Category Archives: Spain [España]

11th April 2025: Extant, extinct and extrastormy (Madrid, Spain)

Posted on by

Since March was extremely rainy, I hoped that April would not be so. No such luck. However, there was a dinosaur exhibit in Madrid that I was keen on seeing, and I wanted to do it before Easter, because it would be packed during the holidays and I could not get there in May due to personal stuff. And since getting to the Casa de Campo area takes so long by train, I looked at combining it with something else around (it’s a four-hour roundtrip from where I am). What other thing was close? Somewhere else I never go because it’s far away by public transport and a nightmare to park around – the local zoo Zoo Aquarium de Madrid. There was after all only a 10% chance of rain…

Spoiler alert: while I was getting drenched (I’m being dramatic, of course. I had an umbrella) in the zoo, and later in the exhibit, the weather app said “partly cloudy” and there was no mention of storms nor rain. But the skies opened. Ask the peafowl…

I took the train and changed to the underground until I got to the Casa de Campo stop. There were not many people around since it was a weekday. There’s a bus that takes you to the zoo, but I found it more efficient to walk, since there is a pedestrian way alongside the road. I reached the zoo a bit after it opened at 11:00, and just as my ticket was getting scanned the first few raindrops fell. At first, it seemed like a small drizzle, but soon it started to rain in earnest. By that time, I had managed to get to the pandas, about 40 metres into the zoo.

I’d been to the Zoo Aquarium de Madrid twice in my life before. The first one I was very small. I have no memory of it, but there is a home video of three-year-old me chasing a peacock and a voice warning “come back, it’s going to bite you!”. The second time I was in third grade, and had my first camera. I remember that I was devastated because the pandas were very far away and I could only take a picture of a distant, tiny, black-and-white blur. That was decades ago, and I had never been back, though I had a recurring dream for years that involved one of the pools there.

The zoo opened in 1972 as an alternative to the “Beast House” or Casa de Fieras that used to be hosted in the Retiro Park, a few sad and crammed-looking cages that must have been horrible for the animals. As every animal park, Zoo Aquarium de Madrid is not free of controversy, especially related to the ethics of keeping great apes and cetaceans in captivity. They used to have dolphins, but those were surrendered and sent away earlier in 2025. Conversely, the zoo participates in over 60 conservation and breeding programs for endangered animals – they have breeding couples of owls, whose chicks are routinely released into the wild, and have succeeded in breeding pandas (they claim to be the most successful institution at breeding panda outside China) and white rhinos. They have non-breeding animals as ambassadors, such as a family of Iberian lynx.

The zoo is vaguely organised per continent – Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa and the Americas, and the home of actual wild animals such as storks and rabbits.

As I went into the zoo, the first thing I spotted was a small lake with flamingoes, pelicans and (squatting) storks. The storks are free to come and go, but they like to be in the zoo because they get free food, I guess. My idea had been to walk a spiral and try to see everything, but I got distracted by “Panda Land”, signalled by a big red gate – after all, they are the main attraction. I thought the pandas might be visible, and they were – much closer than I remembered indeed. I did get to see both the male and the female, who live apart within the same installation. I had time to take a few pictures before it started to rain in earnest. And no, they were not distant, tiny black-and-white blobs this time, and not only because I had borrowed a really good lens for the day. I had to put the camera away when the rain became too heavy.

Zoo Madrid - stork, flamingoes, panda

It rained for a couple of hours, and that impacted me a little. I ended up sharing shelter with a band of peafowl, and had to go from covered exhibit to covered exhibit at first. I found the orang-utan territory very sad, and I did not catch a glimpse of any gorilla. In the aquarium, I got stuck with all the school visits, but there were quite a few sharks and big fish in the ocean tank.

Zoo Madrid: peacocks and peahens sheltering from the rain

Zoo Madrid: Sea lion, small blue jellyfish, sharks

I ambled around the Australian area, where most of the animals were unfazed – especially the cassowary, which by the way is apparently the most dangerous bird in existence, even if I’m way more crept out (and fascinated) by emus. I did not see the koalas, and I walked past a tree which seemed fenced off just because. As rain cleared out, some of the animals started playing around, such as the binturong (Arctictis binturong), a distant relative of civets. At around 13:20, I had reached Africa, and I was in front of the hippos when it stopped raining. Awesome!

