Exhibition: ¡1914! Avant-Garde and the Great War (Part 1)

In Madrid the big temporary exhibition going on at the moment is ¡1914! Avant-Garde and the Great War exhibit held in two parts in the Thyssen-Bornemisza gallery and the Fundación Caja Madrid. Yesterday I decided to check out the part of the exhibit held in the Fundación Caja Madrid. The main advantage for doing this exhibit first in this centre was because it was free so my friends and I could see if it was something which interested us.




The Fundación Caja Madrid is located near Sol and it a very nicely laid out gallery. Lots of open spaces and very elegant. It consists of a grand hall which is on two levels, and some back rooms.

This part of the exhibition deals with the themes:

-Apocalypse of our time
-Artist and Soldier
-Cubism in the Trenches
-The Stigma of Damnation
-C'est la Guerre!



It is a rather intense exhibition and can make one rather uncomfortable. Which I suppose means it is indeed good art because its initial aim is to shock and make a strong statement. With dramatic and impressionable art from George Grosz, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Wilhelm Lembruck this is an exhibit worth going to. However it is something that will un-nerve you and I know in my case it was not an exhibition I felt comfortable lingering on. I very much enjoyed seeing the works of George Grosz who this exhibition has made me realise is probably an artist that could go up there with my favourites. His Metropolis is one of the key stars of the exhibit along with Kirchner's Artillerymen. Thought provoking, powerful and impressionable. It is an exhibit which really captured the atmosphere of horror and intensity of the first World War.



Dates: 07/10/08-11/01/09
Location: Fundación Caja Madrid; Plaza San Martín 1
Transport: Metro: line 1,2,3,(Sol), line 2,5(Opera) line 3,5(Callao),
Buses: 1,2,3,5,15,25,29,44,50,51,53,146,148 and 150
Hours: Tue-Sun (10am-8pm), closed Mon.
Price: Free

Opera: Un Ballo in Maschera - Guiseppe Verdi

Before I launch into a review on this opera I want to point out something very useful to those aged 26 and under. The Teatro Real Opera house has a special offer for that age group regarding last minute tickets. From 6.30pm (or 4.30pm on Sundays) on the evening of the show they start to sell last minute tickets at 90% discount!! So you can get the best seats in the house at a mere 15€! All you need to do is bring ID with you and it is a good idea to check how many tickets are still available on the webpage and get there around 5.30-6 to queue.



I went into Un Ballo in Maschera completely ignorant about this opera except for the fact it was by Verdi. It is the first opera of the season and I am going to try to motivate myself to go to all or nearly of the operas on in the Teatro Real this season, especially as I am fortunate enough to be applicable for the last minute discount.

The story is standard opera - love triangles, plotting, death, passionate declarations of love etc. All very Verdi. It is set in Boston (I believe originally the setting was 18th Century but the production was done in the 19th century).

The opera opens with a very simple set, almost minimalistic with just lush fabric and paintings as backdrop amidst a fancy chorus of men in period dress. The music is full, intense and wonderfully sung. It immediately throws you into the opera which has a style bordering on Opera Comique style. The tenor playing Count Riccardo is singing amazingly well from the start, bold, clear and full of emotion. The baritone cast as Renato is a little bit quiet and overshadowed by the tenor accompanying him on stage but he really comes into full force as the opera continues and significantly improves.

The next scene is designed almost modernist style with an industrial style fence and wiring that looks almost like a modern, urban scene yet filled with people in period clothing. This is the den of the witch Ulrica, whom the Count goes to see in disguise. He sees his beloved Amelia - wife to his best friend and secretary Renato, declare her love for him to the witch here. The scene is accompanied with other predictions of the count's death and the good fortune of other men. This scene is very animated and goes through a roller-coaster of emotions from happiness to melancholie to high tension. The mezzo -soprano who plays the witch steals the scene most definitely here and has a great stage presence.

We pause for 20 minutes and resume with an act which is almost as long as the interval, but seeing the spectacularly constructed set of a ruined fort filled with rubble and almost realistic I can see why the need for an interval was required. This scene pulls together the rest of the opera. The lovers meet in secret and declare their love in a passionate and beautiful duet, the plot to kill the count thickens, and Renato discovers his wife's infidelity to the count and turns on him. This scene is executed with tension as well as some comic relief from the chorus with their lyrical laughing.

