(MAD)rid Xmas Atmosphere!!!...

Not the best shot!... But I think is very representative of the Xmas atmosphere in Madrid... Cold Nights, Clear sky, lights everywhere, Christmas markets, busy people from here to there... well... is Xmas and you can feel it in the air... :-) I don't know if I'll be able to post in the next 2 weeks 'cause I'm going on vacation :-) Yuppiiiiii.....
FROM (MAD)RID DAILY PHOTO I WHICH EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS (and just in case I can't post in the next few weeks) A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!...

Sky Watch Reflected!

I love to shot buildings reflected on buildings, I some know what I think about it... (for the ones who don't or don't remember, Look here) :-) So I thought I'll try do capture some sky watch this way... and here it is!!!... Have a nice weekend everyone.

Royal Palace from Sabatini Gardens...

The Sabatini gardens were made in honor of Francesco Sabatini, architect that in the XVIII century did a great deal of works for the crown, the gardens were open to the public in 1978 and built in the early '900's in the place ocupied by the royal stables (built by sabatini). On ower day this garden is a must see for anyone visiting Madrid.

And before I forget (again) I'd like to thank Rakesh Vanamali who awarded 2 times in a row... :-)

As usual one gives what one receives, so I'll give this awards together too to 8 bloggeres...8 friends...

Rob of Trieste DP

Blognote of Arona DP

JM of Oeiras and environs DP

Pia K of Pomp & Serendipity and The World According to Pia

Marie-Noyale of Larchmont DP

Nobu of Tokyo Snap Photo and Funabashi Daily Cell Phone Photo

Olivier of Evry DP

Babzy of Babzy photos Blog

Prado North Entance by Night

I was out for some shots the other night when it started to rain and I had to put my camera away... but before I made some shots... This is the north entrance to the Prado Museum, and probably the better know by everyone, if your out to visit this magnificent museum you'll sure enter here...

Metropolis Building Details

Remember the Metropolis building by night post, here, well I decided to show you the beautiful details of it's corner facade... This building opens the Gran Via on its east side (corner with Alcalá street). Hope you enjoy it as much as I do... :-)

More Christmas lights...

Hello everyone, I've being really busy in this last few days and I'll probably be like that till after Christmas but I'll do my best to keep on posting, answering and visiting your blogs...
Today I leave you with some more Christmas lights, a detail from Alcalá gate x illumination...

Rowing in the Retiro Park Big Pond...

Is a common tourist, and not only, practice - Rowing in the Retiro Park big pond - theres not much to see, I mean the pond is rectangular... you can go around it and you'll see the same stuff... but well the nostalgics and romantics love the tour... :-)

¡Christmas lights ON!...

All the the city is now illuminated by the Christmas lights and the Christmas spirit (buy, buy, buy, and buy... do it now or... :-) I'll be posting some more of this in the next weeks, giving everyone to know the 4,6 million Euro Madrid Christmas illumination... Is a bit too much don't you think???!!...

(MAD)rid Towers Sky Watch

I live you with another view from two of the tower... And have a nice weekend everyone!!! :-)

Reflections on a (half) rainy day!...

Remember the Madrid Towers?... well their finishing them now... All towers (there are 4) are around 250m high and I would say their omnipresent in the city (It's possible to see them from all city around). Some days ago I went there to see them from another angle... and I got this reflection of one of them, designed by Norman Foster...

Ladies roundabout!!!...

I was just out for a tranquil walk on the beautiful Paseo del Prado boulevard, when I saw this ladies!?... I thought: -What are they talking about?!... So I approached... but I didn't get anything!?... I rounded about... and still nothing the primordial theme they were talking just was out of my reach...:-) and I thought: -I have to post this!!!... and here they are :-) the ladies roundabout...

No Sangria???... No Party!!!...

If you go out at night while visiting Madrid (and thats a must), you'll find scenes like this almost everywhere, doors and windows open and people half in, half out... this is one of the reasons I always go out with my camera you never know when you gonna find a good shot... Here we are in Santa Ana zone and around there are places that only serve sangria... :-) Can you believe that???!...

Alcala Gate, now, by night...

Today I wanted to post a sky watch thing but I had no time, so I went for a nocturnal walk about and here it is an Alcala Gate night shot. If you want to know more about the gate... remember this post?!... Have a nice week end every one...

Don't let the sunny shot mistakes you... In this days even if the sun is out, it's cold, very cold, right now their are 0ºC / 32ºF... Brrrrrrrrr..... :-) But the Retiro park cats seem not to get much bordered by this cold and keep on with their cat lifes...

Oh!... and if you stay long enough, the Small cat above in a few seconds is going to attack the big one... but their just playing... :-)

Reflections or Distortions!?...

