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Madrid: The Prado Museum

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Outside the Prado

Outside the Prado

The second day we went to the Prado Museum, we were prepared to search for a few paintings that we really wanted to see. One was the “The Third of May 1808 in Madrid” by Goya. We had already been to the medieval wing of the Prado the day before. And our children can only handle so much time in art museums without being refreshed by more child-pleasing activities. So I wouldn’t say that we rushed through the museum, but we certainly did not spend a lot of time lingering on any one painting.

It is always interesting to see a painting in person that you have learned about. Some are more compelling in person. Some are less compelling. I remember going to an exhibit about five years ago of two of Van Gogh’s paintings, “Starry Night” and “Cypress Trees”. “Cypress Trees” had never really appealed to me, until I saw it in person. The texture of the paint, swirling in thick, textured patterns jumped out and made the scene seem alive in a way that it never had before. I had a similar experience with “The Third of May 1808 in Madrid”. It is hanging by its companion painting “The Second of May 1808 in Madrid: the charge of the Mamelukes”. The subject matter of both paintings is a battle between Napoleon’s soldiers and patriots from Madrid who rose up to fight and protect their homeland, only to be defeated and executed the following day. To stand in Madrid and see its history depicted in dark, sombre colors etched the history in my mind. Both paintings hang in a gallery of paintings by Goya known as the Black Paintings. Included in those 14 sombre works is “Saturn Devouring His Son”. This particular painting I have always found to be disturbing. Seeing it in person it was only more so. In fact, the entire room of the Black Paintings was a little too scary for our children. They asked to leave before we had moved a quarter of the way around the room. So my husband and I took turns in looking at the paintings in that particular area.

Other areas of the museum our children liked much better. Our 5 year old was especially transfixed by a painting depicting Helen of Troy’s abduction. One of the things I love about taking our children to art museums, is that I always learn something more about who they are by which paintings they respond to, and what questions they ask. Many history lessons or discussions about life have emerged from experiencing great works of art. I want them to grow up knowing the value of art, whether it is dance, painting, sculpture, music…….So even though it is sometimes stressful to take them to art museums, I cherish those invaluable moments with them.

Some beautiful memories were made outside the museum, too. Maybe they had to shake off the sombre mood from the Black Paintings. Maybe they just needed to run and play. We lounged in the sunshine as they gathered flowers on the hillside, and brought me piles of them.

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I just love their sweetness! How lucky a mommy am I?

Two Kinds of Kindness

/ Marie / 5 Comments

The Kindness of Strangers

When my husband and I were planning our trip to Spain, part of what we discussed was the Spanish attitude towards breastfeeding, since our son was still in the nursing stage of babyhood. My husband lived in Spain for two years about 20 years ago. At that time, breastfeeding was associated with gypsy culture and was looked down on. I was a little nervous about nursing our baby in Spain, particularly because we would be out and in public as we toured the various museums and other attractions.

Aside from three older women glaring at me in Toledo, I didn’t have any negative experiences with nursing our baby in Spain. I did have two experiences where kindness was shown to me, and I am very grateful for that kindness.

Traveling with small children requires keeping track of many small details. The first Sunday that we were in Spain, we decided to go to church. Once we got there, I realized that I had forgotten to put my nursing cover in my bag. While I know there are many women who are comfortable nursing in public without a cover, I am not one of them. We were sitting down in church and my baby was hungry, and growing louder and louder in his desire to nurse. Another young mother loaned me her nursing cover so that I could feed my baby, diffusing what could have been a very stressful and difficult situation. My baby happily nursed under the borrowed cover until he was fully satisfied and happily drowsy. This small kindness from a kind stranger meant a lot to me.

