Museo National Del Prado

SCAVENGER HUNT

Our final day in Madrid and I was finally able to drag the kids to the Prado Museum.

The Museo del Prado is the main Spanish national art museum, located in centralMadrid. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and unquestionably the best single collection of Spanish art. Founded as a museum ofpaintings and sculpture, it also contains important collections of other types of works. A new, recently opened wing enlarged the display area by about 400 paintings, and it is currently used mainly for temporary expositions. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered to be among the greatest museums of art. The large numbers of works by Francisco de Goya, the artist most extensively represented in the collection, and by Diego Velázquez, Titian, Peter Paul Rubens and Hieronymus Boschare among the highlights of the collection.

     Monument to Francisco Goya marks the northern entrance to the Prado Museum.

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes ( 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. 

The plan I concocted was a scavenger hunt! 

I researched about eight famous paintings and wrote a question regarding it's meaning, what it depicts or the history of the painting. In order to make it manageable for the kids I was able to discover each painting's location by room number before they started. The boys had my 8 questions (with hints), a museum map, and the room number of the painting with corresponding question number. Their job was to discover the artist and the name of the paiting. Yes, this took me some time in morning before heading to the museum. The prize would be 5 euros!

The boys agreed and may even have been excited for the challenge.

      The first successful find, the answer the question #3.

The Third of May 1808  is a painting completed in 1814 by the Spanish painterFrancisco Goya, now in the Museo del Prado, Madrid. In the work, Goya sought to commemorate Spanish resistance to Napoleon's armies during the occupation of 1808 in the Peninsular War.

The painting's content, presentation, and emotional force secure its status as a groundbreaking, archetypal image of the horrors of war. Although it draws on many sources from both high and popular art, The Third of May 1808 marks a clear break from convention. Diverging from the traditions of Christian art and traditional depictions of war, it has no distinct precedent, and is acknowledged as one of the first paintings of the modern era. According to the art historianKenneth Clark, The Third of May 1808 is "the first great picture which can be called revolutionary in every sense of the word, in style, in subject, and in intention".

Yes, many of the paintings throughout this museum are graphic and or depressing. There was no real way to avoid it so we went with it and tried not to dwell too long. (warning don't scroll further down with young eyes watching -- check first)

The boys moved along well and found all the paintings on the scavenger hunt and even enjoyed looking for a few more of the masterpieces that caught their eye.

Roman choose to investigate the below painting by Goya after reading its name.

 

Saturn Devouring His Son is the name given to a painting by Spanish artist Francisco Goya. According to the traditional interpretation, it depicts the Greek myth of the Titan Cronus (in the title Romanised to Saturn), who, fearing that he would be overthrown by one of his children, ate each one upon their birth. The work is one of the 14 Black Paintings that Goya painted directly onto the walls of his house sometime between 1819 and 1823. It was transferred to canvas after Goya's death and has since been held in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

Mabret's favorite - distinctly different from Roman's - as it involves nice dreams!

     Jacob's Dream

This painting by Jose de Ribera tells of Jacob the Patriarch’s mysterious dream, as told in Genesis. He appears asleep, lying on his left shoulder with a tree behind him. On the other side is the ladder of light, by which the angels ascend and descend. 

This subject demonstrates Ribera’s skill at constructing metaphoric discourse. He uses the image of a shepherd resting in the countryside to describe one of the best-known Bible stories. The foreground view of the solidly constructed figure and the scene’s realistic features bring realism to the miraculous dream described in a ray of light under a blue and gray sky. 

Here, Ribera offers one of the numerous proofs of his delicate sense of color and his exquisite compositional capacity, masterfully placing the foreground volumes in diagonal contraposition. 

   The Drowning Dog

Another of Goya's Black paintings These were painted after an illness at age 46 caused him to become deaf and suffer with mental issues. They were painted on the walls of his home in Madrid and were not meant for others to see.

Finally, Las Meninas (Spanish for The Maids of Honour) is a 1656 painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age, in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The work's complex and enigmatic composition raises questions about reality and illusion, and creates an uncertain relationship between the viewer and the figures depicted. Because of these complexities, Las Meninas has been one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting.

Las Meninas has long been recognised as one of the most important paintings in Western art history.  More recently, it has been described as "Velázquez's supreme achievement, a highly self-conscious, calculated demonstration of what painting could achieve, and perhaps the most searching comment ever made on the possibilities of the easel painting".

