MADRID: LAST DAY

We were on our own for our last full day in Madrid before returning home.  We began the morning with a walk from our hotel through the city's largest urban park, Parque del Retiro.  The park shone beautifully in the early fall weather, and I took a few photos of some of the park's statuary.

These included a fountain featuring a sculpture of Lucifer that apparently is not well liked by the populace.  I thought the main sculpture was dramatic but difficult to photograph because of Lucifer's very dark color.

But what I liked more were a series of whimsical devil sculptures that ringed the circular fountain basin.  Here is one of those.

At the end of our walk we found ourselves at the Prado, Madrid's largest and most prestigious art museum, best known perhaps for its large collection of art by Spanish masters, particularly Goya and Velazquez.  Unfortunately, the museum does not allow photography, so I have nothing to show for our visit.  I did get the following photo of a sculpture outside the Prado that appeared very worn but also very expressive.

After lunch, we walked to the nearby Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which does allow photography, and here are a few of the photos that I took.

"Portrait of a Stout Man," by Campin, 1425.

"Portrait of Charles V," by Cranach, 1533.

(Not sure what the artist got paid for this portrait, considering the shape of Charles's head.)

"Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second before Waking Up" (Yes, that's the title), by Dali, 1944.

"Portrait of Giovanna Tomabuoni," by Ghirlandaio, 1488, my favorite.

In the late afternoon I took my camera out one last time and got the following semi-random shots that I'm including here.

I thought I would wind up this long series of posts with a shot that I took during our walk through the Parque del Retiro.

I thought this conveyed a pleasant, quiet conclusion to a wonderful trip.

John