Highlights-Madrid
I went to the CaixaForum museum about one km from the Prado.
Propaganda King
With the bowman just behind if things get rough
Closeup of the Mighty Hunter
Those aren’t chopsticks in his belt, they’re styli for writing on clay tablets (and impressing your subjects)
Notable Items
On the way from the apartment to the CaixaForum (KYE-shuh), I stopped by the Mercado de San Martín for lunch. This Mercado is practically hidden on Calle de Atocha, across the street from the Anton Martín Metro station entrance. It is a two-level design: food stalls on the first floor (not at ground level) and eateries and bars (like an airport food court with less seating) in the basement (sótano).
Eating in a mercado like San Martín is a moderate Spanish-language challenge for me. Usually, I don’t know what the food places are selling (except pizza, that’s obvious). I have to interact more than usual with the server, which is good practice.
The CaixaForum (don’t ask why it’s not two words, I’m just the messenger) has two floors of themed exhibits that change regularly. At least, they change between my visits. They have an eclectic gift shop that I like to browse, but their refrigerator magnet selection is mediocre.
The exhibits this visit were We Are Nature (no kidding) and the amazing, spectacular, learned, fearless Asurbanipal (just ask his PR team). Did I mention handsome? It’s difficult to tell from stone carvings.
The core idea of We Are Nature was, “we need to take better care of nature.” (check). This was conveyed through high-definition, immersive video in three rooms projected on all four walls and the floor. I had gazelles running over my pants, talk about immersive.
The Asurbanipal carvings were recovered from the dirt near Mosul in Iraq. The king ruled the empire of Assyria at its peak. What we know about his rule is based on what he paid the stonemasons to create (the PR agents of their day). The empire was flattened less than two decades after his rule. That’s the thing with empires. Over two thousand years after all that greatness, everything they built is broken. It only gets discovered during sewer repairs (and the sewer doesn’t get fixed).
I had a We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto moment when I tried to buy sunscreen. I picked up a box containing three tubes (six-month supply for me) because I thought that I couldn’t buy fewer. What the heck. When you need sunscreen, that doesn’t matter. The woman at the register asked if I wanted all of them. Of course not. She showed me how to open the box and remove just one tube. Mundane? Sure, but not when it’s done in Spanish.