We walked through
the gates to the entrance of my new fabulous vacation spot. Okay, it was actually the Palacio Real,
but close enough. Though the royal
family no longer actually lives there, it is still used for ceremonial and diplomatic
things. However, the fact that
people used to call that place “home sweet home” was amazing. Donned in my
flowy orange skirt (had to feel someone distinct in a palace, of course) I was
in my element. I stood with camera ready at hand when I
saw the dreaded sign that every tourist fears: the picture of a camera with a line through it. I, unfortunately, wasn’t allowed to
take pictures for reasons I will never know. Perhaps they figure I will return to fashion my own home in
the same style, since I obviously have both the means and desire to do so. It's a shame because I probably
could have taken enough to fill an entire album, but I will have to resort to using
colorful language to paint a vivid mental picture.
Everything was grandiose
and ornate. Hey, if I were royalty,
I would probably have solid gold everything too. Each room had a style completely unique, and the design of
one room was completely different than the next. The walls were adorned with tapestries or intricate wallpaper. In fact, one room had wallpaper
embroidered in silver and gold, forming
a luminescent, textured pattern.
Shifting the attention upward, all of the ceilings had murals and opened
to a celestial scene above. Another
impressive feature was the numerous crystal chandeliers. What I find the most intriguing is the
fact that there did not used to be electricity for a large part of the time
they were used, and each chandelier must have held at least 100 candles… I
would certainly hate for that to be my job. One of the most impressive rooms was the throne room. From
the red velvet walls, to the statues of Greek gods, to the marble lions leading
up to the raised thrones, everything was designed to represent and assert
power. From the ceiling (can’t
forget the ceiling) images were painted in a way to seem as though they were
peering over a ledge onto the scene below—a sort of precursor to 3D.
They also showed
some of the china and silverware used.
Upon seeing a jewel-encrusted goblet-like item we were asked what it was
used for. The king’s drink
perhaps? Nope, that would be
for
salt. Totally my next
guess. There was so much to
see, as each room was its own intricate vision of mosaic, marble, colors and
luxurious fabrics.
We saw many of the copies of painting we
had seen in the Museo del Prado the day before. I felt so artsy recognizing the works of Velazquez. Though I do not know much about art, I
found it very interesting. I couldn’t take pictures there either,
because they obviously thought I was going to recreate all the paintings. Yes,
this is my take on the famous Las
Meninas. It may be interpreted
as a cloud. Or perhaps a dog…
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