Camino 2

Sunday, 6th October, 2019.
From Fr Michael's daily letter:

"Life itself is a pilgrimage and the human being is a 'viator', a pilgrim travelling along the road, making his way to the desired destination [...] may pilgrimage be an impetus to conversion."  (Pope Francis Misericordiae Vultus 14)

It's Sunday.  After a very delicious breakfast (you could squeeze your own orange juice), our bus took us to Madrid's Almudena Cathedral, where we celebrated Mass in an exquisite little chapel.

When the capital of Spain was transferred from Toledo to Madrid in 1561, King Felipe II wanted a cathedral for his new capital.  Plans were discussed as early as the 16th century to build a cathedral dedicated to the Virgin of Almudena. Construction did not begin until 1879, and the cathedral was finally finished in 1993, when it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II.

The bright interior of the cathedral is based on the Neo-Gothic style, that it is uniquely modern, with chapels and statues of contemporary artists, in heterogeneous styles, from historical revivals to "pop-art" decor.

The ceiling decoration is the work of painter Jose Luis Galicia. It is of a geometric character, with a style reminiscent of the Mudéjar coffered ceilings, due to its colours and the use of gold leaf.
Mudéjar art dates from the 11th century. The advance of the Christian armies in their reconquest of the lands occupied by the Arabs allowed many Muslim master craftsmen to stay in their homes and work for the kings and lords of Castile and Aragon. The result was a new architectural style, genuinely Spanish, with a pervasive Muslim personality.  (Yes, I did get that bit out of Wikipedia). 

This is the beautiful chapel where we celebrated our Sunday Eucharist.  Veronica, another solo lady, from Hobart, and I, took up the gifts. Michael is really encouraging "fully conscious and active participation" in the liturgy and the entire pilgrimage.  (He is a good delegator.)  Once again, it was a very meaningful Mass.

I didn't see the sign that said "No Photography" in this chapel until after I had taken some pictures of these truly beautiful mosaics.  In this shot of the miracle of the loaves, I missed out the little boy on the right of Jesus, who was holding up a small basket of loaves,

Adam and Eve and the serpent.

I'm not really sure about this one.  Any suggestions?

We were all given a medal to commemorate the cathedral's 25th Jubilee year.

After Mass, we were given a tour of The Royal Palace of Madrid, the official residence of the Spanish royal family, although now only used for state ceremonies.  King Felipe VI and the royal family do not reside in the palace, choosing instead the significantly more modest Palace of Zarzuela on the outskirts of Madrid.

The palace is the largest functioning royal palace in Europe, containing 3,418 rooms.  We didn't see all of them.

It is the most opulently decorated building I have ever seen.  We weren't allowed to take photos in most of it - this is a ceiling in one of the two areas we could photograph.  Just imagine opulence on opulence.

There were eight chandeliers like this in this room. (Simone Strushko, eat your heart out).

This is a painting of the Spanish royal family, painted some time ago.  Our guide had some juicy stories to tell about them.
A high point for me was a room that had two Stradivarius violins, a viola and a cello.

We then walked outside, to Madrid's lively Plaza Mayor.  This laneway off it is called the Calle del Codo, or Elbow Street, as illustrated.

Our guide suggested that this smiling gentleman has been required to parade around the streets in this outfit as part of a buck's party.  He added that this is why he has never married.

Madrid is famous for its pure water.  Michael checks it out.

Around the streets.

Las Meninas is a 1656 painting in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. Its complex and enigmatic composition raises questions about reality and illusion, and creates an uncertain relationship between the viewer and the figures depicted. Wikipedia

I found one!

The Maids of Honour by Velázquez will invade Madrid and will be placed in streets, squares and recognisable settings to express the vision of the city of their creators, diverse personalities from the world of art, film, sport and celebrities in general.   

The initiative reinterprets each of the Infant Margarita’s maids of honour in the famous painting by Velázquez in the form of a sculpture. The aim is to portray the plural identity of the Spanish capital through a street museum made up of more than 50 Maids of Honour. Two metres high, each one will carry an individual message and, together, they will help to reveal Velázquez’s “infinite message”.

A group of us went to the Queen Sofia museum which features Spanish modern art.  The most popular painting there was Picasso's Guernica.  I was sure I had seen it in the Prado in about 1974.  I found out that Picasso's paintings had been moved from the Prado to the Queen Sofia in 1992.

My best shot of it.  It turned out that you weren't supposed to photograph it either.

"An accurate depiction of a cruel, dramatic situation, Guernica was created to be part of the Spanish Pavilion at the International Exposition in Paris in 1937. Pablo Picasso’s motivation for painting the scene in this great work was the news of the German aerial bombing of the Basque town whose name the piece bears.  At this time, most of the men of the town were away at the war, leaving only the women and children.  The mural would become the emblem for all the devastating tragedies of modern society, and a generic plea against the barbarity and terror of war."  From the Queen Sofia website.

We enjoyed another splendid dinner in a restaurant across the road from the hotel.

Tomorrow we do our first Camino walk.