Art galleries, oh my!

Madrid has an excellent collection of art spread over three internationally-profiled galleries. We dutifully bought our combined ticket, and knocked off two of them (the third closed early today).

The first, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, had the most (relatively) minor collection, but was very well laid out. It was possible to walk chronologically, and lineraly, through the entire collection. This approach is very insightful vis a vis the history of art and its development from Romanesque to Modern, and we enjoyed the galleries very much.

The second, Museo Nacional del Prado, was so popular as to be Madrid's Louvre, but had a disappointingly schizophrenic and rambling lay-out. It was also run by frustratingly small-minded museum staff. I was looking forward to a particular painting by El Greco (it features on a Vangelis album cover, the music of which is themed to the artist's work) which, although part of the permanent collection, was hanging in the temporary exhibition space. It was visible from the exit so I asked the guard to let me have a closer look - afterall, I had paid to see it and I wasn't interested in the temporary exhibition (Picasso, of whom we'd already seen plenty). Long story short, after much heated discussion, he pointedly refused - despite the painting being only a few feet away. So close and yet so far - you may understand why I was so riled.

The second, Museo Nacional del PradoToday we saw work by Agnolo Gaddi, Barnardo Daddi, Simone Martini, Jan Van Eyck, Della Robbia, Uccello, Gozzoli, Veneziano, Holbein, Ghirlandaio, Piero della Francesca, Crespi, Tintoretto, Fra Bartolomeo, Fra Angelico, Carpaccio, Titian, Lorenzo Lotto, Bronzino, Raphael, Botticelli, Il Veronese, Tiepolo, El Greco, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Goya, Velazquez, Bosch, Carreggio, Parmigianino, Cranach, Durer, Rubens, Brueghel, Corot, Gainsborough, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Waterhouse, Fragonard, Manet, Whistler, Gericault, Van Gogh, Pissarro, Monet, Sisley, Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Sargent, Pierre Bonnard, Vuillard, Gauguin, Munch, Braque, Otto Dix, Grosz, Kirchner, Mondrian, Leger, Krupka, Popova, Klee, Chagall, Magritte, Dali, Ernst, Miro, de Kooning, Pollock, Rothko, Bacon, Rauschenberg, Lichtenstein, Kandinsky, Robert Delauney, Matisse, Derain, Picasso, Juan Gris, O'Keefe and Modigliani, (in vague order).

Random photos

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Random Anna photo









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Random Mike photo

Madrid walkies

Finally made our way onto the mean streets of Madrid for a walkabout. We're a bit off the beaten track, so we caught a Metro up to the Plaza de Isabel II with its nice view of the Teatro Real (rebuilt in the 90s after being blown up a few times). Made our way through the lovely Jardines Cabo Noval to the Plaza de Orient outside our first stop, the Palacio Real de Madrid.

Built from 1734 onwards, this monstrosity has 2,800 rooms (a quarter of that planned by the architect before his premature death). It's yet another grand affair, and somewhat blinding in the sun due to the white stone of the facade and the massive white gravel courtyard. We have yet to figure out how people of ages past kept their eyes open without sunglasses.

Much like the Palazzo Real in Naples and the Doge's Palace in Venice, the visit comprises room after room of opulent trappings - including a room whose very walls are made entirely out of porcelain relief sculptures. There's also an impressive collection of chandeliers, clocks, Stradivarious instruments and Goya portraits, as well as the Farmacia Real (Royal apothecary) and the Armeria Real (Royal Armoury). This later exhibition was very interesting, and included a number of ornate suits of armour for children (one hopes - unless the Spaniards of yesteryear were very short).

We also popped our heads into the neighbouring Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Almudena which, despite its fancy facade, is refreshingly simple on the inside, without the baroque frivolities or Gothic over-detailing we have become used to. Outside we saw the remains of the Arab Wall from the 9th C - now home to a colony of vagrants.

Finished off with a nice promenade to the Plaza Mayor - in its time a thriving a public space, now only notable for the frescoes on the outside of the Casa de la Panaderia - and the Plaza de la Puerta del Sol. Sol is considered Point Zero in Madrid, and is a bustling semicircle of roads and shopping arcades. There is a lovely statue here of the city's symbol, a bear nuzzling a madroño (strawberry tree), who has been silent witness to the uprising against French occupation in 1808, the assassination of a prime minister in 1912 and the proclamation of the Second Republic in 1931.