The final act opens with a very simple set of a study where the plot to kill the count is being planned. Renato and his conspirators discuss the plan for the murder which is over heard by Amelia, and she is forced to chose the name from the urn as to who will kill him. This scene out of the others comes across as the most bland, as it does not have the air of dramaticsim that the others have, but it builds up to a feeling of strong tension and release in an instant.

The act continues with a beautiful aria from the tenor in a hall of mirrors which reflects the whole opera house back at you. This was executed flawlessly by the tenor that even got a huge rise out of the audience when he finished.

The mirror tilts to reveal the lower galleries and gives you the illusion that you are in a manor house where the ball is taken place. The stage is filled with the chorus dressed in fine gowns and masks. It is a visual and aural feast on the viewer as the reflection to the lower gallery to dancers and musicians is distracting from the rest of the acts on the stage and you don't know where to look! The opera reaches its intense climax which is the death of the count. Verdi certainly has a very good way of expressing drama and tension in his music and he certainly manages this in this final scene. Although the count trying to rise as if he was OK made me think of Violetta's death scene in La Traviata a bit as well as Monty Python's "I'm getting better!" but I think this is a personal amusement to me.

Un ballo in Maschera was definitely a visually stunning and entertaining opera to watch. The singers were good, and some were exceptional. Definitely very entertaining and worth going to see if you can. However it was not the most memorable opera production I have seen but this may have to do with my personal musical preferences and having been spoilt by seeing Les Arts Florissants production of L'Orfeo the last time I went to the opera. Un Ballo in Maschera is not an opera where you will go away humming the aria to yourself, and for the opera virgin it is not the one I would recommend first. But saying that it is a good show and if you have a love for Verdi or Opera Comique style opera, or general dramaticism then do go along and check it out.

Dates:9,10,12,13,15,16,18,19 of October
Location: Teatro Real, Plaza Oriente
Transport:Metro line 5,line 2, R (Opera) or line 1, line 3(Sol)
Prices:Without discount (16€-151€) ages 26 or under at last minute tickets get 90% off!

Exhibition: Etruscan Princes - Between East and West

Not much is known about the mysterious civilisation of the Etruscans. A civilisation which existed in Italy in pre-Roman times, contemporary with the flourishing Grecian civilisation, yet despite the close proximity to the other Mediterranean cultures the Etruscans were very distinct. The art and style of these people borrowed styles and influences from their neighbours, yet it is this very fusion which makes the art of the Etruscans very unique. An eclectic blend of Archaic Greek which can be seen in the faces of some of the statues or the geometric designs on some of the pots, as well as influences from the Phoenitians and even Persian. Most of the Etruscan artefacts were recovered are from tombs, however the unusual beliefs of the Etruscans regarding death meant that many objects reflecting daily life and comfort were buried along side their owner adding as a window to their daily lives.



In the CaixaForum in Madrid, just along the Paseo del Prado is an exquisite exhibition solely dedicated to the Etruscan civilisation. A rare collection of over 170 Etruscan artefacts from some of the best museums in the world (The Louvre, The archaeological museums in Florence, the Vatican and Rome), detailing different aspects of Etruscan life from life to death to religion to daily life. This exhibition I found to be pretty intense and a minimum of two hours was required to do the whole thing - and I am not one of those people who studies one object for half an hour at a time!



Incredible gold jewellery with such detail you become completely seduced by it! Tiny animals done in such detail and unique style it completely charms you! Fascinating sculptures which have an almost modern avant-garde feel to them as well as a purely archaic feel. The exhibition is very well laid out with a nice and interesting overview of the life in this mysterious civilisation.

A definite must see for anyone who has an interest in the Etruscan civilisation or a passion for Archaeology. It is worth to invest a few hours to get the most out of this exhibition but it is definitely something I felt like I came away like I learned a lot about this interesting and mysterious pre-Roman civilisation. Also from an artistic point of view it is also a very curious experience to see parallels between other cultures even some things which to our society would not look out of place.