Several days later we were shopping at Cortez Ingles when my little guy again needed to nurse. I had my cover with me this time, but was having a difficult time finding a comfortable place to nurse him. In American department stores the women’s restroom often has a section with comfortable seating that makes an excellent, quiet place to nurse a baby. So, I headed for the nearest restroom. By this time my baby was very fussy. There was no seating, and I didn’t want to sit on the floor, so I ended up sitting on the counter to nurse. A woman came into the bathroom and started speaking to me in Spanish. When I told her I didn’t understand her, that I didn’t speak Spanish, she switched to English. She told me she would find out if there was a more comfortable place for me to nurse my baby. She left the restroom and came back several minutes later. She had inquired with the staff at Cortez Ingles, and discovered that the third floor had a comfortable nursing area. While my little guy was almost finished at this time, I was touched by the kindness of this stranger, who went out of her way to make my situation more comfortable.

I had felt some anxiety about nursing our baby in Spain, but this actually brought me two wonderful reminders about the kindness of strangers when in a strange land. Spain is a country filled with kind people. And if you ever need to nurse at Cortez Ingles in Madrid, you know where to find the nursing room.

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The Gardens: A Feast for the Eyes

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We live in the desert. When we go to our botanical garden, we see cacti, succulents, and all sorts of interesting desert plants. In Madrid, the botanical garden is quite different. There are tall, shady trees. There are fountains and ponds. And of course, there is a wide variety of plant life that we just don’t get to see at home. It was a feast for our eyes, and a tranquil place to explore near the end of the day when our children were tired of museums and just wanted to run around enjoying the outdoors. Our two year old moved from spot to spot drawing interesting shapes in the dirt. The older two girls ran around, climbing on rocks and fountains, tenderly touching flower petals, and jumping off the benches. It was a great way to end a day of site seeing.

I really love the idea of gardens in the middle of busy cities like Madrid. In New York, Central Park is a haven to experience nature in the midst of a major metropolitan city. Boston’s Public Gardens are a beautiful juxtaposition to the gritty city outside its gates. Madrid’s Botanical Gardens offer the same respite from the busy city. Here are some of my favorite photographs of the gardens.

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DSC_0220What are your favorite public gardens? If you live in a city, where do you go to experience nature?

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Madrid: The Prado, Medieval Art

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I must admit, in the past I have not really enjoyed medieval art. In the Met in New York, the medieval section was just an area to walk through as quickly as possible. Never did I feel the urge to linger and gaze upon medieval art there. It always felt too dark, too sombre. The human figure was not as exact as in later Renaissance art. Medieval art seemed to be very expressionless to me.

The Prado in Madrid was a completely different experience. Maybe it is because Spain was the world power during medieval times. Maybe medieval artists working in Spain were more skilled at their craft. Maybe it’s because I am a different person now. The medieval art in the Prado was my favorite section of the museum.

Beautiful canvas after beautiful canvas in deep, rich colors celebrated the life of Christ and other religious figures. The paintings provided an opportunity for me to speak to my children about scripture stories, the story of Christmas, and the importance religion played in the history of Spain. The rich visual material piqued their interest. While I’m glad that the scriptures are now available for all to read, I appreciate how these vivid depictions of scriptural content sparked conversations and learning opportunities.

What really spoke to me personally in the medieval art, were the many paintings of Mary nursing baby Jesus. Since I am currently nursing a baby boy, it makes sense that I would have a more personal connection with the subject matter. What really impressed me was the gentleness and tenderness that was portrayed in the relationship between mother and child.

Painting after beautiful painting showed the loving bond shared by mother and child. I have always thought of medieval times as somewhat austere and stern. In some ways, they probably were. But the natural relationship of mother and small baby was regarded as natural and beautiful. It drew me in and touched me. What a beautiful thing it is to care for and nurture a child! It can be daunting, frustrating, tiring, and sometimes monotonous. But tender moments bring joy greater than any of the negative feelings that sometimes come.

So hooray for medieval art and the Prado! If you don’t go, you will be missing out on a beautiful visual treasure.

Madrid: A Princess Palace for Aeryn

/ Marie / 2 Comments
El Palacio Real, Madrid

El Palacio Real, Madrid

Princesses, fairies, mermaids, unicorns! If your little girls are anything like our little girls, they love to dress up and make up games using these personas. I love how vividly their imaginations work, and how creative they are in their stories. But for our little Aeryn, age two, it is more than just make believe. She truly believes that she is a princess.

