The Star: July 28, 2016

34 Thursday July 28 2016
follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch
The Star
Travel
Madrid: A case of what sights
• By Mike Yardley
MAGNIFICENT Madrid belongs
in that very special league of city
destinations, where it’s myriad
of sights and mouth-drooling
experiences could easily keep you
enthralled for weeks.
That in itself creates a
formidable dilemma – what to
do, what to skip, when time is the
enemy?
On previous visits, I’ve
overlooked some of the heavyhitters
like the Prado, which is
home to the one world’s largest
collections of artworks. So, a
fortnight ago, I set aside half
a day to trawl its numerous
galleries and the one thousand
masterpieces, by the likes of
Titian, Velazquez, Rubens and
Goya.
What I loved about the Prado,
is its layout is logical, so you can
literally walk through the history
of Western Art, over a thousand
years, and see its steady evolution.
From the relatively
unsophisticated medieval and
Gothic paintings through to
the flamboyance of the Baroque
period, and on to the Romantics
and Realists. Mentally soothing
and a great escapist refuge on a
stonkingly hot day. Palacio Real
LANDMARKS: Madrid’s Cibeles Fountain and The Bear and the Tree statue are photographic standouts.
is the other big set-piece that I
visited for the first time.
Like the Prado, you can’t take
photos inside, which is a pity
because this palace of 2800
rooms, of which 50 are thrown
open to the masses, is furnished
with ridiculously regal baroque
extravagance. I had to keep
picking my jaw off the floor. On
the odd occasion when I was
tempted to take a sneaky photo,
a po-faced attendant would
mysteriously appear from behind
a velvet curtain, with a stern and
dissuasive expression, as I did an
awkward fumble with my camera,
a la Mr Bean.
Palacio Real is excess all
areas, deliberately designed to
imitate Versailles, when it was
commissioned by the Bourbon
kings in 1734. Don’t miss the
old Royal Pharmacy where the
wall shelving is stacked with all
manner of potions and herbal
concoctions, suggesting the
Spanish royals were quite a sickly
lot.
In a city brimming with
landmarks, the photographic
standouts for me are the Cibeles
Fountain, where Real Madrid
celebrates all football triumphs,
and The Bear and The Tree statue.
Emblematic of Madrid, you’ll find
this gorgeous artwork in Puerta
del Sol, the city’s historic centre.
Sol would be a magical place
to ring in the New Year, beneath
the old Royal Post Office clock.
Tradition dictates that you eat 12
grapes, one for each chime of the
clock, and make a wish for the
new year.
For a lesser-trafficked slice of
Madrid, stake out the Temple of
Debod, atop a hill behind Palacio
Real. 2200 years old, it was
teleported from Egypt to Spain
in 1968, to make way for a hydro
dam project!
YOU and 178,999
1st XV Rugby
UC CHAMPIONSHIPS
others are
watching this
space!
Christchurch
Boys’ High
School
v
Kick-off Saturday at 2.45pm
Live on CTV Freeview Channel 40
Repeats on CTV at 8pm on Sunday
Live stream and on demand
at ctv.co.nz
St Andrew’s
College
Reach them by placing
your message here.
Shane Victor
Advertising Manager
Phone: 03 379 7100
Email: shane@starmedia.kiwi
www.starmedia.kiwi
estimated Weekly readership
of The Star is 179,000,
based on the Nielsen 2015 report
and increased paging and
circulation from 72,000 to 92,000.