far too much writing, far too many photos

runswithscissors


Thursday, February 28, 2002

This city: a fine combination of beautiful, quirky, hilarious.

Went to a late lunch at a cafetería I tried once before. El Cañizo -- a joint on Fuencarral, one of the barrio's main drags. You glance in the front windows, you walk into the front room, you find a perfectly respectable-looking tapas bar/cafetería. But walk through the front room and down a hallway, you find yourself somewhere else altogether. We're talking a couple of dining rooms -- one small, one large -- filled with nicely set tables. Walls mostly marble except for one long expanse of floor to ceiling wood paneling which manages, in some intangible way, to toss a monkey wrench into the rarified atmosphere the marble tries to generate. Some vaguely kinda faux art deco wall-mounted lamps are scattered around, along with numerous examples of the tackiest paintings this side of a 1950's Holiday Inn, each painting with its very own illumination lamp mounted above the frame. An amazing combo of looks is at work in these rooms. As if whoever threw it all together aspired to some nebulous image of classic Viennese refinement but couldn't rid the place of some serious cinderblock VFW Hall ambience.

From there I wandered up Fuencarral toward Tribunal, intending to check out el Museo Municipal (the municipal museum -- a nearly 300-year-old building, originally a hospice) -- a lovely old edifice whose entrance is framed by an gigantic, unbelievably ornate facade. Located in a part of town that is completely overrun by hordes of drinking, partying youths on weekend nights, and though I've passed the place many times, for some reason it never occurred to me to investigate. Something about the sprawling weekend crowds of shouting, shitfaced teens and 20-somethings. Until something I recently read about it piqued my curiosity.

The museum concerns itself with Madrid, essentially from the 1600's on. Many large paintings by less than stellar artists, often anonymous, and a smaller number of paintings by genuinely accomplished artists. Lots of beautifully-preserved old furniture. But nothing too exciting until the timeline rolls into the 1800's. At which point many large paintings concern themselves with the uprising against the Napoleonic occupation, and things get a bit livelier. There's also a model of the city, created over the course of 22 or so months around 1830, which occupies an entire room. Worth a long, leisurely look.

On the way out I happened to notice the door that led to the gift shop and stepped inside to find the greatest collection of Madrid-oriented consumables that I've come across in my time here -– books, postcards, gifts, spanning the spectrum from the tacky to the sublime. A bonanza, a genuine find.

A month from tomorrow I'll be heading back to the States. Changes are in the works.

rws 12:48 PM [+]

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BLATHERINGS

August 2001
September 2001
October 2001
November 2001
December 2001
January 2002
February 2002
March 2002
April 2002
May 2002
June 2002
July 2002
August 2002
September 2002
October 2002
November 2002
December 2002
January 2003
February 2003
March 2003
April 2003
May 2003
June 2003
July 2003
August 2003
September 2003
October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
January 2004
February 2004
March 2004
April 2004
May 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
June 2009
July 2009

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MORE FOCUSED BLATHERINGS


Travels:
London '01
Pamplona
Italy '03
U.K. '03
Sevilla
Casablanca
Stoke-on-Trent
Barcelona
Québec/Ottawa
Boston/Lisbon/Madrid
Italy '04
Montréal
La Sierra

Events:
Madrid -- arrival
9/11
Emergency Room I
Holidays 2001
Holidays 2002
Holidays 2003
Holidays 2004
Holidays 2005
A neighbor's passing
Madrid -- March 11 bombings
  and aftermath
Emergency Room II
Israeli friend/Madrid Marathon
Madrid -- Royal Wedding
The DELE exam

GONE, a novel:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

THE BASTARD CHILDREN OF
JOE ROCCO, a novella:
-- Part 1
-- Part 2
-- Part 3

BURBANK SHRUGGED,
a screenplay:
-- Part 1
-- Part 2
-- Part 3
-- Part 4

Short stories:
Murphy's Wife
Another Autumn
La Queja de Una
  Hermanastra Muy Conocida

Autobiography
-- Personal History
-- Hormones On Parade
-- Accidents, Random Mishaps,
    Personal Problems

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OTHER SOURCES OF WHOLESOME ENTERTAINMENT

People/Weblogs:
dooce
foxvox
fudge it
fear not
rebekka
bookslut
802online
idle words
madhaiku
wockerjabby
grow-a-brain
rebel market
letting me be
out and about
kung fu grippe
fanatical apathy
baghdad burning
wfuv's music blog
kexp's music blog
mimi smartypants
between the miles
just a hippie gypsy
the impossible cool
tomato can brushes
vermont homestead
sugar mountain farm

Good Clean Fun:
gizmodo
futurismic
postsecret
dave barry
human clock
mcsweeney's
spaceweather
book-a-minute
internet archive
self-portrait day
my cat hates you
out of context quotes
surrealist compliment
  generator
strindberg and helium

Makin' Musical Whoopee:
last fm
stereo8
pandora
soma fm

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ABOUT RWS/CONTACT





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