Dates: 2/10/08-18/01/09
Location: CaixaForum, Paseo del Prado 36
Transport: Metro - line 1(Atocha), bus 10,14,27,34,45
Hours: Monday - Sunday (9am-8pm)
Price: Free

Welcome to Bohemian Madrid

Welcome to the new blog Bohemian Madrid. A new project I am starting up with the aim to highlight activities of culture in Madrid as well as things of hedonism such as interesting bars, clubs, restaurants and unusual experiences to be had in this thriving city! I am hoping to turn this blog into a community where people can post articles and help keep this blog active instead of having one person to do all the work.

Bohemian Madrid sprung out of my previous blog on here (jensmadrid.blogspot.com) where the previous articles on here come from. I want to expand it into something more and maybe make this blog more like an online magazine type of thing for both the Madrid locals and tourists, and anyone who is interested.

To summarise the aim of the articles I would like to have on this site are:

-Reviews of exhibitions, concerts (classical, alternative, jazz etc), operas, theatre
-Highlight up and coming events in the month
-Reviews and anecdotes from interesting bars, unusual clubs
-Articles on alternative lifestyles in Madrid
-Interviews with people of interest
-Show casing art, poetry and literature of Madrid artists
-Articles on places of interest or anecdotes of Madrid experiences

Madrid is a wonderful city bursting with life and art! A European city which is often overlooked in shadow of more famous cities such as Paris, London, Barcelona etc but has just as much to offer.

If you are interested in participating in this project please email us at bohemianmadrid@gmail.com

Corsets and Absinthe

It had been a while since I went been Goth clubbing. Despite the fact I think sometimes Goths should smile more often and be less serious about life, I love a lot of things about the Goth culture. I adore the music, the literature and the clothes. I am a proud owner of four stunning corsets. Unfortunately seeing as it is 2008 and not 1908 wearing a corset on a daily basis is not only bloody uncomfortable but will get you strange looks from people, especially in my job.

However one of my favourite things about Goth clubs is that I look perfectly normal wearing a corset there. Another thing I love is the music and also there are some very amusing and interesting characters you would only meet in the Goth club (like the guy alone at the bar wearing listening to his iPod and looking like a professional in misery).

A few months ago, I managed to convince some friends to go clubbing with me there. I met some really cool people who also were in the search for clubbing buddies in the dark side of the Madrid club scene. After months of saying we were going make plans to go again (but travel, life and work got in the way) we decided por fin to go again.

A main question on anyone's lips on a Madrid night out is "Which bar to start in?". Considering this was not going to be the average night out in Malasaña or in Sol we had to think of an appropriate bar to start feeling our inner Goth. There are some good places around and about but they were either to far or we didn't know them. Drinking red wine in my bedroom while listening to Sisters of Mercy or VNV nation seemed a bit cliché and less fun to me and it is what I always end up doing. However my friend introduced me to the wonderful, charmingly bohemian Café Manuela in the district of Malasaña and conveniently close to the club.



It is a fancy looking place, but it does not feel expensive nor pretentious. It is decorated as if it were a bar from 19th Century Montmartre. What was even better was that they served absinthe - three different types of absinthe. Sounds cliché too but I personally don't care - I love Absinthe!



However a lot of places when you ask for absinthe have no idea what to do with it and give you "chupitos" or if they know what to do with it, there still isn't very much of it. My friends sensibly elected the 50% one, I on the other hand went for the 70% because I usually drink that (a tiny bit watered down a LOT).

The bartender took out three large tumblers full of ice and filled them to the brim with absinthe, the colours turning milky as the absinthe interacted with the ice. I stood there mesmerised and in shock was the bar tender filled my glass with a dark green and very flammable drink (I know that form experience when I introduced my hand to some absinthe and a lighter). We were given a glass of water to accompany it too, and along with some sugar. We sat back down and started to drink. We three looked rather out of place all gothed up (well we suited the place more - I guess the others were looking out of place really) as we sipped on milky concoctions of different shades of green. The absinthe was very good, but very strong. After making my way down on half of the glass I already felt I would have trouble walking down the stairs to the bathroom. On finishing the tumbler I swore to myself not to drink any more alcohol that night or I would simply die!