Zoo Madrid: Cassowari, binturong, Patagonian mara, and hippo yawning

Since I had borrowed a camera lens which is better – but heavier – than mine, I really wanted to try it out. Carrying it around without being able to use the camera due to the rain, at all, would have been a bummer. After the rain stopped, I was able to take quite a few good pictures though. Those included the Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), and its relative the domestic cat (Felis catus), whom I’m not sure is a resident or a squatter in the “farm” section of the zoo alongside the sheep, goats, and a very large pig.

Zoo Madrid: Jiraffes, zebra, black bear and Siberian tiger

Since I’d been to Emociones al Vuelo a few days earlier, I did not mind the lack of Raptor Flight exhibit due to rain. I did miss the Exotic Birds one, but I caught the Sea Lion exercise (hello, swimming pool from years of recurring dreams). Around 14:30, it had stopped raining, the animals had eaten, and I caught many of them. Unfortunately, most – especially the carnivores – were napping. I did however saw a very active red panda (Ailurus fulgens) around the tree that I previously thought was fenced off for no reason.

Zoo Madrid: Red panda, common rabbit, grey wolves, brown bear

By the time I left, the workers had also dropped off a few Easter Eggs throughout the zoo as the holidays were about to start. At 17:00 I had to be at Escenario Puerta de Ángel to see Saurios, a dinosaur exhibit, which turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. Most of the animatronics I had already seen as “Dino Expo XXL” – I recognised it because of the broken neck on one of the brachiosaurus. The exhibit had a first part with a few skeleton replicas – the coolest thing, as I had never managed to see a complete cast of a Spinosaurus before. Then there was an open area with some life-sized replicas and photo-ops, but it was completely made for kids. There were actors and activities for them, which I guess were extremely fun if you’re younger than five. Yet another “dinosaurs are for kids” activity.
Saurios Madrid - skeleton replicas

Saurios Madrid - models

And then it started storming again. A black cloud, a clap of thunder, and the skies opened. Thus, we all had to hurry to the last section, which was most of what I’d seen in “Dino Expo XXL”. I was really not impressed by the whole thing – remember folks, “for all the family” means “designed for kids”. I guess I would be more gracious had the weather been nice, but… having seen most of the exhibit before for half the price, I was not impressed. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is a Jurassic World Exhibition coming up soon…

Saurios Madrid - models

6th April 2025: Birds of Prey experience with Emociones Al Vuelo (Aranzueque, Spain)

Posted on by

The 2025 Medieval fair in Tendilla had fewer animals than usual, as the farm was not there on Sunday. However, there was a stand by a birds-of-prey rescue. I was sad I had missed the demonstration on Saturday till I got talking to the lady there. It turned out the rescue had visits. And activities. And activities you could book and pay for. This is important because animal interactions tend to favour kids, which is good for environmental education and all, but makes me jealous…

Emociones Al Vuelo is an education centre and birds-of-prey rescue / charity established in the small village of Aranzueque. It was set up in 2016 to fill a gap and take care of birds which could not be recovered nor released into nature due different circumstances – for example, a kestrel born in the wild, but taken as a chick to be sold in the black market. Or what’s even more shocking to me, hybrids! There are weirdos out there JurassicWorld’ing birds of prey (Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should. Creepy). These animals often bounce from home to home as hunters acquire and then get rid of them, until the rescue intercedes. The rescue also takes care of animals that used to belong to negligent owners, with broken limbs, or out of breeders’ hands.

The organisation seems to be doing a good job. The birds looked relaxed and were allowed to… basically ignore their “jobs” until they were properly bribed with food, and if they did not want to “work”, they were properly excused. All the birds are tagged and have their names – all of them kind of nerdy: Star Wars, Game of Thrones… They seem to be quite comfortable with the handlers and with the strangers most of the time.

There are three ticket tiers: “basic”, “fly an eagle” and “emotion pass”, which allows you to hold – or be a perch for – five of the tamest birds, and fly the eagles on top of that. I decided that since the tickets were to support the rescue, I would make the sacrifice and get the highest tier… And we all know I’m lying, I totally got the highest tier because I was dying to play with the residents.