We chose to visit the Royal Palace on our first full day in Madrid. Our children were still jet lagged, and we needed some interest on their part to motivate them to explore with us. They perked up noticeably at the prospect of visiting a palace. So we hopped on the subway and traveled up to Puerta del Sol. Then we walked down Calle del Arenal, past Teatro Real, to find the Royal Palace.

Beautiful gardens in the Plaza de Oriente decorate the approach to the palace. Statues of Gothic kings line the walkway that leads to the front entrance.

Plaza de Oriente, Madrid

The Palacio Real is one of the attractions you can visit using the Madrid card. The entrance in the front by the gardens is used exclusively by tour groups and Madrid card holders. There was no line when we got there, so we were able to go right in. There is some security, a metal detector and guards which will search your bags before entering the open courtyard.

The palace is beautiful. It was built in the 1700’s, to replace the old castle destroyed in a fire. The beauty of this palace was in part inspired by the beauty of the palace of Versailles. The weapons room is especially impressive. All of our children liked visiting the palace, but the most enthralled by it all was Aeryn.

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Here are Lexi, our babysitter, and our little Aeryn posing on the balcony overlooking Casa de Campo. This is one of Aeryn’s princess poses. The lifting of her heal and downcast eyes are very deliberate on her part. She will often clasp her hands together to complete the pose.

After enjoying the view, we went back into the main courtyard. Aeryn started talking about her palace. “It’s my princess castle, mama.” “I love my princess castle, mama.” Such beautiful, bubbly expressions poured out of her! Then, Abigail, who is 5 and has somehow decided that she is the enforcer, told her that it is not her palace, and she is not a princess! What came next? Tears and screaming. Aeryn, with her little fists clenched and tears streaming down her cheeks yelled at Abigail. “I am a princess! It’s my castle!” With Abigail yelling back, “No, you’re not! You’re not a princess!”

My husband and I have wondered about how long our children will remain in that magical state of make believe where fairies and magic are real. Our oldest daughter is seven, and she truly believes that fairies are real. She builds communities for them to visit in our backyard. She makes treasures for them. She blissfully gathers flowers for them. At some point all of our little ones will transition to skeptical teenagers and young adults, but for now, we want the magic to last for them.

So, with Abigail and Aeryn we talked about how they are not princesses of a country, but they are princesses in our family. We were visiting a palace that belonged to the King and Queen of Spain. Abigail and Aeryn both calmed down and seemed happy with that explanation. I guess Abigail had felt jealous and a little excluded. She really just wanted to be a princess, too.

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Madrid: Breakfast with the Locals

/ Marie / 3 Comments

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Our first morning in Madrid, jet lagged and so very tired, we slept through the breakfast offered by our hotel. When we finally emerged from the bliss of sleep after a long day of traveling, we ventured out to find some food. Tucked away on a small side street several blocks from our hotel was a small cafe. We decided to give it a shot.

It was a Saturday morning, and customers were leisurely eating their food and reading the morning paper. I love how customers brought their dogs into the cafe! There was one woman who sat at a table by the window drinking her coffee and reading the paper the entire time we were there. Her little beagle was curled up contentedly at her feet. They made such a picturesque site with the morning light streaming in through the window!

It came time to order our food. My children were smart and went with the “classico”, which turned out to be toast with jam, a pretty safe choice. I was feeling a little adventurous, and decided to try the “espagnol”. I also tried to use what little Spanish I know to order orange juice as well. My husband amusedly smiled at my attempts. When I asked him what was so funny, I learned that in Spain juice is zumo, not jugo like in some other Spanish speaking countries. At least my orange juice came without any problems, so the waiter still understood me, even if I used the incorrect version of “juice”.