We proceeded towards Gran Via to the Gothic club Dark Hole. This is the only goth club in Madrid I have been to, and I must say it's pretty good! I personally really liked the music which was a combination of 80's batcave and synthpop and then moving on towards EBM as the night reaches it's peak. Nearly everyone is dressed in black in there but there are still a couple of people in t-shirt and jeans. I had a fabulous time dancing most of the night on the stage with enough absinthe in my blood to erase my inhibitions and enough redbull to keep me dancing for hours like a monkey on speed. A club recommended for anyone in to 80s music, alternative dance music, into the goth culture or for a night out clubbing with a difference. I love this club and it's my autumn's resolution to go there more often following café Manuela and my tumbler of Absinthe - but I will elect the 50% one next time.

Ciné Dore - Bringing the old school cinematic magic back

A month or two ago, a friend of mine invites me out to see an Ingmar Bergman film. I am always up for doing things providing time, money and energy permits so I thought why not. We met up at the metro station Anton Martin in "El Barrio de las Letras" meaning the Neighbourhood of literature which I think is such a charming name! It's just off Latina and Lavapies in the heart of old Madrid.



The cinema is a delight! It's an old restored cinema from the early part of the 20th century. With beautiful Deco style both inside and outside. Cine Doré specialises in showing films from the Spanish ministry of Culture's archive. They have special themes each month and show about 3 films per day. It is incredibly cheap to get into with tickets only costing 2.50€ per piece with student discounts available and also the option of getting an abono for 20€ for 10 shows!


The actual cinema hall itself is a delight! With balconies, gilded columns, murals and a wonderful stage with a heavy theatrical curtain, you think you are there to see a play rather than going to the movies.

You don't need to be a film lover to appreciate the charm of Cine Doré, they have a wonderful café there which is free to enter and is really stylish and delightful! It's one of the few bars in Madrid that is quiet and non-smoking and is ideal to go and work on your latest novel, read a book, study or just hang out for a nice conversation with friends. Whether your poison of choice is wine, beer, coffee or something heavier they have good quality and cheap drinks there. I highly recommend their coffee by the way!

For more details on the film program and opening hours check out the website (its not fancy and in Spanish but it has all the up to date information there) http://www.mcu.es/cine/MC/FE/CineDore/index.html

The Flavour of Madrid...

I abhor supermarkets with a passion. I find them so clinical, depressing and not to mention expensive! The vegetables go off in a couple of days and are usually fairly tasteless. They maybe convenient, but I try to avoid the supermarket whenever I can.

A friend of mine introduced me a couple of months ago to the market hall - I large hall filled with different stalls selling everything from fresh vegetables to game. You could pretty much buy everything you want fresh here and at half the price, and do it in a way that is not only a sensory experience but interesting and with an atmosphere full of character and Madrileño charm.

I live on the south side of town, just off La Latina. But "El Mercado de Maravillas", which translates charmingly as "The Market of Marvels", sounds like something out of 1001 nights is the best in Madrid and the cheapest. I have been to other food markets but this one is my favourite. I even take the #3 bus all the way from Puerta Toledo to Cuatro Caminos every Saturday morning to shop at this wonderful place. The bus journey itself can be a pleasure as it passes through the centre of Madrid and you get a free tourist trail thrown in! Within half an hour I arrive at this Market of Marvels and am ready to do my shopping.




Although there are many bars to tempt you to a nice caña with a bit of Paella or preserved peppers before you engage in doing your weekly shop. For about 1.80€ you can get a nice little beer with a small pincho of Paella to give you that energy to shop. Now doesn't that sound like so much more fun than going to the supermarket?

My first port of call is the vegetable stall at the back of the market. This is owned by Latinos and caters to the Latin community of the area. There are an incredibly wide range of delicious and fresh vegetables at very low prices! I come away with kilos of delicious fruit and veg of all colours for under 15€!! You can get a kilo of artichokes for 1.50€, fresh ripe tomatoes, chilis, tender avocados that melt in the mouth, shiny red apples, juicy and sweet oranges to make your own juice with, basil that is so aromatic you can smell it a mile off.



