Politics and Marriage Beds

The sun came out with warmth today. What a joy. Yesterday we went to the Royal Palace but they were closed, for some royal palatial stuff, I guess. So, lucky for us the Reina Sofia is open on Mondays and we were able to go there and visit Guernica. The Reina Sofia has a lot of work by Spanish and other artists from the 1930’s through 1970’s. The 60’s and 70’s here look about as artistically scattered as in the US. Not much of interest to me.

However, there were some nice works by Dali, Miro, Calder and Picasso. Their exhibition design was not to my liking, very confusing, and placed video work within six inches of Dali paintings. I don’t think that works.

We were able to spend a great deal of time with “Guenica” and Picasso’s sketches leading up to this famous painting. This is the second time I’ve been able to see all this work. It is fascinating to watch the composition and elements of the painting arise and change as he worked. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many sketches of a painting that you can actually watch it form.

This painting is near and dear to my youth. During the late sixties and early seventies it was a symbol of the anti war movement. There was a poster of this in every apartment or room. Also, by the seventies there were also posters of Ché and Mao. I don’t think the irony of that ever occurred to any of us. If you were playing the child’s game of which of these things matches or which item doesn’t belong with the others, the people responsible for the horrors of Guernica, Franco, Hitler and Mussolini belong with Mao and Ché and Castro and Stalin, and not with Picasso’s sentiments expressed in Guernica. This late in life I may just come to believe the ends do not justify the means.

After the museum we stopped at a little café for a snack. Just as we ordered it start to pour rain. So we hung out all cozy like munching on fried rice, mine with chicken and Leea’s with vegetables, and sipping café con leche, watching the rain. I don’t think you ever have to worry about being caught short of anything in Madrid as long as you have a few euros. Almost before the first raindrop hit the pavement there were venders out on the street selling umbrellas for three euro, about five dollars.

We strolled around when the rain stopped and then came back to our hotel for a little reading and siesta. About ten we went out for Thai food. We sat in a charming Thai restaurant in a little cozy cubby space with a view of the street and open windows. Leea had curried vegetable and I had pad Thai noodles sans carrots and chunks. Those of you who know my health issues will appreciate the lack of peanut chunks and carrots. Yes I am being cautious.

This morning we went to the Palace again and waited in a short queue. We actually rented the audio tour. I don’t normally like those things when viewing art, but I’m glad we got them for this tour because they gave us a lot of information about the history and materials. There was one room made entirely on porcelain, the walls, ceiling, everything!! Most of the rooms were just over the top rococo conspicuous consumption.

Besides inbreeding the royals really like to spend lots of money on gaudy things. I suppose they weren’t considered gaudy at the time, but considering the poverty so many of the people endured, you’d think they would have winced a little. Anyway it was quite fun imagining the ladies trying to navigate the stairways in those large heavy dresses. The other surprising thing is it seems that most of the Spanish Royalty were not Spanish. How does that happen?

I wonder why Royalty are always so ugly looking. Is it the inbreeding? Is it the lack of concern for the people they rule? Or maybe they just don’t get out in the sun enough or exercise enough, because they don’t have to do real work or anything physical. Good lord they even had people to help them take a bath and dress. Can you imagine? “Help with my knickers, please. Oh gracious that tickles. A little lower please.” But I digress. It is just so easy to amuse my little mind.

After the Royal Palace we stopped for another snack and then went back to the hotel for our siesta.

After the siesta I went to the Convent founded by one of the sister of one of the Spanish Kings, Juana of Austria. It was originally a palace, but the Juana converted it to a convent. The nuns were Franciscan Clares but because so many of them were tied to the Royal Family they were called the “Barefoot Royals”. To this day the convent has ties to the Royal family. Something tells me that if, despite all the wealth and conspicuous consumption, the women want to go and live in a cloistered convent, live in a four by three foot dormitory space and sleep on a stone bench with a straw mattress, something good wasn’t happening in the marriage bed. In fact, it seems like something very bad must have been going on. Anyway, many of them chose to leave their families, children and all and go live the life of a cloistered nun. They are Franciscan Saint Clare nuns. I’m thinking of all those hours praying and meditating and never going out side and I’m wondering if facebook would help.

Well enough of this. We are going tonight to another vegetarian restaurant for dinner.