Trains, Art and Movies

The Palacio Real de Madrid is a majestic, white, 2000 room palace modeled on the Palace of Versailles and overlooking the Casa de Campo and the River Manzanares. Originally built by Felipe II when he moved the capital of Spain from the midieval city of Toledo to Madrid in the 16th century, it is currently not the residence of the Spain´s royal family. They live is a small palace outside the city called "El palacio de la zarzuela". The Palacio Real is used for events of State, such as formal dinners, receptions, document signings - official business. Parts of it are open to the public: the main staircase, many of the private quarters of the king and queen, reception rooms, the dining and ball room and the armory. It contains an extensive collection of art, armor of Felipe II, Carlos III, and Carlos V and there was a special exhibit of Carlos IV. Our visit included about 25 rooms including one of the most extensive and amazing exhibits of violins and violincellos created by the master Stradavarius. There were at least 6 original magnificent instruments from the 18th century.
I began taking a class last week - an advanced level in preparation to take a language proficiency examination for certification in advanced Spanish. So after the tour of the royal palace, the students dispersed to their respective homes for dinner. On Wednesday, we left school a little early in order to go to the Museo de Ferrocarriles - the Train Museum. What a fascinating place! Our guide was a retired train conductor who leads tours as a volunteer. He explained how steam engines worked from the time of wooden fire driven locomotives up to the present electric, high speed trains. We got to sit in some 1950´s rain cars, view the sleeping compartments and see the various classes of cars available to the public. The highlight was a room filled with model trains which the attendant worked from a remote control. Every kid´s dream. The boys thoroughly enjoyed their visit.
There is a special exhibit at the Prado Museum featuring the art of one of the most important Spanish artists of the 20th century, Joaquín Sorolla. I arranged a special time to go and some (about 8) of the students elected to attend with me. On Thursday we are going to see his house, which is a museum in its own right, but this particular exhibición temporal is very important as it contains much of his work that is not usually exhibited in Spain. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ESPq8JsPU4
Sorolla was commissioned by Archer Huntington (of Fairfield Co. fame - Huntington Park in Redding)to paint 14 large canvasses for the HispanoAmerican Society in New York. Much of that work is being exhibited in this show. Sorolla is noted for his impressionist style, use of bright colours and beach scenes.

On Thursday the entire group went to see Sorolla´s house which is also a museum and today, they have a movie, El Laberinto de Fauna - Pan´s Labyrinth. Tomorrow begins our last weekend in Madrid: we head for Toledo. Hopefully there will be lots of photos.