Art! Arte!

So today is my last day in Spain and I hit the art scene hard. I went to the Museo Reina Sofia for a dose of contemporary art then headed over to the Prado for some more classical, and I must say enjoyable art. And holy crap did the Prado's collection ever impress me! They have numerous Rubens, Velazquez, Goyas, Titians, Tintorettos, Raphaels, El Grecos, Boschs, etc! I was amazed. The only disappointment was that every single time I tried to take a photo I was either yelled at or the lighting was so bad that the amazing details of say Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights were completely unrecognizable. So, I will pull some much better versions off the internet to give visual examples of what I saw. Here is just a short list for those of you interested: Fra Angelico's Annunciation, Mantegna's Death of the Virgin, Van der Weyden's Descent from the Cross- AWESOME!, Bosch's Table of 7 Deadly Sins and Garden of Earthly Delights, Brueghel's Triumph of Death, Durer's Self Portrait and Adam and Eve, Titian's Bacchanal and Danae and the Gold Shower, El Greco's Adoration of the Shepherds, Poussin's Parnassus, Velazquez's Drinkers, Surrender at Breda, and Las Meninas!, Rubens' 3 Graces, Goya's Naked Maja, Family of Charles IV, The 3rd of May, and Saturn devouring his Child. These are just a few highlights. Im surprised I didnt have a Stendhal moment, but there were definitely some somaesthetic reactions for sure (only AH people will understand this sentence).

So now Im participating in siesta and getting ready for Alfredo's speed walking tour of Madrid and tomorrow's flight to Roma!!!! I cant wait to get to Amelia, unpack, and get to know my home for the next 3 months. I am unaware of the internet situation there, so no promises on when the next post will be, but stay tuned- it might be sooner than you think.

Adios Espana, Ciao Italia!!!