Birds of prey, sometimes called “raptors”, are a group of bird species who actively hunt and eat other vertebrates. These strict carnivores are fast flyers, have acute vision, and sharp talons and beaks to help them hunt. Some of them are also scavengers or piscivores. In general they’re characterised as active predators. Though the term “bird of prey” is not really “scientific”, it is very visual and easy to understand. They range from the smallest pygmy falcon, with a wingspan of around 40 cm to the largest Andean condor, whose wingspan can reach 3.3 m. In general, male and female of the same species are different in colours, and at the very least in size, with females usually bigger and stronger, even if usually raptors are lighter than their feathers make them look – on top of feathers having next to no weight, birds have hollow bones to help them fly. Fun fact: nocturnal raptors tend to have dark eyes, diurnal ones light-coloured eyes, and those which are active during dawn and dusk have reddish or golden eyes.

Birds of prey have been used for hunting – falconry – for over 4,000 years, with the earliest references coming from Mesopotamia and Mongolia. Writings from the 7th century CE describe it as widespread in Asia, but as it seems that nothing ever existed before the Europeans found out about it, one has to wait until Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (1194 – 1250) wrote his treatise On the Art of Hunting with Birds for it to become commonplace. During the Middle Ages, falconry became a symbol of power and status, especially for recreational hunting, until the raptors were substituted by firearms. Falconry became popular again in the 20th century, and in 2010, it was added to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

While the birds in Emociones Al Vuelo are somewhat trained to at least tolerate human presence, what the rescue does cannot be considered falconry. The birds fly from protective glove to protective glove in search of treats, but they are not really trained for tricks. One of the things that we visitors were told is that the birds “fly off” the gloves, not made to take off, as you see in films.

I arrived in Aranzueque around 9:35 for the 10:00 show, with gates at 9:45. It was a crispy morning, but it had been raining all March, and finally there was sun and a decent forecast. I was wearing layer upon layer anyway, and was happy to shed them off as the day warmed up. To be honest, when I booked the place, I did ask if there would be a rescheduling should the weather be miserable, but aside from some mud on my boots, I had nothing to worry about.

Once gates opened, visitors parked inside – people from the rescue have maximising parking space down to an art – and checked in. I had paid when I booked, and I received a lanyard pass and a paper bracelet.

The base activity lasts about three hours. The guests sit on benches arranged in a circle under a tree – I found a spot and made sure my back was to the sun for pictures. There was a brief introduction of very logical rules for the animals’ wellbeing. The activity – I feel reluctant to call it a show – brought out 14 birds of nine species and I got to interact with five different species, and a total of six – seven animals.

The first bird to come out was Sansa, the (Western) barn owl (Tyto alba). Barn owls are mostly nocturnal birds, white to reflect the moonlight, and with brown specks on their back for camouflage on the ground. They are not the biggest raptors, though they can reach a wingspan of almost one metre. They’re mostly recognisable because they have a heart-shape face, and black eyes. At first, Sansa did not seem to want to make friends, and she flew high up the tree, but after some bribing she agreed to come say hi. She was the first bird we interacted with, she flew from glove to glove to snack.

Sansa, the (Western) barn owl

Sansa, the (Western) barn owl

The second raptor was a tiny one – a little owl (Athene noctua) called Xena. In Ancient Greece, little owls were considered the companions to Athena, Goddess of War and Wisdom. They’re small birds with yellow eyes and brown-and-white plumage which mimics the bark of trees. Xena was happy to be walked around and set on shoulders and heads for her interaction turns. She did not approve much of my glasses for some reason.

Xena the little owl

Afterwards, Nymeria was brought out. Nymeria is a rescue hybrid, born from combining a lanner falcon (Falco biarmicus) and a peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus). She has never really flown and it was hard for the rescue to take care of her, since she had several congenital and behavioural issues when she was taken in. She’s still getting used to seeing people, but she is apparently getting better.

Nymeria the raptor hybrid

Another rescue was Ripley, a common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). Kestrels can reach a wingspan of 80 cm, and though males and females look different, they tend to be chestnut brown with darker spots on the back, and lighter spots on the underside. They also have a black or darker mark around the cheek (malar stripe). Though they are not considered endangered, their nesting areas are protected in places like Plasencia. Ripley was chicknapped and ended up in a legal limbo – when she was found, she could not be kept, could not be released, until she found her home in the rescue. She was very happy to flop from glove to glove and snack on the fresh meat she was given as an incentive.