How do old buildings see new buildings? and how new see old ones?... New buildings don't get reflected in old buildings... but the old, most of the times, are reflected on the new ones... If you cant see your self it probable that you think you look like what you see; So, new buildings must think they look like old buildings but old buildings will probably think their distortions of what they really are...

¡More Circus!...

At petition of some... Here is another curious image that the installation of the American circus in "Las Ventas" Bullfight Arena (Plaza de Toros) offers... :-)

Circus as come to town!!!

The American Circus as arrived to "Las Ventas" (the biggest bullfight arena in the world). The contrast between these two spaces and ways of life is so big that it is almost hilarious... Well at least it makes me smile :-)
I'm kind of busy lately so I'm sorry if I'm not commenting on your blogs as usual!!!...

Plaza Mayor Performance...

Plaza Mayor one of the most (if not the most) charismatic squares in Madrid is full terraces, mimes, clowns, human statues, street music... you name it!...

¡Escaping bus on Columbus square!

I was taking a photo of the fountains (behind the passing bus) and of the tower (Columbus tower, 102m height)... but I got a surprise!!!... ;-)

Monument to the discover of America

It's basically a group of three huge concrete sculptures with embossed inscriptions and figures designed by Joaquin Vaquero Turcios and installed in Colombus square in 1977... Each of the "stones" as a symbolic meaning: Profecy, Genesis and Discover.

¡watch the birdie!...

This girl was taking the classic tourist photo to her family in Jeronimos access stairs... I like how they came out!!!... :-)

New and Old overlayer...

The Jeronimos church and the new Moneo building (Prado museum ampliation) superimposed... This view is of complex comprehension, much criticized by many, but from my point of view very rich... it gives complexity to the urban landscape; isn't this what "the city" is all about?... layers over layers of time and space and life - and what ever you fill like - on the same place?!...

Inside Los Jeronimos

Since in the last few posts I'm showing some Madrid interiors here is one more... :-)
It's the church of "Los Jerónimos", this beautiful temple that originally dates from 1505, assumes it's actual appearance in the late XIX century cause of the serious damages inflicted by Napoleon troops in the beginning of the same century. The cloister was integrated on Prado museum ampliation by Rafael Moneo. On its large history, 500 years, it has been, church, convent, hospital, headquarters, warehouse...

Ooohhh!!...and before I forget this is my 150th post... :-)

...in MNCARS belly...

The new MNCARS building by Jean Nouvel, has some very interesting spaces, here the bar/restaurant under the concert hall; the ceiling you see above is literally the belly of the concert hall.

SkyWatch Latina Skyline

Latina is one of the oldest and more charismatic Madrid neighborhoods... It's impossible to walk on it's streets and squares and don't fall in love for this part of the city... the dome on the left is San Andrés (Saint Andrew)... have a nice weekend every body.

Old Atocha Station Interior

The old Atocha station building was (re)built around 1890 after a fire in the original building from 1851; the author of the project was the Gustave Eiffel pupil Alberto de Palacio. The station was 152 meters long and 40 meters large. The old building is now converted in a 4.000 Sqm of covered tropical garden, and comercial center.

11M Monument Core...

Well someone asked me how the monument was on the inside?!... well here is it... a big dark empty room... and in the center of it, the dome... It sure makes you think...

11M Victims Monument

It's placed right in front of Atocha Station; The 11M monument is there to remember the victims of terrorism. Made with glass bricks (the biggest ever made) it has 11m and it's the work of FAM architects. In the interior of the monument an 'amorph' dome shows many of the spontaneous messages that people left (in many languages) in the days and months after the 11M/2004...

My first skywatch post...

I was walking down Huertas street and there was this beautiful sky above me... I thought I have to share this with other fellows bloggers, with skywatch friday... And as Madrid as such a beautiful sky I thought why not... and here I'am with a friday skywatch post...

Chating in the big pond stairs...

The light was so fine and so warm in the other day afternoon that I didn't resist in "stealing" this moment from this couple.

Edificio Girasol (Sunflower Building)

The Sunflower Building, is a modernist architecture building designed in 1964 buy the architect J. A. Coderch. The name of the building cames from that, literally, the building opens to the sun trajectory and is closed on is northern face (as in the photo)... From this facade it really look abstract, I love it.

Retiro's Crystal Palace with Duck...

Walking in the the Retiro park the last week end I couldn't resit to photograph this fellow... At first I thought it was interested in the camera but then I realize that it was waiting for some food and as I didn't have any,it just left... :-)

Kreativ Blogger Award

¡Another surprise!... I've received the Kreativ Blogger Award from niamh photography, thank you!!!
Now I have some awardee duties, which were to list 6 things that make me happy and 6 bloggers worthy of this award.

