A Very Sad Painting

When I was in high school, art was my favourite subject. At one point, I wanted to go to the Ontario College of Art, but I went to a high school where people went on to university, not college. So with my mother's encouragement, I enrolled in Architecture at UofT instead. But I have always enjoyed art and visiting art galleries.Madrid is a great city for those with an interest in art. There are many galleries, most notably the Prado and Thysson-Bornemisza. The museum of more contemporary and modern art is less celebrated. The Centro de Arte Reina Sofia has some very impressive works by Dali, Picasso, and Miro. But the gallery itself is not very attractive, nor well laid out. It was not a pleasant experience trying to navigate the spaces.

Nor was it pleasant to come across a painting by Alfonso de Ponce de Leon. A 1936 self-portrait, it showed a person being hit by a car. Sally noted the artist died in the same year that it was painted and we assumed that he had decided to commit suicide by stepping in front of a car.

But I subsequently decided to google the artist, and this is what I found.

An important Spanish artist of the 1930s. Influenced by Surrealism, he developed a more literal, naturalistic approach, with mysterious elements to create a sense of unease. His most famous painting is "Self-Portrait (Accident)" (1936). ... His friends included Luis Buñuel and Federico Garcia Lorca, for whose Barraca Theatre he designed the sets for the plays "La Guarda Cuidadosa" and "El Burlador de Sevilla". Despite these associations his politics veered sharply to the right. In late 1933 he joined the newly-formed fascist Falange and created many propaganda posters and cartoons; this made him a marked man after the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936. Two months later Ponce de León, his father and two brothers were taken and shot by Republican extremists, and their bodies left in a ditch outside Madrid.

On a related note, a few more surreal pieces, and a very famous Picasso.

Toledo: Romans, Muslims and Jews

When I told my good friend John Swift we would be spending a few days in Madrid, before taking the non-stop flight back to Vancouver, he said, well of course, you'll be going to Toledo. So Saturday morning we set off by train.As soon as you arrive at the Moorish styled train station with its highly decorative stone and brickwork, combined with intricately carved wood and stained glass, you know Toledo is a different kind of place. Thirty minutes by train from Madrid, this hill-top city with a population of 57,000 is one of Spain's most visited cities. And for good reasons.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since the mid 80’s, the city was first settled by the Romans before the CE, and subsequently conquered by the Muslims in the 8th Century. Around the end of the 11th century the Vatican established Toledo as a centre for the Catholic Church. Toledo was also an important centre for Jews who had migrated there from Rome and the Middle East, and for the next 4 centuries Christians, Muslims, and Jews coexisted reasonably well, generally within their own sectors of the city.
However shortly after 1492, Spain's Muslims and Jews were ordered to convert or flee. Their buildings and places of worship were converted to Catholic facilities, and the succession of religions has left its mark on this city. Many of the buildings have a very unique medieval architecture and other related styles which combine patches of brickwork and stone in amazing patterns.

Important buildings in the city include the Alcazar which dominates the city skyline, the 16th C Museo de Santa Cruz, the Cathedral which is also very visible on the skyline, and the Iglesia San Ildefonso. The old Jewish quarter, with two remaining synagogues is today celebrated as a tourist attraction.
While I do not regularly attend the synagogue in Vancouver, I regularly visit synagogues in other cities, especially when they are old. Toledo's Sinagoga del Transito is very old. It was built in the mid 14th Century and is surprisingly intact despite its subsequent use as army barracks, Catholic Church and residence. Today it has been renovated and refitted as a Jewish Sephardic Museum. It is very well done, and appeals to both Jews, and non-Jews interested in learning about the history and culture of Sephardic Jews, who lived in Spain. Admission is free.Close by is the Sinagoga de Santa Blanca which is even older! It was constructed in the 12th century. Here there is a modest admission charge. While photos are not permitted, I could not resist taking a couple of pictures of the large vaulted ceiling which is unlike any synagogue I have ever seen.Unlike the Sephardic Museum, there was no real display. Instead, there was a very modest exhibition of Jewish-style art, overseen by a gentle and smiling nun who sat at a table. At first I was a bit shocked by the lack of activity, and the presence of the nun, but then realized the Jews had long been banished, there really is no need for a functioning synagogue there today, and the Catholic Church has now taken over the facility. Sally suggested the nun was there to suggest to Jewish visitors that the community hopes there are no hard feelings.With its steep terrain, very narrow streets and unique architecture, Toledo is a delightful destination for a day trip. However, sadly tourism is overwhelming the town and as Sally rightly noted, it does not really have the charm or beauty of Cadaques or Pals on the Costa Brava, or so many of the beautiful places we have visited while in Spain.