Madrid

Hola! We are now in Madrid, capital city of Spain. Not as picturesque as Barcelona, but there are still plnenty of trees. To tell the truth, we haven't wandered very far yet as our apartment has all the creature comforts - including a computer with ADSL. So we've been taking it easy since we arrived, concentrating on living like the locals - buying yummy food and beer at the supermarket, eating tapas from the local restaurant and generally having a siesta. Which is not to say we haven't done anything - this morning we went to the famous Madrid markets. This has been taking place on Sundays since medieval times, and sells everything: produce, furniture, old junk (yay!), old books (yay!), tools, computer peripherals and clothing. And guess what? Our street is the marketplace! It's quite fun watching the crowds from the window of our place. We even waved to a throng of enthusiastic Hari Krishnas.

Barcelona left-overs

Returned to the Trade Fair grounds at the base of Montjuic to tick off a couple more items on our Barcelona list.

The Mies van der Rohe pavilion: a recreation (in situ) of a groundbreaking building design from the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. A very interesting space, where every angle begs for a photograph.

Caixa Forum: a collection of contemporary Spanish art owned by the Caixa national bank, the highlight of which was a temporary exhibition of animated shorts (some arty-fartier than others).

Montjuic

Started the day with breakfast in bed. A nice change of pace, but the brekky wasn't terrific. Caught the Metro and a Funicular (always fun) part-way up Montjuic, so named (translates as Jewish Mountain) for the Jewish cemetary, and possible settlement, there used to be. Plenty of places to visit here:

1. Fundacio Joan Miro: A large collection of work by this Spanish artist, which we enjoyed even though information was scarce. In summary, Miro has a very idiosyncratic style, and he developed a personal symbology and abstracted forms that are often quite whimsical, and endeared him to the surrealists. There were also homage works by Rauschenberg, Duchamp, Ernst, Masson, Matisse, Christo and Acconci.

2. Castell de Montjuic: A punishing acent up the hill, rewarded with a beer break. This 17th C castle was used as a political prison and execution ground, but now houses a military museum. Splendid views of the city, which sprawls immensely across the bay. Met a nice couple - Christian and Marieke - from Holland, and arranged to meet for dinner.

3. Museu Nacionale d'Art de Catalunya: Built for the 1929 World Exhibition, this is huge and beautifully laid-out collection. A world-class set of Romanesque frescoes and altarpieces harvested from decaying churches in Catalonia gives way to a display of minor works by a wide array of Renaissance artists such as Velazquez, Rubens, Carracci, Titian, Lotto, Il Veronese, Goya, Perugino, Lorenzo Monaco, Gaddi, Fra Angelico, El Greco, Tintoretto and Gainsborough.

Long walk home, then another nice dinner at Attic with our new Dutch friends. Had a good time discussing beer, housing prices, marijuana, travel and theme parks. Very interesting!

Eixample

Back on the Gaudi (and assorted other Modernista architects) trail, this time in the upper class suburb of Eixample - pronounced 'aye-sharmplah'.

1. Casa Batllo: Gaudi's sea-metaphor, a building with undulating walls and ceilings, aqaumarine tiles and fish-like forms. Captain Nemo would have been at home here.

2. Casa Lleo Morera: Modernista building by Lluis Domenech.

3. Casa Amatiler: art nouveau decorative features and colourful tiles, by Josep Puig i Cadafalch.

4. Fundacio Antoni Tapies: Modernista building housing the work of Spanish artist Tapies.

5. La Pedrera: another Gaudi Flintstone's extravaganza, this time a large apartment complex. More parabolic walls, and a roof full of crazy chimneys.

6. Palau del Baro Quadras: a floral facade and neo-Gothic sculptures, by Puigi i Cadafalch.

7. Casa de les Punxes: Cadafalch again, this time in the shape of a fairy-tale castle with pointed turrets.

Had a great lunch at de Tapa Madre, except their machine had issues with my Visa card and we couldn't quite cover the bill. Shame, as we had wanted to leave a decent tip for our excellent waitress.

European soft drinks

Every country seems to have it's own varieties of Fanta, much to my good fortune, but France and England seem to be the only Cherry Coke nations.

FRANCE

• Fanta Orange - Nouvelle Recette + de sensations fuitees: new recipe it may be, but it's not very nice.
• Orangina: still tops
• Orangina light: okay if you want aspartame with your Orangina
• Coke light - Nouvelle Recette: a definite improvement on Diet Coke. Much like NZ's Coke Zero.
• Fanta Citron frappe: a decent lemon soda. Outclasses Italy's Fanta Gusto Limone.
• Fanta Greenz - Melon, Citron vert, Pomme, aux extraits de Ginseng - will be sadly missed. A lovely zesty melon flavoured drink.

