Madrid Spain Temple
Our later bus got us back to Madrid from Granada with just enough time to rush to the Madrid Spain Temple. We checked into the patron housing took a couple of breaths and went to sleep. The next morning came early with service in the House of the Lord.
Temple of Debod
We went from the temple in the afternoon to downtown Madrid for our final explorations. We walked up to the Temple of Debod in one of the parks. This unassuming and rather boring looking structure is an ancient Egyptian temple moved to Spain when it otherwise would have been flooded in the creation of a reservoir. We only saw it from the outside.
Goya in Situ
A couple of churches sit down the hill from the Temple of Debod on the other side of the tracks. The ceiling frescoes are the highlight of Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida. They are obviously not as well known, as detailed, or as classical as Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel murals, but they are still very impressive. They were painted by Spain’s celebrated painter, Goya, who is buried in the small chapel. Photography is not allowed inside the church, but it is still worth a few minutes to go in the small sanctuary and crane your neck to admire. We then walked to the Royal Palace of Madrid.
A walk through Madrid
After the palace, we walked back through the historic streets of Madrid to the Museo Reina Sofia. We walked through the Plaza Mayor, which had a piece of ridiculous installation art mucking up the place. We wandered through narrow streets, passed many lovely old churches, and saw the life in Spain’s capitol city.
Museo Reina Sofia
This is Madrid’s modern art museum and very different from the Prado Museum. The building itself is part historic and part contemporary. Even the historic sections have been modernized and updated with some modern elements. Honestly, unless you’re a huge modern art buff, don’t waste your time with this museum. I found it disturbing in some parts, uninspiring in others. I loved a lot of the cubist works and some of the surrealist works, but there are many other works in the collections.
To sum up
Madrid has so much more to offer that we couldn’t partake of with our limited time. I wouldn’t mind returning and spending another day or two in this European capitol. However, when I return to Spain, I will focus on other parts of the country I haven’t experienced yet. And, the two small cities we ventured to are higher on my list for re-experiencing than Madrid. Either way, Spain is a mesmerizing and fascinating place begging to be explored. I hope to make it back sooner rather than later to visit Barcelona, Cordoba, Valencia, Cadiz, and more.
