Plaza de Vazguez de Mella

Today we traveled to two museums: The Prado and Reina Sofia.

After a light breakfast, we walked about 15 minutes to arrive at the Prado first. Today's first lesson was that to get the right answer you must ask the right question. I inquired about the line we should be in if we had pre-purchased tickets. The museum worker asked if I had "the code". I replied, "yes"and he directed us to a line behind the museum. After about a half-hour wait to get to the front of the line, we learned that we needed a QR code and not the bar code. So we started over again to get that exchange, and returned to the first line to get in.

Once inside the Prado, we learned that taking photos is not allowed. I'm trying to think what the job title is for most of the employees at the Prado. I'm thinking that Scolding Agent will suffice.

Initial sarcasm aside, the Prado certainly does have a vast collection of paintings. While I recognized some of the great pieces, most I knew very little about. I particularly liked the El Greco and Goya works. So many of the works portray Biblical stories. I did wonder about some of the portrayals of Jesus, particularly where the newborn Christ looked old enough for kindergarten. Most who know me well are aware of my default to playful irreverence. I kept conjuring up my own inappropriate titles for pieces as we moved through the exhibits.

The numbering system of the salas were a bit strange to us, but we did manage to come up with a plan to tour and see some of the more famous works. Admittedly, we were a bit worn out after the Prado. While we appreciated, the antiquity of the works, our art illiteracy didn't necessarily create the most fulfilling experience.

After the Prado we took a gelato break. The restroom had a little rocking horse in it. I wondered if this was an intentional children's distraction accesory while parents relieved themselves.

Later in the afternoon we ventured to the Museo de Reina Sofia. This collection has more modern artworks, featuring many pieces by Picasso, Dali and other artists of that time period. We really wanted to see Guernica. It's a massive Picasso piece, and it was interesting to see Picasso's stages of development to create it. Guernica shows the tragedies of war and makes the case for peace. With the current Russian invasion in Ukraine and the growing involvement of other countries taking sides, I wonder if old men will behave once again with an absence of memory and repeat the mistakes of the past or choose peace instead. I pray for the latter. I wonder what the art creations will be that reflect our times.

One of the interesting, yet bizarre features of this museum were some films from the time period. We were trying to make sense of the clips. I will spare you details, but the violence in some of the films was quite graphic and disturbing.

Part of the museum experience was the green spaces adjacent to the museums. Frankly, I enjoyed much of those spaces nearly as much as the museums themselves.

When we returned from the museum and rested at the apartment we shared a same thought: we don't have to do all of the things. The best part of our first two weeks on the road is to slow down and just notice the differences and similarities of the culture we are experiencing. It's also giving us time to reflect on this next chapter of our life together post-retirement. Tomorrow is my last regular paycheck after working for 42 years.

We finished the night with a drink at a local bar. We struck up a very pleasant conversation with an Italian couple. They knew very little English and we knew very little Italian, yet we were able to find out many commonalities between us and to gain insights about our upcoming weeks in Italy.

Prior to leaving for this trip, many friends asked what attraction we were most looking forward to seeing. Today's experience reinforced for me that the good fortune of being able to see places I've only heard or read about is pretty amazing. Yet, the treasure will be always centered in the people who we meet and the time we have together. This was best summed up by a sign in the bathroom of the gelateria: "Collect moments-not things."Read more