Month: May 2023

Madrid, day 3(/3)

Three days in Madrid with my son and twin-brother.

Monday May 1, 2023: Las Ventas bullring sightseeing, lunch with Antonio and his wife and children, stroll in El Retiro to the Palacio de Cristal, the lake, the statue of the fallen angel, and departure.

Beyond the empty street rises a tall tower full of antennas against the deep blue sky
Antennas tower
Facade of a grey concrete building with six tall columns topped with three flags
Real Casa de la Moneda
Man with arms raised posing in front of a red brick arena in the sun
Xavier in front of the bullring
A few people queuing at the entrance of a red brick building decorated with ceramic plates and which windows are in the arabic style
Facade of the Las Ventas arenas
Teenager boy and white middle aged woman side by side posing in front of the red brick building
Adrien and me in front of the bullring
Tall poster on the red brick wall showing a drawn bull and two bull fighters, advertising the May 9 corrida
Corrida advertisement
Arches and curved side of the arenas, tower, blue sky
Side of Las Venta bullring
Detail of one of the arched entrances if the arenas. There are lights fixtures at each side of the arch which leads to a corridor.
Side entrance of the bullring
Man and teenager boy at a table looking at their plates of braided meat (cachopo de ternera, jamón y queso)
Xavier and Adrien in Asturian restaurant
Middled aged white woman and man sitting next to each other at a restaurant table and smiling
Me and Antonio in Asturian restaurant
Small round fountain under a large tree
El Retiro fountain
Small lake in front of a large greenhouse
Palacio de Cristal 1
View from the side on the lake and greenhouse
Palacio de Cristal 2
Low and wide angle view on the inside of the greenhouse, totally empty of people.
Inside Palacio de Cristal
Large lake where people maneuver small boats.
Estanque de El Retiro
Three or four large fish visible under the surface of the green water and a pigeon walking on the side on the lake.
Large fish and pigeon
Large parterre around a fountain at the center of which is a black statue representing the fallen angel
Fuente del Ángel Caído
Detail of the black statue representing the fallen angel
Ángel Caído
View on one part of the Madrid airport from the motorway
Heading to the airport
Large hall inside Madrid airport terminal 4. The pillars are colored according to the color spectrum
Madrid airport T4 hall
View from a window on the strip
Dusk at the airport
Teenager boy drawing in his airplane seat, his head bent forward. His long hair hides his face.
Adrien drawing

Madrid, day 2(/3)

Three days in Madrid with my son and twin-brother.

Sunday April 30, 2023: Puerta de Sol, Plaza Mayor, gardens of San Francisco the Great, Palacio Real.

Poster showing a drawing of a slender woman in evening dress. Behind her are other people and the puerta de Alcala
Zarzuela poster
Around Fountain of Cibeles are pairs of Spain and Ukraine flags
Ukraine and Spain flag at Plaza de Cibeles
Facade of the Cybele Palace from a low angle. Rising from an angle in the sky beyond are the contrails of an airplane
Facade and contrails
Emptlarge street bordered with trees
Empty Paseo del Prado
Medallion on a wall within which a man’s face is sculpted with only enough prisms to ne recognizable
Minimalist sculpture
Medallion on a wall within which a man’s face is sculpted with intricate details
Maximalist sculpture
Teenager boy and man sitting on a stone bench, both focused on their smartphones.
Taking a break
The Statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree is made of stone and bronze. It weighs approximately 20 tonnes and stands 4 m tall. It rests on a staggered cubic pedestal of granite. It represents in a real-life form the coat of arms of Madrid, with the tree taller than the bear, who supports its paws on the trunk and directs its attention towards one of the fruits.
Bear and tree bronze sculpture
Plaque on the ground serving as the symbolic center of Spain, and the point from which kilometer distances are numbered in the Spanish road system. Some scaffolding is planted on it. There are cables.
Km 0 (kilómetro cero)
My teenager son and twin brother posing side by side on Plaza Mayor
Plaza Mayor 1
My teenager son and me posing side by side on Plaza Mayor
Plaza Mayor 2
An angle of the large Plaza Mayor
Plaza Mayor 3
One of the streets entering Plaza Mayor with a steady flow of people
Tourists pouring in Plaza Mayor
Arched gateway under which a building and spire are visible
Plaza Mayor gateway
Empty street and roundabout in front of the entrance of the Real Basilica de San Francisco el Grande
Real Basilica de San Francisco el Grande
Garden on the side of Real Basilica de San Francisco el Grande
Jardines de San Francisco el Grande
Me doing the victory sign and smiling in the sun
Me in Jardines de San Francisco el Grande
An entire flowerbed filled with white and deep pink roses.
Roses
Treetops above which rise the Catedral de la Almudena and museo de colecciones reales
View on the hill of the Royal Palace
Large square full with people. A long queue is visible to enter the Palace
Plaza de la Armería 1
Large paved area in front of the palace under the blue sky
Palacio Real
Treetops and mote of the city
View from the Royal Palace
Mountains are visible on the horizon above the trees
View on the Sierras
Facade of catedral de la Almudena
Plaza de la Armería 2
Large facade under the blue sky
Palacio Real side facade
Colorful facades of five-story buildings in a shady street
Calle de San Quintín
Three men are wearing costumes from the military several hundreds years ago
El Retiro costumed guards
Man in a costume from the military a few hundred years ago rides a white horse in the park while on the side of the picture a girls rides an electric scooter
El Retiro costumed horse rider