Pablo and Palaces

Since the Picasso Museum was just across the street it seemed the obvious place to start our day. The building was once a palace and Picasso’s daughter-in-law and grandson donated the money to establish the museum. It was completed in 2003 and only holds about 200 paintings and ceramics. I did learn two things about Picasso’s art. Firstly, he loved birds and animals and his artwork often depicted doves, which has become the universal symbol of peace. He also explained that his art was influenced by the infant looking at his mother, where the babe could only focus on one feature of the mother’s face because it would appear so large to the child. I’ll wait to see if the daughter-in-law/art teacher corrects me on these tidbits of information! It was an interesting museum but underwhelming since his more famous pieces have been dispersed around the world.

After a light lunch in the apartment we headed down the street to see the Roman ruins and the Alcazar (fortress). The moors didn’t take good care of the ruins so there isn’t much left of them. The palace inside the fortress also has not been maintained, unlike the others we have visited, but you can still see the same elements. There was a nice view from up there and we could have climbed to the higher fortress but someone didn’t feel all that energetic. When we came out of the Alcazar there was a dance school doing a dance demonstration. They had a lot of rhythm and energy!Read more