Saturday, December 10, 2011

P A R i S + M A D R i D

Eiffel Tower - Paris, France

It was quick.  Two nights in each place... is by no means enough time to see these two capital cities, but we did our best.  We were blessed in some ways.  Landing in Paris on the first Sunday of the month gave us free entry into the two major Museums in the city, the Louvre, and Centre Pompidou Art Museum.  And for Madrid, we just happened to be there on a national holiday, Constitution Day.  The streets were flooded with over 100,000 people, making it lively and full of great people watching.

Plaza Mayor - Madrid, Spain

One of my favorite parts of Paris was the Modern works at Pompidou.  It was inspiring to see all the great works up close.  A tremendous collection of Matisse, Picasso, and other modern works was housed here and gave me some drive to continue my paintings.  Renzo Piano's building itself was a work of art, and walking through this piece of architecture was a pleasure as well.

Centre Pompidou

Em + Matisse Cutouts

J + Jackson Pollock

The Louvre was also quite a gem.  Getting in for free may have not been quite the blessing we thought though.  It was quite packed, and fussing through the crowds was a bit draining.  The collections of great works from around the world was definitely fascinating.  We of course saw the original Mona Lisa, other great painting by Leonardo DaVinci, Roman Sculptures, and I.M. Pei's wondeful glass pyramid in high contrast to the Louvre's classic architecture.

The Louvre

Famous Sculpture - Can't remember the name?

The Mona Lisa, with reflection of spectators

Madrid was full of energy.  Being the largest city in Spain with over 3 million inhabitants, we really felt it.  The streets were flooded with vacationers, tourists, and locals celebrating the holiday.  It was a great pleasure to find the sun again.  Having recently been in Paris and Prague where it was cold, having 60 degree weather again was refreshing.  Here is a collection of photos of our two short days roaming about...


Madrid, Spain

Beautiful Church near Prado Museum

Muchas Personas

Em's unforntunate mis-step with dog poo

Large Plaza - Madrid, Spain

Steet art

Silhouette + Building + Moon


One or two more blogs... and we will be home.  I hope you have enjoyed.  It isn't easy trying to talk of our experiences in just a few lines and pictures on a blog.  Atleast a little taste of what we are doing, right?  See you all soon!









   

2 comments:

  1. I believe that statue is called Winged Victory, but not sure :)

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  2. its been fantastic reading your blog and seeing the iconic sights of europe through your great photo's. Thanks for taking the time to share it, and i am excited to see you guys in P-Town, and hear all about it in person! See you soon, safe travels home! ciao ciao
    -Nick

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