 

Even a short amount of time just being surrounded by the masters is better then no time at all.

Peace out from del Prado, Madrid.

Segway in Madrid

Hurray, we finally got Mom to book a Segway Tour! 

In our quest to find the best way to keep the kids entertained and see the major sights of a city, I finally gave in and booked a Segway tour. Following the two successful bike tours in Barcelona and Sevilla, I felt more confident in the boys' ability not to kill themselves or others. Also the bike tours in Madrid are more difficult as the city is larger and not as flat. 

The tour we booked through Viator and Julia Tours was with Madrid Segway at 12 noon on March 2, 2014.  We had a large group, a total of ten people with two guides. While the boys were nervous at first, they were given kid size segways, a 60 second lesson and time to practice while the less skilled adults in the large group tried to get the hang of their own segways.  Within 15 minutes the boys felt comfortable and very proud of themselves.  Off we went through streets, parks, plazas and crowed sidewalks to see the major plazas, parks and the Royal Palace. The most fun was the 15 minute free time the boys and other adventurous participants had at a less crowed square near the palace. There, they were able practice their moves;  forward, reverse, turns and speed. They were about to start the "Madrid Segway X Games," when it was time to move on.  After one and a half hours, the tour concluded but the boys could have gone all day. Katie and I however were done. My feet and back hurt worse than if I was standing still. 

Nonetheless, the Segway tour got a 10 out of 10 on the kid "fun" scale and they want more. Overall, the ranking was much higher than the Hop On Hop Off tour bus and even better than bikes for the power and skill level required. I assume the next time we rent or do a Segway tour,  I will be more relaxed and able to enjoy the sights better. 

Hey, everyday is an adventure,

    

Good night from Madrid!

Tour Bernabeu

The place where your dreams come alive!

Today was a magical tour of Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, home of Real Madrid C.F. The tour began with a panoramic view from the fourth tier terrace. Following the renovation, the stadium now seats 85,000 and all seats have heating. From this height, and through the silence, you can imagine a million cheering fans.

The self guided tour then brought you to a modern and interactive room, complete with giant screens and multi-touch technology. Roman was entranced with the screen scenes of all the best players at Real Madrid since 1902. Mabret enjoyed the amazing trophies!

The boys got closer to the action by walking around the very pitch where all the greats have played. The most amazing part was being able to actually run up the players' tunnel and sit in the players' and coaching area. From here, it all looked so different!

    Imagine Cristiano Ronaldo sat right here! 

We then entered the home and visiting teams' locker room. The Madrid changing room was very nice and included; whirlpool and plunge pool, WC, showers, massage room and of course each players' actual locker.

Finally, the Press Room where Roman and Mabret answered some tough questions.

A good day was had by all. Roman's favorite part was walking onto the field and Mabret's was the locker room and sitting on the players' 'bench' - they are actually fully padded comfortable chairs!

Real Madrid

Our 'Real Madrid' is a relaxing apartment right outside the central tourist area. Our arrival was by Socibus, a six hour ride from Sevilla. The bus was comfortable and even had a charging station. We arrived in the rain and thus took a short taxi ride to the Madrid Central Suites where check in was quick, easy and the apartment bright, clean and cozy.

   Waiting in the bus station.

Our first full day in Madrid was spent playing Minecraft, hanging out in the apartment and planning out the next eight days. 

     Minecraft Multiplayer!

     View from apartment balconey!

Wednesday we again tried something new. The Madrid City Tour Hop On Hop Off Bus with an audio guide of all the attractions, museums, palaces and sites in Madrid. I thought the bus was a good idea because it was slightly cold outside and the city is too large to force the kids to walk around and see everything.  On the bus they have audio specifically for kids, nonetheless, it took less than an hour for Roman to get bored. We stopped for lunch and got back on to see the second route offered. 

Bottom line bikes beat buses, hands down.

       Madrid City Tour Bus Routes

    Kids having fun dancing to the soundtrack accompanying the audio tour. It got too cold to sit upstairs with the partially opened top.

    

   Many languages from which to choose.

  Fun at lunch making ice cream soup.

  They are experts as they 'graduated' from Ice Cream Soup University.

    World famous Spanish Hot Chocolate with churros for dipping!  From Churreria Chocolateria Los Artesanos 1902. The Traditional way was passed down from father to son for over 100 years.

Peace out from Madrid.