6 things that make me happy:

1. Ilenia, muaaaaaaa....
2. my pets
3. my family and friends
4. discuss about almost every thing...
5. architecture
6. photography

6 Blogs worthy of this award:

1. Joel Reynolds
2. Tuzla daily photo
3. My Journey
4. Funabashi daily cell phone photo
5. Oeiras and environs daily photo
6. Dusty Lens

Performance at Chueca...

Chueca (know as the 'gay' neighborhood of Madrid) is one of the most frequented zones on Madrid nights... It's frequent to see performances and other (every) kind of nocturnal activities... This one was announcing and promoting a telecommunications company... the atmosphere was great...

Old reflexes in New...

Downtown Madrid in some little streets new buildings have take the place of some older ones... But somehow there always present.

Garcia Lorca Tribute

In the centric Saint Ana Square (between Huertas and Jacinto benavente square) you'll find this tribute to the poet Federico Garcia Lorca... In this square you'll also find the Spanish theatre, a tribute to Calderón de la Barca, and the Luxury hotel Midnight Rose (the building you see on the photo), also knowned as the bullfighters hotel.

My Blogging Friends Forever (BFF) Award

Today's post is going to be a little different...

yesterday I received a little surprise from a fellow blogger. A prize; a prize that I didn't even know that it existed... I am happy and flattered... Thank you, JM (Oeiras and environs daily photo)!

Now, receiving this award gives me the opportunity to choose 5 blogs and give the award myself, following the next rules:

1. Only five people allowed
2. Four have to be dedicated followers of your blog
3. One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world
4. You must link back to whoever gave you the award

Now, my chosen blogs are:

1.Evry Daily Photo

2.New York Portraits

3.Arona Every Day

4.Maiscio

5.Ivar Ivrig

Cybele Statue Fountain

Right in front of the Old post office, on Castelar Square, there is the Statue Fountain of Cybele (Cibeles in Spanish)... The Fountain (designed by the architect Ventura Rodriguez) dates from 1782 and was first in front of the Prado museum. In the year 1895 it was moved to it's actual place.

Kids with bikes in front of the old Post building...

In a Sunday without cars you can get really unexpected images... thousands of cars pass right through here every day!!!...

Congreso de los Diputados

Yesterdays photograph talked about the Equality demonstration made in front of the Congreso de los Diputados (the Parliament building)... I realize that I was not telling anything about this emblematic Madrid building so...

The Congreso de los Diputados Building, has a neoclassical style. It was designed by the architect Narcisco Pascual y Colomer, and built between 1843 and 1850. It sits by the Carrera de San Jerónimo (San Jeronimo Street) downtown Madrid where before was the holly spirit convent. Just one more thing the bronze Lion you see, are two one on each side of the acess stairs to the building, is the work of the sculptor Ponciano Ponzano and made in the Maestranza de Sevilla in 1866 from the enemy canons of the 1860 war in Africa...

To know more...

Equality Demonstration!!!

Equality demonstration in front of the Parliament (Congresso de los Diputados). This organization fights for children rights after marriage breaks up... Fights for that both parents have the same rights, duties and legal custody of their children... Sounds fare to me...

National Library of Spain by Night

The Biblioteca Nacional de España (National Library of Spain) is a major public library, the largest in Spain. It was founded in 1712 by the king Felipe V (philip V) has The Royal Public Library it changed is name to National Library in 1836. It's current catalog is called the Bibliografía Española. It indexes some 6,000,000 books and journals, 25,000 manuscripts, and 240,000 rare books. Situated on Paseo de Recoletos it shares buiding with the National Museum of Archeology.

To know more...

Alcalá Gate...

The Alcalá Gate, situated on Independence square, was built in 1778 under the order of the king Carlos III, as a monumental gate in the city wall to pass the road which leads to the nearby city of Alcalá de Henares, replacing an older gate which stood nearby.
The Gate work of the architect Francisco Sabatini is one of Madrid most visited monuments.

Across the central arch of the gate, you can see the church I posted some days ago.

To know more.

Inside Maria Guerrero Theatre

Remember I was going to see La Fura dels Baus in Maria Guerrero Theatre!?... Well here is an inside photo of this wonderful theater 1st home of the CDN (National center of Drama)... Opened in 1885 with the name of "the princess theatre" and changed to is actual name in 1931. The piece was wonderful I loved it, shame it was not possible to take photos during the act, but I guess it's fare... If your in Madrid till the 19th of october I strogely recomend you to go and see it...

To know more...

Saint Manuel & San Benito Church

When you get out of the subway in the Retiro's metro station you will find this fine neo- byzantine church. Impossible to miss it...
It dates from 1910 and it's the work of the architect Fernando Arbós y Tremanti. It's a kind of unusual Catholic Church cause of is Greek cross plan and it’s pantheon like section...