You want some cheese? Next door there is a fine cheesery selling all sorts of different Iberian Cheeses, Manchego, Queso de Cabra (Goats cheese), cured old cheeses in olive oil, Queso Fresco, Blue Cheeses the lot.

There are stalls of Butchers selling you every part of the animal from beef to even game so fresh it has not been skinned or plucked yet. There are fish mongers with a choice of every type of marine crustacean and fish so shiny and fresh.

After the veggie stall I head to the counter for my delicious marinated olives and roasted peppers. I come away with kilos of legumes and beans, nuts, dried fruits and Valencian rice to make paella or risotto with. The olives are simply to die for! They have every type, size, colour in wonderful marinades. A simple and delicious luxury to have later on your long Saturday lunch with some crusty bread, artichokes, and a glass of good Rioja.

You can buy incredible loose tea with all sorts of tempting smells and flavours. Fresh baguettes and breads of different grains, shapes and sizes. Everything! This market is just a sensual delight of colours, smells, tastes and people. It is wonderful to pick out your food and to interact with a real human. Having them recognise you and chat with you after the many weeks of your weekly loyalty. Its truly marvelous and fun! Then to go home and cook wonderful and tasty meals for the week with such sublime ingredients.

Ditch the supermarket and TV dinners! Go to the market and buy and eat some real food!

A sunday morning on the Paseo del Prado

It was a lovely Sunday morning this weekend and I decided I was in the mood for some art that morning. I had wanted to go to the Reina Sofia, but it was closed due to the day of "los reyes", so walked a bit further up the Paseo del Prado to the Thyssen-Bornemissza art gallery - one of the big three in the Madrid's artistic repertoire.



Out of the three galleries this is my personal favourite. It has a vast collection spanning a 700 years time frame up to and including 20th Century art. It also caters to the art lovers of Monet, Van Gogh, Gaugauin and all the major art movements of the 19th Century which the other two galleries do not have. If you have only time in Madrid to visit only one gallery, and are not too specific on what art you are interested in looking at then go to this one - it has the largest variety and you will not be disappointed in the collection. I didn't do the whole gallery this Sunday as I have been to this museum about 3-4 times, but you do need a whole day really or at least most of the afternoon to see the entire collection. I mainly stuck to the first and ground floor where the 19th-20th century art is located.
Here you will find your Fauvists, impressionists, romanticists, post-impressionists, expressionists, surrealists, cubists - you name it! Certainly proves to be interesting if you want to learn some art history as the art is catagorised by it's genre, and also provides a good cultural education as well as an aesthetic stimulation.

After my time in the gallery I was feeling oh so pretentious and wanted a coffee to follow suite. Not satisfied with the idea of going to the Starbucks next door, even with its chai soy lattes and its view of the Neptune fountain. I wanted grand, yet antique and flaky. Somewhere with character and history, a truly bohemian place to take my cup of black coffee. Where else better than the famous Café Gijón, ten minutes walking distance situated on the Paseo de Recoletos.



It's a deliciously wonderful old world place, built at the end of the 19th century and has been home and inspiration to the Spanish literati and artistic community in the 20th century; as well as being a historical iconic figure in Madrid café life. The place has a decaying grandeur atmosphere to it with its threadbare velvet seats and its chipped gold leaf framed mirrors. It smells musty, and has the ambience of an antique shop. The coffee was nice, but over priced but I supposed it is the price to pay when you are sitting in the seat where the Mata Hari or one of the Spanish literary giants may have sat herself so its excusable. The service is fast, but cold and impersonal - but fast service in Spain is a rarity so think of this as bonus. I guess in hindsight I would probably pay the same in Starbucks for a coffee or just shy of it so maybe not such a bad trade off then. Plus you cant get atmosphere in Starbucks no matter how nice a place it is situated in. I would go back there, and I would recommend going if you are a person who values atmosphere, ambience and history. It's a peaceful place away from the frantic bars of the more familiar Madrid and is a good locale to go to drink a coffee, discuss philosophy with your bohemian friends, write your journal or a novel or read one.

