Madrid

Alright, so, here is my post for Madrid. Perhaps I am too ambitious to have thought I could get updated completely while in Istanbul... I have been sick. I finally went to the doctor yesterday and about 400 dollars later, I was diagnosed with sinusitis. I got my X-rays and a battery of antibiotics with nasal sprays and sudafed, so I feel better... a bit. I spent today making insurance claims for yesterday and my doctor visit in Cuzco, and I should be getting some money back two months from now - just about the time when I really won't be desperate for money anymore. Anyway, back to Madrid. The first cool thing about Madrid was my hostel. It was apparently an ancient moorish mansion before it was a hostel. I stayed for one night and was then forced to move to a less-moorish, less mansion-y hostel for the next two days.

Here is the ceiling stained glass from the first hostel I stayed at.

A marble fountain in the common area? Posh! ............posh? Yes, I said posh......

I have been accused of taking only "pretty" pictures of the places I go... so here is a regular street in Madrid. Yay!

A random church on the street.

The basilica of the royal palace.

The royal palace courtyard and facade of the palace itself.

The rear of the basilica. I couldn't go in because it was under construction... *tear*

Another view of the palace facade.

A beautiful ornate lamp outside the palace.

A statue of... one of the kings of Spain? I dunno. It merited a picture anyway.

Most of the ceilings in the palace were frescoed with amazing paintings like this one. The artwork was outstanding.

RAWR!

The Spanish royal coat of arms... I assume. I didn't have any tourguide, so these are all just assumptions.

A table just outside the throne room. Egytian-esque. Gilt in gold?

More ceiling frescoes.

And more...

A crystal chandelier. There were many gorgeous chandeliers that sparkled rainbow colours when you moved around them.

Apparently, there were a number of important treaty signings in this room.

The throne room, with subdued lighting and flash prohibited. Replete with red velvet everywhere and actual thrones!

A different angle of the throne room.

A ceiling fresco with gilt moldings. In reality, the blue in the dress was brilliant.

Another chandelier.

Ceiling details in the "chinese" dressing room of the king. There were several asian style rooms in the palace, because it was all the rage at one point in history. This was mouldings, not painting.

The ceiling corner, with asian figures.

More impressive ceilings.

Sparkling chandeliers... all in crystal. The luxury was astounding.

The banquet room, where the royal wedding receptions were held.

The royal silverware collection... or at least, 1/100th of it...

This is a Stratavarius... just hanging out in the music collection of the palace.

One of the hallways in the palace.

Queen Isabel, the Catholic. The detail in the dress was astounding. I have never seen a marble sculpture so ornate.

A small, private chapel for the royal family inside of the palace (apart from the basilica outside).

More of the chapel.

The altar of the chapel.

King Fernando, the Catholic. Once again, ornate beyond belief.

One of the "chinese" rooms in the palace.

The armoury. Horses need armour too!

A fully suited-up horseman. By the way, did you know that in Spanish, the world for gentleman, Caballero, means horse-rider? Apparently, you weren't anybody unless you rode a horse...

The complete footman armour 6-piece collector's set.

Check out this rifle. It is not a cannon, oh no; this is a trigger-pulling, Marlboro Man rifle. I can hear Crocodile Dundee saying "That's not a gun, THIS is a gun!"

The classic spanish helmet.

The royal pharmacy. This place was STOCKED. They had everything I have never heard of to cure everything and more, all in small alabaster jars, glass beakers, and stone bowls.

More of the pharmacy.

The side of this building in a plaza was painted with all sorts of greek gods and nymphs and such. It was cool.

A mariachi band? I am not sure. This is near the shopping area, the Puerta del Sol.

Here is the side of a building. Sigh.... such wonderful architecture.

A typical Madrid street. Did I already sigh about the wonderful architecture? Why aren't there entire streets like this in Canada? We need more of this...

Myself and Yeun-Hee, friend from Korea and artiste extraordinaire! One of the nights I was in Madrid, she was having an exhibition of her installation art. It was cool. You can see some of it in the background - floating boats. Yeun-Hee was such a wonderful host while I was in Spain, and she turns up later again in Barcelona. However, for now, I must sign off and leave the rest of Spain for another day. Next up, Barcelona - The City of Wonderfulnessness!