The Palacio Real and the basilica

Another great day. This morning, I walked to the Palacio Real, the royal palace, which is still used for some ceremonial state occasions but which now functions mostly as a museum. About twenty rooms are on display currently, and they were completely over the top. In fact, these rooms went over the top and then went off in search of another top to overtop. Every room's ceiling has a fresco, and most of them have life-sized portraits on the walls as well. In one room, the walls are draped in handmade Italian velvet with gold threads. Another room has painted porcelain walls; apparently all things Chinese were in vogue at the time that room was designed, and instead of choosing porcelain objects to display or hang on the walls, they just made the walls from porcelain. The entire building is crammed full of priceless chandeliers, clocks, cabinets, tapestries, china, and artwork, and it is just overwhelming. I haven't visited Versailles, but the PR is often compared to it. If you can get over the whole how-many-poor-Spanish-people-would-that-knickknack-have-fed thing, it's great. I'm glad I saw it, but by the end of it, my senses were dull.

One completely unforgettable item, though: the PR has five Stradivarius stringed instruments on display. I was all set to be heartbroken that they were going to waste, trapped inside glass cases with no one to play with them, but it turns out that they do get used frequently by artists around the world. Good to hear. And, can I just say, wow.

Next door to the palace is Madrid's basilica, which took well over a century to complete (1873-1993). The basilica feels like new construction. I think centuries of candle smoke, smog, incense deposition, grime, and heaven knows what else really underscore the timelessness of most of the great places of worship, whether they're churches or mosques or whatever. You know, where the stones in the walls are showing aging, the floor is uneven, and none of the corners are cut sharp because they've worn away over time. It just makes you think about the centuries of footfalls that have worn that stair away over time, or the hands that have touched that wall and discolored the stone. It brings home the fact that you're standing in the same spot that someone stood in 500 years ago, performing the same religious rituals. It puts you in touch with your mortality and the cycle of life and stuff. Well, the basilica didn't have it, at least on the inside--it just felt too new. Some of the stained glass was gorgeous, but on the whole, I just didn't love the interior of the place.

I'm so glad I took the tour of the basilica, though, because I got to go up to the roof and walk around the exterior of the dome. And the statues there were absolutely epic. So moving. I posted some of the pictures earlier today, but they don't do justice.

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, so I plan to disappear into the Prado and not come up for air for hours. Cannot wait!