And then the “espagnol” came. This culinary concoction was toast with diced tomatoes and jamon on it. Jamon is a Spanish ham that is cured, or cooked with chemicals instead of with heat. I was optimistic. I like ham and tomatoes. It turns out however, that jamon on a jet lagged and slightly queasy stomach is not a really good idea. I bravely took about three bites before deciding that to continue to eat my “espagnol” was a very bad idea. I ended up eating a croissant; a buttery, flaky, and completely safe croissant. Indeed, from that morning on, a croissant became a staple in my breakfast for our entire trip.

So, my first experience with Spanish food wasn’t as successful as I would have liked. But the cafe was quaint. Everyone was energized for a day of site seeing. And that first foreign taste of Spain just made us more excited for the travel adventures to come.

Spain: Modern and Medieval

/ Marie / 2 Comments
Plaza Mayor, Madrid

Plaza Mayor, Madrid

Our family recently returned from an amazing two and a half week adventure in Spain. Reading the guidebook prior to our trip, I was amused that many of the smaller towns were described as “medieval”. My husband had visited Spain before, while it was the first time for the rest of us. I mentioned to him that many towns in Spain are described as medieval, and asked him if that was true. My experience in Spain taught me that yes, many towns are gorgeous remnants of medieval art and architecture. Yet, the larger cities had a distinctly modern and cosmopolitan feel.

This is the route we took on our journey through Spain. We flew into the capitol city of Madrid. From there we journeyed north to a small town called Santillana del Mar, about a 30 minute bus ride from Santander. If you want medieval, Santillana del Mar is a beautiful village protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We then spent a few beach days in the coastal city of Santander. From Santander, we journeyed to Bilbao. Bilbao was once an industrial city, but is now a more modern and updated city, with the Guggenheim Museum showcasing modern art. From Bilbao, we took the train to Segovia. Isabella and Ferdinand reigned over a unified Spain and much of the new world from Segovia, before moving their capitol to Toledo. From Segovia, we headed back to Madrid for a day or two before flying home.

I will be sharing our trip with you in more detail, but here are some general impressions that I had while in Spain.

The Spanish people are friendly and inviting. Traveling with four children can be a bit stressful and difficult at times. People were always volunteering to help carry strollers in and out of the metro, hold open doors, and helping in any way they saw possible. Madrid was especially refreshing. We lived in New York City and then the surrounding area for quite a few years. I love New York, but it is not especially friendly to children. Madrid had many of the qualities that I love about New York; the wide boulevards, the museums, the parks, great restaurants, but was welcoming to children everywhere we went. In Spain, children are included in all aspects of daily life. That aspect of Spanish culture mirrors closely how my husband and I raise our children, which made for a very comfortable atmosphere. Madrid is also relatively inexpensive and has better weather than New York. We plan on spending more time there in the future.

If traveling in Spain, it is a very good idea to speak some Spanish. My husband warned me before we went, but I was still surprised that many people did not speak any English. Even in Madrid, there was very little English spoken. My husband speaks Spanish, which made our trip go a lot more smoothly. At the very least, bring a good phrasebook with you to use during your trip.

Spanish food can be quite amazing. It can also be quite different than what you might be used to. I admit, I do not have a very adventurous palate. I only recently in the past few years started eating any seafood at all. And I like my meat to be well cooked. Some of the areas of Spain were challenging for me. If you order a hamburger, there’s a good chance that it will still be bleeding in the center. If you order seafood, it will be easily recognizable as fish (most likely the head will be attached) or as octopus (the tentacles will still have suction cups on it). If you follow a vegetarian diet, there are very few options for you at most restaurants. If you follow a vegan diet, you might have to subsist on bread the entire time you are in Spain. My general impression of Spanish food is that Spaniards like meat. They like it raw, with maybe a few vegetables in tow. Our children survived by eating a lot of cereal and ice cream. And churros con chocolate.

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Still, with all the challenges of guiding our family across the ocean and through a new country, we had an amazing experience learning about modern Spain and its medieval past. It felt at times that we had taken a time machine back 600 years. We saw Roman ruins more impressive than those we saw in Rome itself. We saw amazing works of art that spanned thousands of years. History came alive for our children. And the warm welcome we received is sure to lure us back to Spain again.

