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This was my first solo trip!
One day in Madrid all by myself. When I followed the map and reached my hostel all by myself, I felt such an amazing sense accomplishment. :P
That night I just strolled in the city, met Pramod and Sevta after 1 hour of hunting for a street that wasn't listed in the map. The next morning I took a ticket for the hop on hop off bus. Best decision ever! As I didn't have to walk a metre. Aaah..finally a relaxed travel day.
I started off with the Plaza Mayor, the centre of the city filled with street artists, human statues, tourists and gelato shops. It was small but lively.
Then came the Museo del Prado,my first big museum of Europe. It was magnificent and I fell in love with audio guides all over again. Ahh...listening to the stories behind each painting, losing yourself in the artist's vision..it was amazing. My favorite paintings were-
1. Saturn devouring his son by Francisco Goya
2. The nobleman with his hand on his chest by El Greco
3. Venus and Adonis by Titian
4. Visitation by Rafael
I was excited about Templo de Debod as I hadn't seen anything really ancient so far in Europe. Unfortunately it was not open to vistors that day. But the silver lining was that it was located in a really huge and beautiful park, which was hilly and from where you could get great view of the city. There were beautiful fountains and ponds adorning the park. It was very pleasant. The breeze, the sun, the birds.
Next came my absolute favorite! The Palacio Real. My stupid camera was dead and I couldn't capture any of the awesomeness. This was when the 'garibi' of India actually hot me. I lost my breath when I saw the palace. Room after room after room, filled with golden painted ceilings, eevrything from the carpets, the furniture the curatins, the mirror, the cutlery..everything was rich, overflowing with affluence and luxury. It was a true palace in the real sense of the word. I couldn't help but gasp at every little thing- the serving bowl. the frames of the paintings, the door handles- every tiny thing was like a dream.
It was like walking in Uncle Scrooge's house. Absolute paradise!
I saw the Teatro Real from outside, I wasn't sure if they had visitors. I was too comfortabel in my hop on hop off bus to get off and check :P
Next stop was Museo Thyssen, It was a small museum but filled withmany masterpieces. It had a lot of modern art, after listening to the interpretations on the audioguide, I didn't quite know whether to love them or hate them! My favorites were-
Dream caused by flight of a bee by Salvador Dali
The Annunciation by El Greco
Harlequin with a mirror by Pablo Picasso
Swaying Dancerby Edgar Degas
Next stop was Cathedral Almudena, a small cathedral in the middle of the city with a Neo-Gothic architecture and some visible Islamic influences. It wasn't one of the more memorable churches I visited in Europe.
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