Dinner - somewhere cheap, beautiful with tasty food?

No problem! With all the restaurants in Madrid you dont need to settle for a place which is cheap and nasty, or expensive or beautiful, or with great food with the view of a nice busy road. I was doing a course in Madrid (yes I know I live here, but I just finished an interuniversity course which took me all over Spain, one course being in Madrid) and on one night with a group of my friends from the course we naturally wanted some dinner.

We tried to get a table in the Museo del Jamon off Puerta del Sol but at 11pm they told us it was due to close soon. A dilema! However we are blessed by the multitude of fast food shops around the area, including the wonderful Moaz Falafels (a vegetarian fast food place with is tasty, cheap and relatively healthy) and if you want more traditional you can pick up a cured ham and cheese sandwich from the museo del jamon.

We all went to our fast food place of our choice (me - I took the tasty falafel salad!) and took our food to the plaza Oriente. This is right in the centre in between the Opera house and the Palacio Real. Now who can complain with a view like this:



We were infact seated on the benches at the foot of the statue pictured. It was lovely to sit there eating our cheap fast food of our choice with a spectacular view where a restaurant would have charged us 20% for the pleasure. It was awesome!



I highly recommend it to anyone who fancies a nice picnic in the city centre. Maybe with a date? I could imagine this being highly romantic on a lovely moonlit summers night.

Huertas and All that Jazz

Its been a while since I have updated this journal, but it has been a while since I have been in Madrid for a long period of time. I have been running up and down the country doing courses and I have not had such an opportunity to get out and about. Last night after some great falafels me and a friend of mine went to Calle Huertas to take some great cocktails and its a place where I enjoy to go out sometimes.

Huertas is close to Sol and the bottom C/ Huertas comes up from the paseo del Prado through the old part of the city. It has a very bohemian feel to the area and I love it. Its full of bars and some tapas places with different themes, calibre and people. It buzzes as much during the day as at night. You can take a beer and a tapa in one of the little squares off the street in the hot Spanish sun or you can go out for a nice quiet night or party hard there.

A couple of my favourite haunts was introduced to me by a good friend I met in Germany who is a Madrileña herself. She introduced me to a wonderful bar called "La Trocha" near the bottom part of calle Huertas. It is a small, cosy bar which specialises in the glorious Brazilian cocktail "caipirinha". For those of you who do not know what this is let me introduce you to the way this place makes this delicious cocktail (and sold at the bargain price of 5€). They take fresh lemons and limes and crush them up in a class with a wooden pestle kind of thing, squeezing all the juice out of the fruit. They then add lots of ice, some sugar and top it off with a generous dose of Cachaça (a wonderful sweet Brazilian liqour). They are strong and give you a lot - so take care with the quantities! But it is so sweet and tangy to drink you can hardly taste the strong alcohol. The bar is nice with sofas around, they have a mix of Jazz and Brazilian music playing in the background so a good place to start before heading off to the Populart Café.



Populart is a jazz bar just up the street from La Trocha. It has live music every night from 11pm and is free to enter. The music is usually top notch and is mainly Jazz and Blues of all types. For more information check the website for the program and how to find it: http://www.populart.es/. There is always something going on with exception for christmas and new year more or less. It does get really crowded so if you want a seat or a place at the bar go early. This place practically spills out the door on busy nights. For any lover of live music must check this place out as they standard of the bands are superb.

Gallery Review - The Reina Sofia

Before, I reviewed the Prado gallery, now going to head a little further down the Paseo del Prado to the modern art gallery - one of the big "three" art galleries in Madrid. This here is home to Picassos, Dalis, Miros etc. The Reina Sofia is close to the Atocha station, and is a little tucked in away from the main Paseo del Prado, and marks the beginning of the old neighbourhood of Embajadores, only a stones throw away from Lavapies.

The Reina Sofia is situated in an old square dotted around with many beer taverns, tapas bars and cafés. The Museum building itself is an interesting blend of modern and old, with its grand old fascade tastefully blended with the modern glass elevators. Personally I think this combination of modern and old works; it is my favourite style of architecture if it is done right.