SPAIN

• Fanta Tailandia sabor Pomelo Rosa: delicious pink grapefruit flavour
• Fanta Maldivas Shokata sabor Citrico y Elderflower: sitting on my bedside shelf. Won't last long with a name that intriguing.

Ports and Picasso

Threatened to rain all day but never quite did, though it has been awfully muggy throughout. Spent the day on foot, and managed to cover quite a bit of ground.

Started off with the usual amble down La Rambla (a popular boulevard near our hotel) to have a peek at the produce markets. There was nothing we hadn't already seen in Sicily or Naples, so we went instead to Gaudi's Palau Guell in time for the guided tour - except the house is closed for restoration at the moment. Sigh.

Went to the end of La Rambla and had a walk along the waterfront Port de Barcelona. Saw the Christopher Columbus statue, crossed the rotatable bridge Rambla de Mar and then had a stroll through the Parc de la Ciutadella. This is a decent sized flat park, with the Barcelona zoo flanking it on one side (we were tempted, but the steep price put us off) and the Catalonian Parliament buildings on the other. There is also a wonderful fountain here by Fontsere & Gaudi called the Cascada - it looks like a wild waterfall, with rocks and mosses and grass, but with classical statues built into it. Very clever.

Ate a traditional Basque lunch at the Centre Cultural Euskal Etxea - who, incidentally, do a mean creamed rice with citrus peel and cinammon - and lined up for our compulsory visit to the Museu Picasso. This represents his early work well, but is a bit sparse on his later efforts (okay by me as I'm not really a fan). His formative attempts, however, are prodigious and impressive.

Next, we finally made it past the goose-festooned cloister of the Barcelona cathedral and into the church itself (despite my usual sleeveless shirt). Very similar to those we'd already seen, but we got to have a walkabout on the roof which was interesting and gave us some lovely photo opportunities.

Finished the day with a return visit to the Sinagoga Major (we spent quite some time outside the other day, waiting for it to open... which it never did!). This is the oldest synagogue in Europe, where the Roman remains are visibly oriented toward Jerusalem. Not much to see though, and it felt like a rip-off since you can see everything while standing at the ticketing desk. It's basically one exposed cellar floor, with no information provided. Oh well!

Gaudi trail

Wasted several hours this morning searching for the American Express office, to redeem some traveller's cheques. Finally found it, and still got charged 1% on a supposedly commission-free transaction. I hate Amex and I hope this blog entry turns up everytime anyone does a Google search for "traveller's cheques".

Anyway, onto more productive things! Had a nice cooked breakky at a greasy spoon, then popped onto the Metro (first time in Spain) for a ride out to Gaudi's Parc Guell. This is a vast public space designed by Gaudi. No grass (too hot?), and it's a weird rambling affair with prehistoric overtones. Kind of like Fred Flinstone meets claymation.

Lots of nice sights though - Gaudi's little mosaic dragon/fountain, the Sala Hipostila (a forest of columns and mosaic seats), some seemingly Hansel & Gretel houses and the Casa Museu Gaudi - his home until death, and now a collection of memorabilia. Ate a nice lunch by a vast bed of tulips, and watched the rats sneaking food out of a nearby rubbish bin. One heroic effort was rewarded with a large block of cheese.

Afterwards, we took a big big walk (and short beer stop) to Gaudi's Temple Expiation de la Sagrada Familia (Holy Family). This massive church is his piece de la resistance, and remains uncompleted 80 years after his death. Current estimates are for another 20 or 30 years of work. Wow.

Nonetheless it's an awesome experience, which I can't quite sum up. Suffice to say that it's more interesting than any other church we've been in so far.

Barcelona

Barcelona is a very colourful city. The architecture is almost entirely interesting, there are heaps of people, quite a few beggars, lots of redeemably-talented buskers, and open air pet shops in the public squares sell turtles, chinchillas, ferrets, and baby squirrels (!)

After a late start, we went to the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat to bone up on the origins of the city. Was originally a Roman colony named "Barcino", and there are excellent excavations under the museum showing the original streets, and Roman shops such as laundries, fish factories and wine-makers. There was also an interesting temporary exhibition on the new-wave modern architects who tried to reshape urban development in the 30s, but who were disrupted (and often arrested) by the fascists post-36.

Visited the ruins of nearby Roman walls (these originally circled the old city, but are now eitehr demolished or built over) and the Eglesia de Santa Maria del Pi with the world's reputedly largest rose window (stained glass, that is). We weren't able to find the remains of the old synagogue (if it exists), but we also stumbled into the Ajuntament (Town Hall) which was displaying a collection of parade floats - including another Tarasque monster!

SQUIRREL WATCH: You can buy them here!