The Golden Key, a Chance in a Lifetime

/ Marie / 1 Comment

Whenever we are trying to decide on a destination for our next big trip, we like to do some research to see what can see and experience while there. This year, we are planning a trip to northern Spain. Reading the history of Spain, I was reminded of the caves of Altamira which contain some of the oldest cave paintings ever discovered. I first learned of them in an art history course. Something you should know about me, I took several extra courses in history and anthropology while in college. So much so that my advisor kept saying to me, “You don’t have to take that class.” To which I replied, “I know”, and promptly signed up for it. To protect the ancient artists’ renderings, the caves are closed to the everyday traveler. Only those who can prove an academic need to study the paintings are allowed inside to view them. So today, my golden key would give me access to the Caves of Altamira. How amazing would it be to see in person some of the oldest visual art made by our ancestors on the planet?

http://en.museodealtamira.mcu.es/index.html

Golden Key

Finding the Appian Way, and a Whole Lot More

/ Marie / 3 Comments

Yesterday I had the opportunity to read a marvelous adventure story on the Emily Luxton Travel Blog, about how in travel, sometimes the random choices and unexpected events end up being the most enjoyable parts of our travel experience. In Emily’s case, she ended up hiking an unmarked path through the Vietnam country side. Read all about her adventures here.

http://emilyluxton.co.uk/2014/11/12/hiking-sapa/

Her story reminded me of when we were in Rome with our then 3 children and my in-laws. Near the end of our trip, the grandparents and older two children wanted to spend some time recuperating from our adventures with some hotel time. My husband and I wanted to go and explore some more. My husband has always been a huge fan of the Apostle Paul and tales of antiquity. As a history major, he is a vast source of information about the ancient civilizations of the world. He really wanted to find the Appian Way, the ancient road by which Paul entered the city of Rome. I was game, so we packed up our baby who was still nursing, and set out to find the Appian Way.

Now, the Appian Way is not one of the major tourist attractions in Rome. We took the metro to a part of the city that was definitely outside of the mainstream tourist areas. We did find a street called the Appian Way, but it was a modern version, and not the ancient thoroughfare we were searching for. With a baby in tow, time is a very precious commodity when traveling. When the baby has had enough, everyone must break to take care of the baby’s needs. There is no negotiating with a tired baby. So, we hailed a taxi and asked them to take us to the Appian Way.

The taxi driver did not know exactly where the Appian Way was, so he took us to where he thought it was. This also happened to be the site of ancient Christian catacombs outside of the city.

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The countryside was absolutely beautiful.

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I love exploring cities, but there is something so magical about getting beyond the cities and absorbing the natural beauty of the part of the world we are visiting. Flocks of sheep drifted about the grasslands rimmed by cypress and other towering trees. It really was an idyllic setting.

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The only way to see the actual catacombs was to take a tour. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed. If you are ever in Rome, I highly recommend going to see them. Aside from the amazing size and maze like tunnels stretching for miles beneath the earth, the catacombs have beautiful frescoes. The subject of the paintings are of death and resurrection. Stories like Jonah and the Whale are depicted above the doorways to many of the rooms. Because they were the earliest Christians in the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D., all of the writing is in Greek instead of Latin. The fish symbol so prevalent in the early Christian writings was also depicted throughout the catacombs. We learned that the word fish in Greek is an acronym for Jesus Christ, the Son of God. There was a solemnity to seeing those ancient graves with their beliefs of the afterlife so vibrantly depicted in those frescoes. Touring the catacombs was one of our favorite things we did in Italy. Unfortunately, our little baby was not as much of a fan. She started crying about halfway through the tour. I don’t think she liked being underground.

Above ground, we fed her and took some time to walk around. And guess what? We did find the Ancient Appian Way, the road that Paul walked on his approach to Rome to appeal to Caesar.

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