When I went in the summer last year it was the anniversary of Picasso's Guernika returning to Spain after the death of Franco, so all the galleries had a Picasso special. The Reina Sofia is in fact the home to Guernika, and it was done by showing in the rooms where this masterpiece is showcased the sketches and ideas leading up to this painting. Maybe this is a more permanent feature, but to my shame I have not really been back to this gallery since the summer. It was very interesting to see how the painting developed, on the back of napkins from Parisian cafés, old sketch books. Seeing ideas used in their original state, changed, or not included at all. It was like seeing the jigsaw puzzle and the DNA for this truly powerful painting.


Now what of Guernica? It is pretty much one of Picasso's most famous masterpieces, an excellent piece of modern art with a powerful and horrific message. No words can describe the effect this painting has on you when you stand in front of it. It is huge, it takes up a whole wall. The pain and the horror feels so real when you see it right in your face brush stroke for brush stroke. I have seen this picture many times in books, documentaries, on the internet but nothing had prepared me to see it live. Art that inspires emotions, the senses and not just a picture that gives you pleasure to look at it goes beyond art. It is a powerful message expressed through an alternative medium, I guess the ideal of what modern art tries to express often (and usually fails). It is not a pretty picture, I felt very uncomfortable looking at it, but sometimes art is like that. I have watched films before which made me feel like shit afterwards, yet there was no denying it was a good film. Its kind of that feeling. Worth seeing if you are in Madrid, just visit the gallery to see this painting.


Other works in the Reina Sofia includes Dali, Miro and other modern artists. I wont lie when I say I am not the biggest modern art fan. I love one or two artists and I consider Picasso and Dali some of my favourite artists. When modern art is good it is superb and the best form of art, however when its bad, it is terrible, abysmal. One of my reasons I am in no hurry to visit modern art museums, unless they have trippy art installations which are just fun or Dalis or Picassos. Now the Reina Sofia does not dissapoint. It has some fantastic Dalis too, which I was very happy to find.

So if you are a modern art lover - you will love the Reina Sofia; if you love art but not so keen on modern all the time it is still worth the time to visit.

El Rastro - your local buzzing street market

Apologies for the tardiness of this next post to those who do follow this journal. I have been preoccupied with work and Spanish bureaucracy to write much here. I have also been quite ill too. Mother is here this week, so will also not be updating this frequently.

However a week or so ago I met up with some friends for breakfast near my house, their house and El Rastro! So after a heavy brunch of two mixto con huevos (Spanish toasted sandwich with ham, cheese and egg - yum yum) and lots of cofffee we headed off to the Rastro. El Rastro is a famous Madrid street market in the district of La Latina and held every Sunday in the morning. It dates back some time, to medieval times I believe when the leather tanners would sell their goods, its all there in my Madrid guidebook all the way on the other side of my newly cleaned bedroom, however due to laziness I will not reach over and check. So I cannot guarantee my accuracy. Anyways it has been running a long time, and is now more famed as an antique market and a market where anything goes.

Want a new hippy table cloth? A tacky woodcraft thing which you have no idea what it does? Posters? Painting? Creepy Antiques that only your dead great grandmother would love? You can get it here. However I like to sometimes come for the atmosphere. I am one of these masochistic people who loves to get crushed in a crowd of sweaty strangers on a hot summers day (probably why I like carnivals, if you see my German entry on Cologne). If you dont like crowded places - avoid the Rastro.

Its a vibrant place of life with interesting sites and lots of crap you would never buy as well as lots of crap you buy for friends for presents and even for home. Sometimes you might even find something that is useful. It has some old bohemian romance to it, the old time street market. I think its one of the reasons I love it. Anyway if you are looking for some souvenirs in Madrid come here, or want some random hippy stuff or some nasty smelly antiques (I dont hate antiques, I like them, but the stuff here is flakey as hell!). Or if you like me and want a sensory overload of colours, sounds and people then I highly recommend it.

Only - look after your wallet. Thieves thrive in the Rastro! Dont feed the thieves thank you!

Not your normal Sunday - care for a little Hedonism?

