Madrid Part III

The gems of Madrid are undisputedly its museums and we were lucky to be able to visit the 2 big ones - Centro del Arte Reina Sofia and the Museo del Prado. 

The Reina Sofia is well-known for Picasso's Guernica but it didnt speak to me as I felt detached from the Spanish civil war. However, the Dali exhibition was well worth every cent. Luckily I already bought tickets online cos the queues were horrendous!

The Prado had many Goya paintings and other Spanish artists throughout the centuries... It is to Madrid what the Louvre is to Paris. It wasnt my favorite. 

But the one painting worth seeing is the Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch.

To this day, no one can accurately give a full and complete analysis of this painting depicting heaven, hell and our world.

This is the amazing Caixa Forum which is hard to miss as you are walking towards the Museo del Prado. A modern art gallery with a garden on a wall! 

However, if you only have time for ONE museum in Madrid, let it be the smaller Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza which to me, is one of the BEST museums in the world. 

The reason for this is its size which is very accessible being smaller than most museums and the fact that this museum is essentially a private art collection. Hence many major artists from the different art movements are represented. We saw Chagall, Renoir, Gauguin, Monet, Van Gogh, Degas, Manet, even Lichtenstein... it's an amazing amazing museum. I highly recommend it if you ever go to Madrid.

And as the sun continued to smile over Madrid, we packed our bags and headed back to grey Paris, our hearts heavy but well-fed with art, food and the sun. 

Madrid part II

Sunday was for little Charlotte who has grown up so much since the last time I saw her in Singapore.

And she had her sweet little friends Nolwenn and Alba... They are the cutest girls I ever met!

And our friends prepared a feast for us!

But merely a few hours after polishing off all these, we headed to Mercado San Miguel where we ate the biggest olives we ever saw.

These got us all excited as we eat olives almost everyday back home and have yet to come across such big juicy ones.

Our favorites were the ones stuffed with spanish ham, anchovies and tuna. Together with Spanish beer, our stomachs were happy and prepped for dinner.

Padron peppers are THE thing to eat when in Spain.. Juicy and fried with a sprinkling of sea salt, they are amazing.

Madrid part I

Between the church & our friend's house, we did not have much time to explore Madrid. And we couldn't stay longer as F had another work trip. Nevertheless, we contented ourselves with museums & feasting on spanish tapas.

The Palacio Real and a beautiful sunset on our first day.

Charming old doors

Forgotten alleys were aplenty... Madrid was quieter and less rowdy than Barcelona.

The 17th century Plaza de la Villa was my favorite square in Madrid. Small and intimate, we came back to it a few times during our walk back to the hotel.

Plaza Mayor, the main square of Madrid but it lacked the charm and authenticity of the smaller squares.

YES.

Back from Madrid and there's something more important than sharing Madrid photos! 

Was walking back from the supermarket and what do I see?

Gontran Cherrier, who opened the famous Tiong Bahru Bakery in Singapore has set up shop 5 mins from my place! I loved going to TBB when I was working in Singapore. Could never say no to the croissants or lemon tart, and neither could my colleagues.

But a good croissant or lemon tart does not get me as excited as a good cup of coffee... In a stroke of pure genius, he has collaborated with Café Coutume as well! As i walked in, I saw Cafe Coutume signs everywhere and I thought OK this must be heaven. I could not believe my eyes. 

FINALLY good coffee in my suburb. I was lamenting to F the other day that St Germain en Laye had everything except a good cafe... not the typical french cafe but a good bright airy cafe with trained baristas who could do latte art just like Cafe Coutume in central Paris.

And just like that, my prayers have been answered.

Madrid

Today we are going to Madrid for the first Communion of my husband's god-daughter.

A very short trip but enough to go see Dali at the museum and overdose on tapas!