So at 6:30 we managed to trade in our 9:30 return train tickets for 7:30 tickets and as I write, we are heading home for a last night in Madrid. It's a holiday weekend, and if last night was any indication, the city is going to be hopping.

The Oldest Restaurant in the World

I remember attending the 25th Anniversary Celebration at the deservedly successful Bridges Restaurant on Granville Island and everyone was remarking on what an accomplishment it was to last so long in the restaurant business. So imagine my surprise when Sally asked whether we should try and reserve a table at the oldest restaurant in the world, since it was in Madrid.

"How old is it?" I asked. And who says it's the oldest in the world?"

"It was founded in 1725. It's 385 years old, and the Guinness Book of Records has verified its status and authenticity".

When we reserved a table by phone without any difficulty for 10:15 that night, I started to get a bit concerned. But when we arrived, my concerns evaporated. With people lined up outside the door, and a very unusual, and evidently old interior configuration, I suspected it might be all right. And it was.

The restaurant is called Sobrino de Botin, and on the counter were reduced copies of the Guiness Book of Records certification. The first building on the street of 'Cuchilleros' (Cutlers) which got its name from the many workships situated there at the end of the 16th century was a cellar in a shanty one floor house. In 1590, permission was granted for a new building that served as an inn, with residences above.

In 1725, the ground floor was renovated to serve as a restaurant and an inscription above the main door recalls the date. The restaurant has been in continuous operation ever since.

The menu might best be described as 'traditional', varied, and not overly expensive. I guess that's why they have lasted in business so long. The choice of dishes was similar to what we found in many Madrid restaurants with hors d'oevres including roast red peppers with codfish, various Iberian hams, black sausage from Burgos, croquettes, and anchovy dishes.

There were a number of scrambled egg dishes which is quite common...one with black pudding and potato, others with green asparagus, smoked salmon and shrimp. Fish dishes included baby eels, a special clam dish, mixed fish in casserole, Cantabrian hake, and baby squids in their own ink with rice. (Sally passed on this since she had had it the night before.)

The vegetable dishes included assorted vegetables with Iberian ham, artichoke hearts with Iberian ham, green beens with Iberian ham, segovia style big mushrooms and eggplants cordobesa style. I hesitated to ask if they came with ham.

The meat dishes included included stewed partridge (I had that the night before), chicken fricassee, veal, chicken and beef dishes.

However, according to our guide book and the menu, the two longstanding specialties of the house were suckling pig and roast lamb cooked in the ancient wood-fired oven "firmly built, tastefully decorated with exceptional tiles, where the wood of the evergreen oak gives the heat and the very special taste."

Of course we decided to order the specials. Since we had been eating tapas on our way down to the restaurant, we just had their special Botin salad to start (which included various olives, beets, tuna, and a few vegetables I couldn't recognize, and yes, some ham), a bottle of Madrid regional wine, and a pitcher of Sangria as an aperitif. (Many of the tables seemed to be having the Sangria, and we had had an excellent version in L'Escala on the coast.) While we definitely do not recommend this sangria, we can vouch for the pig and lamb. For dessert, we had the artisinal manchego cheese.

