An Art day……Banksy Museum and the Prado Museum

 Getting into the swing of life in Madrid….get up early, do your thing, siesta in the afternoon and then go out again.  These little old ducks can’t do the late night…it seems whatever we do we are away at 6 am…regardless of what time we close our eyes.  

So this morning we had a few video calls with our loved ones back home, catching up on the news and then ventured out to the Plaza del Sol and in search of a post office…we had this great idea that we could perhaps post some items home before the next leg of our journey.  Some online research told us it would be about eur 50….never believe what you read online (despite it being an official post office website).  We were looking more like eur 180!!!! So that plan was dispatched on its way.   We then looked at another suitcase option but neither of us really need one, so for now, we are going to try to rearrange our luggage and just make do.   

After that research, we found the biggest Zara Clothing store in the world and had a lovely time wandering.  I bought another pair of shorts, as I fear that is all I will wear for the next few weeks given the heat….today a top of 34 C…and very dry.  What is different for us is the heat comes in the late afternoon - around 4 til 7 pm.  

We then ventured to the Banksy Museum Madrid and spent a few hours wandering a converted basement carpark where there were numerous displays of Banksy art broken into time periods, countries and topics and supplemented with small documentaries explaining the contexts.  It was really good!  It was an enjoyable few hours and I marvelled at the breadth and variety of his social commentary and activism, for example - he has been active in drawing attention to the Gaza situation for over 15 years - I would love to hear what he thinks of the last 15 months or so.  

After a full morning out we decided to head back to our apartment for a light lunch and siesta before heading to the Prado Museum. The museum dates back over 200 years and the pieces have been largely collected or commissioned by the Spanish Monarchy. It houses artists such as Bosch, Titian, El Greco, Rubens, Velázquez and Goya.  As with many of the times and I guess a predominantly Catholic population, the topics are religiously based.  Some more placid and peace loving than others - which appear quite gruesome, angry and somber.  We had gone at the end of the day when you get in for free so only had a few hours before closing time.  I think you need a number of visits to this Museum to appreciate the breadth and depth of the collection.  

No words!

Even at the end of the day the place was jam packed!

Just outside the Museum is the Botanical Gardens…more time needed!