Chickens on the table....

I wanted to swim. Nowhere a swimming pool in sight. But then one day someone told us, there is one just across that busy road in your town. It belongs to a kind of club. So after forgetting about it for a long time, one day I just passed the place. The gate was open. Inside the grass was growing and growing....
It seemed abandoned, not cared for. Now this is a mistake people like me are likely to make in Brazil. Something doesn't look as clean cut as we are used to in Europe and you start thinking there must be something wrong. Although.... there were chickens sitting on the table...


The place in fact looked beautiful. Just the place to take some pictures. Before anyone tries to clean it up again.

Large lush trees provide shade. So good when temperatures are around 30 C all day. Here are not many houses with balconies (either too wet or too hot) in the neighborhood, so a fine place to read or just sit and rest.

The cock tries to order something from the bar. There is a large churrasqueira so maybe he is asking for a frango assado (fried chicken from the BBQ).

A place for the band. 

Space enough for children to run around.

All nice and airy, but extremely empty. There must be lots of people who want to have a party here.

 This looks like a fantastic meeting place for pensioners... Not bad to sit here for some hours discussing the major problems in life.

 

For the active persons there is a swimming pool, large enough to have competitions. And a separate pool for children.

 I would sure like to reserve this private place for the early evening....

Just waiting for someone to cut the grass.

Glass panels, bold structures and shiny surfaces....

The Museum Reina Sofia (contemporary art) in Madrid not only houses a great collection. One of the top pieces is the Guernica of Picasso (no photo's there....).... But it also is a fantastic building. The heart of the museum is an old hospital building by the Italian architect Sabatini (last quarter of the 18th century). In 2005 the building was enlarged.

The museum is located on a square. The first thing you notice are two huge glass elevator towers with each three glass elevators (yes... this is only one).

It is fun to be in one of the towers and take pictures of the other.

Or of the square down below.

Later, having lunch on the other side of the square I was watching the elevators. They were behaving like a giant fruit machine.... Sometimes three in a row.

Bingo......

The most fantastic part was the roof pavilion.  Glass panels, bold structures and shiny surfaces. 

Fantastic reflections!

Connecting the old and the new.

Bold structures and bold lettering.

A good place to rest the feet for some time before going back inside to see even more great paintings.

A flying cape of bronze

As Spain has a history of many kings, it is obvious that there are still many equestrian statues of these kings. 

On the Plaza de Oriente, on the (east) side of the Royal Palace in Madrid, you find  one of the finest: The statue of  king Philip IV of Spain (1605 - 1665). 

He had many children but his son Charles II would be the last in line of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty (from Charles V to Carlos II).

The statue was made by the Italian sculptor Pietro Tacca based on drawings by Velasquez, who painted many portraits of Philip. Pietro Tacca made the king look rather handsome (compare some portraits by Velasquez).

More important is the way this Pietro Tacca handled the bronze. He makes one think it is easy and gives it a lightness like a piece of soft cloth flying in the wind.

Because the horse is lifting it's front legs very high it is told that the statue has to be balanced by putting more weight on the "bottom parts". Also for these kind of statues the tail is conveniently "touching" the ground. When you look at more equestrian statues, they mostly have 3 legs on the ground. Other options are people that hold the reigns or some (fantasy) construction in the middle.  

 Over his harness Philip IV wears a cape that flies behind him suggesting movement as if it is made from a very light material. This is a masterpiece. The lace seams are looking delicate.

The horse is looking extremely alert: Ready for Battle!

It's manes are long and finely worked.

There is a lot to read about Philip IV of Spain . And off course this is just a small part of the very interesting history of Spain in general.