While most people enjoy a nice relaxing day in front of the telly on a sunday, I opted to do something a little different to my usual Sunday afternoons. My friend had invited me to go clubbing at the "Space of Sound" - an all day nightclub just above the station Charmartìn. I had been meaning to check it out, and I have never been clubbing during the day before so thought great could be loads of fun.

It was one of the most surreal, interesting and fantastic experiences I have ever had from clubbing. It felt weird, if not slightly wrong walking into a club at 2pm on a Sunny Sunday afternoon but as soon as I walked inside I was transported into another world! A world of an electronic dream and a ravers paradise! To not talk about the clubs and bars in Madrid would not give the correct impression of Madrid, and for me personally its nightlife (or daylife in this case) is a big thing in my life here. Sometimes a good dancing marathon to an awesome beat is as good as destressing as a day of relaxation in front of the sun for me.

Space is probably the most jaw dropping club I have been too. I have not been clubbing like have done in Madrid before, but this place took my breathe away. I forgot the time, the space where I was then. Time did not exist inside here. You are hit with the amazing electronic sound as you come in through the door (while I am a goth/rocker by heart, I am a sucker for pretty much all electronic music!), music with so much depth and intensity that you do not only hear it but feel it through your body, and all of this without being deafened. There are amazing laser shows, dancers, fiber optic lit coffee tables next to really comfy sofas, space age looking bars and most importantly of all - lots of people just having a great time!

The thing I liked about this club is people came there to be free, no one cared what you looked like or how you danced. You didn´t get sweaty, nasty guys humping your leg, nor bitchy girls glaring at you because you are not trendy enough. I went in t-shirt, jeans, no make up, messy hair and no one treated me any different. It was a really liberating experience to feel like I was not being treated as a piece of meat and I could truly be myself. The atmosphere was euphoric and you did not want to stop dancing until 8pm. Sometimes I just stood back and admired the amazing laser shows and sat on the comfy sofas with my eyes closed and let the music wash over me. It was rather surreal to pass the front door when you would go to the toilet to see the sunny outdoors, which to me seemed like the dimensional gateway to reality. Certainly and odd experience but much worth it. Absolutely pure, liberating hedonism. I loved it, and would certainly go again! The best thing about it being in the afternoons is by the next day you are refreshed and ready to work again. I feel like I have just been on holiday.

Gallery Review - Museo del Prado

Madrid is definitely a city to do if you are into art; as it is the home to three amazing galleries: The Prado, The Thyssen-Bornemisza and The Reina Sofia. All three galleries are very different to each other; with the Prado hosting art from the renaissance times up until the early 19th century, the Thyssen is good if you want impressionists and art from the 19th century (but the collection is very varied and contains old and modern art too), and the Reina Sofia is entirely modern art. When people ask me which is the best one to visit its hard to say - it entirely depends on your taste in Art. All three are worth a visit if you can, and are conveniently located within five minutes walking distance of each other.

Out of all three of the museums though, the Prado un-doubtably has the most impressive building. With its neoclassical facade and statues looking out onto a glamorous tree lined boulevard, the Prado is an impressive sight even to pass in your car. Inside it is filled with some wonderful artistic treasures too. The ground floor is mainly Renaissance art - especially Italian. Here you will find Raphael and Botticelli. It also houses Renaissance German and Dutch paintings too so if you are in search for some Durer or Bosch this is the place to look.

Botticelli - The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti

Bosch - Garden of Delights

My personal favourite is the classical sculpture rooms. Filled with treasures of Grecian and Roman art from all over the mediterranean. This is the reason I have been to the Prado a grand number of five times! I have a definite weak spot for Greco-Roman statues so this place was like artistic heaven for me. Most of the statues are in such good condition as well with beautiful detail. Absolutely devine!

On the upper floors you come to later art consisting of Caravaggio, Titian, El Greco, Rubens, Rembrandt etc - you get the idea. As well as a lot of Spanish art like Velázquez and Goya.


Sometimes they also have temporary exhibitions in the central part of the ground and first floors. I was very lucky last summer to catch the Picasso Exhibition there which focused on his reinterpretations of famous paintings including the one featured on the right (originally by Velázquez - Las Meninas).