedral Alter

Exterior steeple

Smaller gated entry

Toledo had a lot to live up to after our jaw dropping visit to Segovia the day before, and perhaps our expectations were unfairly high as we felt a bit let down in the end. However, it's worth noting that Toledo also offers an Alcazar and many other churches to explore, we simply chose not to part with our hard earned Euros for a glimpse inside. Overall, both cities complimented each other well, but if we only had one day we'd head for Segovia. 


*A reminder, we post our full photo sets on Flickr, often thirty or more photos - accessible at the photo tab atop this page!

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Our Quest Into Art Snobbery (Part 1 - Spain)

As part of experiencing culture on our adventure through Europe, we thought it was only fitting that we put on our most convincing art snob impressions and tour through some of the best art galleries in the world. Being from British Columbia, this is something we rarely get to experience save for a fleeting exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery or great Canadian painters like Emily Carr and Ted Harrison.

With names like Velazquez, Goya, Picasso, and Dali in our heads, Madrid seemed like the perfect place to start our quest into the world of art snobbery. Madrid houses three of the best museums in Europe in the accurately nicknamed "Golden Triangle of Art" - the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, and the Reina Sofia. We set out early with comfortable shoes, some water, and some website pages saved on our phone. 

Useful Information: 

Prado Museum - open from 10am-8pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-7pm on Sunday; cost is 12 Euro (free for students) BUT last 2 hours of each day are free! 

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum - open from 10am-7pm Tuesday to Sunday and CLOSED Mondays; cost is 8 euro, no free entry time.

Reina Sofia Museum - open from 10am-9pm Monday, Wednesday to Saturday; Sunday 10am-230pm; CLOSED Tuesdays; 6 Euro, BUT free all-day Sun., Sat from 230pm-close, and every other day from 730pm-close.

The Prado Museum was our first stop. It is without a doubt the most famous museum in Madrid, and is ranked as the 11th most visited museum in the world. It contains a large collection of European art from the 12th to early 19th centuries, with a focus on Spanish art during these times. It is most famous for its extensive collection of famous Spanish pieces by Velasquez, Goya, and El Greco, as well as an extensive collection of European masters like Rubens, Titian, and Bosch. The collection is comprised of more than 8200 drawings, 7600 paintings, 4800 prints, and 1000 sculptures. 

One of the entrances before the morning rush

The interior of the Prado with a recreation being painted (via)

We quickly realized that the comments we overheard in line suggesting that "you could spend weeks in there and still not see everything" were not an overestimate. It is massive. After the first thirty minutes of our visit in which we looked at everything we came to, we had a quick team meeting, and decided we would continue to walk around but only stop and look at the pieces that caught our eye (and the "famous" ones, of course). Even this took a long time. Just seeing and appreciating the Velasquez and Goya rooms (there are lots of them) could take a whole day. We did our best and by the time we left we felt like we'd seen more than our money's worth in our 5 hours there.

Las meninas  - The masterpiece of Diego Velasquez (via)

El tres de Mayo 1808 - One of Goya's masterpieces

Some of the highlights for us included listening in on other people's guided tours (for free!); learning about the actual history of the building and the collection (which is fascinating); wondering why Rubens, and for that matter nearly every artist there, drew so many naked ladies frolicking around; staring in amazement as modern artists and art students recreated the paintings right in the actual rooms; Goya's "dark paintings"; and wandering around the remains of the monastery of San Jeronimo in the museum's newest expansion.

Our next stop, after resting our feet for a few minutes, was the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (the website is actually very user-friendly and full of cool information). Located just a few minutes' walk from the Prado, it houses the personal collections of the Thyssen-Bornemisza family (mainly Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza and his fifth wife Carmen "Tita" Cervera). They made the collection open to the public in 1992 and subsequently sold it outright to the Spanish Government one year later. The collection essentially "fills the gaps" between the collections at the Prado and the Reina Sophia, but with some overlapping periods. 

The entrance to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (via)

The Thyssen is definitely smaller than the Prado, but we enjoyed that it was far less busy - especially as it was midday when we finally got there. The prescribed pathway leads you chronologically from the start of the collection, but we just went in whatever direction we felt like (we can't help it!). Some of the older pieces did not have as big an impact as we had just come from the Prado, but the collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings by the likes of Monet, Cezanne, and Degas was marvelous. 

El Puente de Charing Cross by Claude Monet (via)

"Les Vessenots" in Auvers by Vincent Van Gogh (via)

Our highlights were definitely the journey though 600 years of art, the display where you could watch experts examining and restoring Tintoretto's The Paradise, trying to imagine what the collection owners' house would have looked like before they made their collection public, and actually seeing the paintings we watch Matt Bomer/Neal Caffrey talk about stealing on White Collar right in front of our eyes.

With our "dogs barking" (as Calli would say) we gingerly made our way to the final stop on our tour - The Reina Sofia Museum. The focus of the museum is modern art (mainly by Spanish artists), and thus it is set in a cool building (formerly an 18th century hospital) with two glass elevators in front. The museum contains pieces by the most famous modern Spanish artists including the likes of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Juan Gris, and Joan Miro, as well as pieces by Wassily Kandinsky, Yves Tanguy, Robert Delaunay, and many others.

The exterior of the Reina Sofia (via)

Staircase - almost as cool as the elevators

Like many modern art museums, parts of it are very confusing - the weird, obviously acid-inspired movies (sorry...films), the sculptures that merely consist of fluorescent light tubes attached to a wall or paper scattered on the ground, and the out-of-focus photos all rendered us bewildered. However, the vast majority of the paintings were fabulous to look at and try and figure out.

 

One of Calli's favorite rooms.

Art?

Guernica  by Pablo Picasso (via)

Top Calli comments of the day:

About Picasso - "If you're gonna draw somebody, at least draw them in proportion."  

While looking at a Kandinsky - "I like it, it looks like really pretty wrapping paper."

Whispering to me "I know you're not supposed to but can you take a picture of that one?" me - "do you like that one" Calli - "I guess, but I love that frame!"

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