Bye bye Mum & Dad

A sad morning, as we had to say goodbye to my parents, who had so graciously accommodated us for the previous few weeks. So long, and thanks for all the fish! *

So - we left France for Spain (Barcelona). Sadly, instead of the nice, air-conditioned Renault, we had an 8 hour train ride. This was mostly okay, but the train was boarded by 3,000 kids at Port Bou (we think they had been on a school camp), and there were no windows. Yeesh. Not recommended.

Fortunately, Barcelona immediately appears to be a wonderful city. We had a great dinner at "Attic". I recommend the divine sundried tomatos. Sell your children if necessary.

* not just a Douglas Adams reference, as I am progressing well in my vegetarianism. Am now down to just the occasional fish.

Avignon

Only the briefest of visits, but Avignon appears to be a delightful city and we would be happy to return. We spent most of our time here using the internet (sigh) and eating a wonderful lunch from the boulangerie. Circumnavigated the "Palais des Papes" (Papal palace) and popped our heads into the local "Notre Dame" cathedral, which was a nice cool retreat from the beating sun!

Great Scott!

I discovered, by mere chance, that Sir Ridley Scott owns a vinyard in Provence, and moreover, that he was filming an adaptation of "A Good Year" (starring Russell Crowe) here in Provence! How could I not know this? I am so ashamed.

Consequently, I couldn't resist visiting some of the reputed filming locations (which were all on our itinerary anyway) to see what we could see. We stopped in some beautiful towns - Apt, Gordes, Bonnieux - including one confirmed location, the Canorgue vinyard. Funnily enough, we bumped into a filmcrew for a "Mr Bean" film instead.

Oppede le Vieux - clifftop ruins, a lot of fun to explore because there are no real barriers to speak of. Apparently now owned by an artists collective, who are reconstructing the area. Site of the "Mr Bean" film crew, but no Mr Bean.

Valley of the Luberon - alongside the Luberon mountain-range. A pretty drive with a lot of cherry trees.

Bonnieux - very beautiful on approach, the usual hilltop stone town that we have become so accustomed to from Italy. A little plain once you're inside, however.

Chateau de Canorgue - stopped by so that Dad could have a degustation (he bought a bottle of red) and so I could prowl around the chateau, taking some snaps.

Apt - ate lunch. Not much to write about, but you can buy good "confit de fruits" here, crystallised fruits.

Rousillon - named after the "rust red" ochre earth of the region. All the houses are built with this distinctive coloured brick. Very picturesque, and I wished we could have spent some time here but there was no parking to be had!

Gordes - beautiful town, though it's a modern restoration of what was destroyed by the Nazis during WW2 (as a penalty against its resistance members).

Fontaines de Vaucluse - achingly beautiful valley, where lies the spring that is the source of the river Sorgue. The spring level was quite low when we visited, but is still fascinating. It comes out of a cave at the foot of the valley cliffs - Cousteau was unable to find the bottom when he descended by submersible. I had a paddle in the freezing cold water. Lovely!

Isle de la Sorgue - for all you French buffs, that's not a spelling mistake. There is no circumflex, and there is an s. Go figure. Nice little canal town, watered by the Vaucluse srpring. Had a nice wander and dinner with the company of some rather nice ducks.

France super-summary (+ Monaco)

We are really enjoying France. It has been much hotter than Italy (about 30 degrees) and the sun has been out in force everyday. My tan, lost in drab Florence, has been coming back.

Drove to Avignon via the city state of Monaco. We were in three countries today!

Went to the Pont du Gard, a massive Roman aqueduct/bridge. Everyone from My Kirby's classics class will know what it is. The rest of you: wikipedia.

Nimes - full of Roman ruins, including the Maison Carre. Again - Mr Kirby or wikipedia.

Orange - more Roman ruins, including one of the best-preserved theatres, with an almost-intact proscenium (vast external stage wall). Nifty. Also saw more ruins (Pompeii style) at Vaison la Romaine.

Provence tour day - went to Beaucaire, Tarascon (named after local myth-monster the "Tarasque"), Les Beaux-de-Provence (quarries and cliff-top castle ruins) and Arles (where Vincent Van Gogh lived for a whole 2 YEARS!)

NZ WATCH: met a kiwi family (from Wanaka) touring France in a convoy of Citroen 2CVs.

A week in Emilia-Romagna

Spent the week on a beautiful vinyard near Faenza, a pretty-enough one horse town. Woke each morning to the cries of the resident peacocks prowling the rows of grapes.

Ravenna - celebrated for its UNESCO World Heritage-protected early Christian mosaics. So beautiful I couldn't begin to write more than two sentences about Ravenna. Also visited Dante's tomb, and drove out to see the icky beach resorts where the poor Italians have to go during Summer. God bless New Zealand.