The young Italian couple at the next table had the Italian version of our guide book. They too were enjoying the pig and lamb, and later joined us in taking photos of the travelling musicians who came down to our cellar to serenade us around midnight.

Even at this hour, the restaurant was quite full, and Sally and I are now worrying whether we will be able to adjust to much earlier dinners, in much younger restaurants, when we shortly return to Vancouver.

Madrid's Rooftops

When Ray Spaxman was director of Planning in Vancouver, he used to talk about how important it was to create pedestrian interest at grade, but travelling around Madrid, while there is certainly a lot happening at the base of the buildings, I find that I am more fascinated by the rooftops....

Madrid: after two days

While I had seen Spanish movies filmed in Madrid, and enjoyed the Madrid Pavilion at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, I really didn't know what to expect to find when I arrived in Madrid this past Wednesday. A few people had told us they had heard it gets awfully hot in the summer, and most Madrilenos who have the choice, escape the city.

Unlike Barcelona, which many friends had visited and highly recommended, few of our friends had been to Madrid. So we were somewhat apprehensive about what we would find.

Since we were planning to spend one day in nearby Toledo, we decided to book 4 nights in a hotel before getting our direct flight back to Vancouver. We considered another AC hotel, but after a bit of research, Sally thought we should try the number one rated hotel (out of 458) on TripAdvisor, a website we have used extensively.After arriving by bullet train from Barcelona in less than 3 hours, we were not disappointed, either with the hotel, or our first impressions of the city. We have now been here for two days, and are still fascinated by the place.

The Hotel Atlantico is located on the Gran Via, an urban 'expressway' that was carved through the city 100 years ago. I know it's 100 years old since the city is celebrating its centenary this year with banners and a series of events....including running blue carpeting the length of the street this past May!

The hotel was built in 1921 in what can only be described as an eclectic style, during an era of significant redevelopment in Madrid. However it has been substantially renovated over the years, and today has about 100 rooms, a small elegant breakfast restaurant on the first floor (the reasonably priced breakfast includes cava and three different kinds of orange juice) , and lounges and a roof-top terrace on top.

Our bathroom has twin sinks, two shower heads, and floor to ceiling doors leading to a small balcony. The attention to detail throughout the room is outstanding. The safe is specially sized to accommodate a laptop computer, something an increasing number of travelers desire, but rarely find.

Now as for Madrid, if Barcelona is Vancouver or San Francisco, Madrid is Toronto or Chicago. It seems a bit edgier and lively, although it's hard to imagine a place livelier than Barcelona. Barcelona is older than Madrid, and while the latter doesn't have an area comparable to L'Eixample, it does have many grand streets, squares and public places. There are marvelous buildings in every conceivable architectural style, and a few inconceivable styles, including what is called 'Madrid Baroque'.

The city is surprisingly green, with numerous parks and gardens, including a very large park right in the centre of the city.

It also has a lot of impressive palaces and government buildings (after all, it is the capital of Spain). We had been told that one of its best features (especially in the hot summer) is the large number of truly world class museums where the art of Spain and much of the world is on display. (After visiting a few, we didn't see any Canadian art, although we might have missed it.)

The most famous and impressive museum is The Prado, although we thoroughly enjoyed the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum which showcases the private collection of a now deceased German Hungarian Baron and businessman and his wife. Not only is the collection spectacular, (I'm not talking about a few paintings on display; in total, there are more than 1,000 works by most of the world's most famous artists), but the gallery is very well designed. Once the palace residence of the Baron and his wife, it was recently expanded to showcase both the Baron's collection and the Baronesses' personal collection. (She was a former Miss Spain who was previously married to an actor who played Tarzan).

After two days, we have only seen a small part of the city, and It is difficult to describe it in a few words. So here are a few pictures of the central city, many of which were taken from the top of the hop-on, hop-off bus known as Madrid Vision. I'm told it's no relation....