Madrid

BEDFORD ROAD: It would be fair to say that, strictly speaking, our holiday didn't actually begin in Spain but rather in the Hope and Anchor up the road where we prepared to get up at dawn in the best way known to man. Guzzling pints of San Miguel to wash down greasy chicken and chips. After Moral Rob woke us fifteen minutes early we were finally well and truly on our way to Gatwick by a quarter five.

The plane ride itself was somewhat eventful with the aerial view of Spain as stunning as anything of ever seen before. Dramatic hills rearing up out of barren, golden plains, crumbling forts perched atop, recalling happier, more forboding times, endless wind farms, patterns tilled in the obscure patterns of crop circles and ring roads curling around towns like the tendrils of a tropical flower. (Funny to type that because we never found one while we were driving.)

Madrid was an amazing place to start the holiday. While none of us had any idea of what to expect from the Spanish capital, we were pleasently surprised by its slow pace, beautiful weather, tightly woven streets, yawning squares and lush gardens. Most of the first day, after we'd checked in etc., moving from park to bar to square soaking up the warmth playing cards and drinking San Miguel before moving on to Sangria.


The Boy from Stoke (Rob)

It wasn't all good food and lazy booze though. We wandered around the grounds of the Spanish palace and checked out the cathedral.


Stained Glass (Rob)

On the second morning, while the others struggled with their hangovers, I made it downtown to check out the Reina Sofia which contains, amongst countless other masterpieces, Picasso's Guernica.

The Reina Sofia is one of the new breed of contemporary art museums that bring together innovative architecture (think Tate Modern, Haufbahnhof) with a peerless collection of the twentieth century's most exciting artists. They had an amazing collection of Spanish art especially Cubist Picassos and Braques, loads of Miro and Dali, and shit loads more. The big daddy was indeed Guernica. It did not disappoint. It commands its reputation like few other pictures. It is impossible to take your eyes off it, so transfixing is its beauty. Bewitching the viewer, you dare not turn away from the vast canvas lest you miss something.

Other highlights included lunch in El Retiro, an elegantly sculpted garden, before the afternoon at the Prado where, despite initial reservations, I saw an amazing collection of Goyas, some good Flemish paintings and downstairs, the clinchers, Hieronymous Bosch's amazing The Garden of Earthly Delights and Bruegel's sublime and scary The Triumph of Life.


Walking in El Retiro (Rob)

We also visited the Bernabeu to take part in the guided tour around Real Madrid's stadium and bask in the glory of the Galactico's. And while Madrid epitomise everything I despise about the sport they did have an amazing stadium with a brilliant tour.


Bend it like Beckham


It's a long way from Villa Park


The agony of defeat