Went to the Ferrari musuem at Ferrara. There were some beautiful cars (of course!) but the musuem was very overpriced and underwhelming. When I am rich, I will buy Lamborghini instead. Having scratched that undeserving itch, we drove to Bologna. This beautiful city is everything that Florence should have been. Bought a swag of English language books and magazines, and ate like royalty (Bologna is known as "Bologna the fat").

Left Italy to visit the tiny city state of San Marino - a bastion of independence for 1,700 years. It's like visiting one of the "lands" at Disneyland - call it "clifftop-castle-land" perhaps. Very interesting, if a bit on the touristy side. Also went to Rimini, with another collection of Roman ruins and Renaissance art. Drove home through a lightning storm.

Padua - lots of interesting things here, but we came for the Capella degli Scrovegni. This is home to Giotto's fresco cycle, the very first revolutionary step towards Renaissance painting. Spent the night at a cheapy hostel so that we were closer to Venice.

Venice - everything we expected! Canals, ferries, water, gondolas, seaweed, beautiful buildings on the water's edge, pigeons, romance, tourists. Quite a mix of things, but all wonderful (well, except for the tourists). Hope to write more about this magical place later.

Rest day at the vinyard feeding peacocks.

NZ WATCH: Dylan Horrocks' "Hicksville" graphic novel for sale at a bookstore in Bologna. Hooray for New Zealand comics! Also met kiwis at the Bologna and Venice train stations.

SORT-OF NZ WATCH: Guy wearing a "I love NZ" shirt at San Marino. I think he was Norwegian :P

Final Florence

Spent one final day in Florence, knocking off all the left-over churches. The most spectacular of these was the Brancacci Chapel, decorated with a fresco cycle by Masolino, Masaccio and Lippi. It was Masaccio's revolutionary work here that helped kick the Renaissance into gear.

Florence itself still a bit crap.

Umbria

Spent our last Tuscany day in Umbria instead! Well worth it, when you consider that we went to the Perugina chocolate factory. All the free chocolate we could eat in situ - quite a bit, actually!

Also fed the intellect with a visit to the National Gallery of Umbria (the usual Renaissance rogues gallery).

Spent the afternoon at Assissi, home to the famous St Francis - who talked to the animals. He is now entombed in a great cathedral, built on another cathedral, and decorated with frescoes by Giotto (though this is still a source of argument among art historians). Pizza for dinner.

A week in Tuscany

Have a lot to update - so I will be summarising for the moment. Will hopefully add details and pictures later.

1. Had a nice rest day after our first visit to Florence. Went for dinner at the famous Cane e Gatto (Dog and Cat) in Siena. Probably the nicest food we've had on holiday - excluding Mum's cooking of course! Had our first truffles, which taste like concentrated mushroom.

2. We went on a Piero della Francesca pilgrimage - he was a pioneer, and the first master, of perspectival painting in the Renaissance. We drove to his birthplace at Sansepolcro, with his famous "Resurrection", then to Arezzo with it's masterpiece fresco-cycle "The Legend of the True Cross".

3. Day trip for Anna and me to Pisa. We made our way through the nondescript city to the "Field of Miracles" where stands the Duomo, baptistry, cemetary and... the famed Leaning Tower. Took all the usual forced perspective photos of the tower (which is shorter than we expected, but beautifully ornate) and ate gelato from a Lonely Planet-recommended place. Mmm!

4. Long countryside drive through some of Tuscany's finest wine growing areas. Went to Pope Piccolomino's hometown of Pienza - he spent a lot of money rebuilding it in the Renaissance style, very pretty. Had a picnic lunch on a cliffside, alongside a posse of feral cats. Next stop Montepulciano, where Dad bought some wine (surprise surprise!) and I had a look through a leatherwork shop, on the site of an Etruscan tomb (!). We were having dinner back home on the verandah when we saw a wild red deer running about on our lawn. Holey moley.

5. Florence take 2. Siena's promising morning had devolved into rainclouds by the time our train arrived in Florence. I'm not sure filthy weather really improved the city in our eyes, but we got to visit some of the world's most maagnificent art collections - the Uffizi (a large Botticelli collection, plus the best works by Giotto, Da Vinci and Michelangelo), Bargello (former prison, now a collection of statues including Donatello's "David" and Michelangelo's "Bacchus"), Academy (Michelangelo's "David"), Medici Chapel (Michelangelo's Medici tombs), Pitti Palace (something by everyone who was anyone) and a handful of churches. Phew!

I may have done too much yesterday, and got a migraine. Wipeout!