Our 'Norte de España' trip moves from San Sebastián (Donostia; pop 189,866 in 2025) to Madrid (pop 3,506,730 in 2025), landing at the Aeropuerto Madrid-Barajas. Madrid is not in the north of Spain, but the setting of Picasso's "Guernica" is. "Guernica" is easily one of the most impactful pieces of modern art and the trip won't feel complete without our seeing it.
Our hotel is on the Gran Vía, the main east-west artery through Madrid's central tourist and shopping districts. The Gran Via is wide, splashed with light, and lined with mid-rise blocks topped with tower caps and sculptural flourishes.
We walk north in search of dinner, past the Iglesia de San Martín de Tours (17th-18th centuries) and toward the Plaza de San Ildefonso. The narrow streets are lively and crowded; we may have wandered into a fiesta (Fiestas de San Isidro Labrador).
The Iglesia de San Ildefonso (1826-27) is open, so we step inside for a quick look. Despite the religious nature of the fiesta, the church is empty. The interior is modest, as a neighborhood church should be, but with some lovely touches. The half dome behind the capilla principal contains a "Santísima Trinidad" fresco; the altarpiece depicts San Ildefonso receiving his vestments from an apparition of María.
Returning from dinner, we pass the Hyatt Centric Gran Via (top image, Gran Vía 31, José Miguel de la Quadra-Salcedo, 1925-27) just as the golden figure of "Diana Cazadora" catches the setting light.
No comments:
Post a Comment