Wednesday was cold, yes cold, and wet so we opted to visit Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. This magnificent museum is built around the collection assembled by Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza and his son. It, as well as the Prado that we visited earlier, contain outstanding collections that are easily enjoyed by the casual art viewer.
On a much improved weather Thursday, we decided to continue to see sights in the Old Madrid area of the city. Our visits included the Basilica Pontificia de San Miguel which stands on the site of an old Romanesque church a block from our apartment that was constructed between 1739 and 1746. From there we hit the Plaza de Oriente in an effort to see the Opera House (Teatro Real) but there were no tours today. So on to Museo Cerralbo.
As we have learned elsewhere (such as the Soane Museum in London that we only found because of or friend Jacquie Martinez), it is not always the big name places that are the most interesting and Museo Cerralbo is in that category. This 19th century mansion is a monument to Enrique de Aguilera y Gamboa. The house is huge and gorgeous and the collection of "stuff" intense and endless. Well worth a visit when you are here. Lunch at Cascaras.
From there we headed to San Francisco el Grande, another unheard of jewel. On the way there we hit the Muralla Arabe, a small stretch of outer defense wall that is all that is left of Madrid's Moorish heritage. Anyway, unfortunately no pictures are allowed at San Francisco, but the interior is a remarkable building. The artwork contained therein is spectacular including the magnificent frescoes on the dome and the dome is one of the largest in the world. Larger than St. Paul's Cathedral and only outsized by St. Peter's at the Vatican and the Pantheon according to their literature. A must see if you are in Madrid. The tour is in Spanish and Isabelle did a terrific job of translating the highlights for Konnie and me and she again handled our communications with various vendors during the day.
This city has more restaurants than we have ever seen in a concentrated area. We are a couple of blocks from a street named Calle Cava Baja and we counted 40 restaurants on that short stretch. An excellent dinner at Emma & Julia's on Calle Cava Baja with generous treatment of us as their guests. There you go. We have killed Old Madrid this week hitting every highlight in the book. Only one more day before the long trek home.