Ripley the common kestrel

The Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) is a bird of prey that has always fascinated me, since I was really small and I heard that a) there was one in our attic and b) they could hunt and eat little children. Somehow, looking back, I doubt either of those statements were true. And despite it all, I was literally never allowed in that attic for the nine years we lived in the house… Eurasian eagle-owls are amongst the largest owls, with almost two metres of wingspan. They are easily recognised by their orange eyes and their facial feathers pointing upwards looking like “ears” or “eyebrows”. They always look like they disapprove of you. They camouflage really well against tree bark, being different shades of brown in spotted patches. The rescue has two of them – Dracarys, the male I got to hold, and Storm, a less tame female.

Dracarys the Eurasian eagle-owl

We then met Vader the common raven (Corvus corax). Ravens are not birds of prey, but are closely associated to them. In nature, when an animal dies, ravens are among the first scavengers to arrive. Their black-blue iridescent plumage is easily spotted by flying raptors, who come join the feast. Don’t get fooled, ravens are bigger than they look – they might reach a wingspan of 150 cm – but most importantly they’re smart – they analyse, problem solve, imitate, recognise individuals, and hold grudges. Vader has mastered the opening of lids in order to access snacks…

Emociones Al Vuelo Raven

Next came the oldie-but-goldie Blue, a female Eurasian goshawk (Astur gentilis), who was taken in from a breeder after 12 years of laying eggs for them. Goshawks are medium-large raptors (up to 130 cm) with a distinctive striped pattern across the underside, and a greyish back. They have piercing reddish eyes and one hell of an attitude. They are extremely territorial, and usually live in breeding pairs, though females are known for being able to kill the male if he does not bring food to the courtship.

Blue the female Eurasian goshawk

Later came Valyria the Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). She seemed that she would be happier chomping on fingers than perching on gloves. Red-tailed hawks are endemic to North America, and they are diurnal hunters of up to 141 cm wingspan, with females being much larger than males. They do not fly around for prey, but hunt from a perch, and their brown and dark plumage helps them camouflage against the bark of trees, their tail is predictably reddish when seen in flight.

Valyria the Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

The final species we got to see was the Harris’s hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), which I’d also seen in the Medieval fair in Alcalá de Henares. They can reach 120 cm of wingspan and are also quite intelligent. They originate from the woodlands and semi-deserts in the Americas, thus they tend to be brown and black, with a little spotted white. They live and hunt in stable groups with a dominant female and her mate. They have developed pack-hunting strategies, with half of the group scouting and half of the group doing the killing. They currently are the most popular raptor in Western falconry, often used to control smaller birds’ population. They are apparently easy to train and they are quite social. There were three of these animals we got to interact with – Tyrion, Winter and Arya.

We could go out to the “flying field” and “play” with them. Tyrion did not seem to want to play a lot, and had to be benched. He actually did only two or three flights – the first one was towards me, and I got to hold him for a while longer since he did not want to fly away. Something that surprised me was how light all of the birds were – I had been worried I would be unable to hold them, but as I mentioned before, feathers and hollow bones make them absolutely… unheavy.

We had a few flights, which yielded to cool pictures, and then some “games” which involve trying to get the hawk to fly between two rows of people, or underneath someone else’s legs. There were some more explanations about behaviour in the wild and the dynamics of the birds and their human caretakers. We actually got to hear a lot about how the different birds interact with each other and their humans throughout the three hours the activity lasted.

Harris's Hawks mid-flight, wings open

Harris's Hawks coming to the falconry glove

At the end, everyone – even those who had not got the interaction pass – could take a picture with one of the Harris’s hawks. I ended up signing up to another activity – a wildlife photography course – but that one was eventually cancelled due to lack of sign-ups. I drove back home, happy the weather had been almost perfect, and hoping I had not get sunburnt. I also managed to make it through the day without cracking a Jurassic Park joke, but obviously not a whole post – so I shall just remind you here that birds are direct descendants from dinosaurs… Or why do you think they chose “Blue” along all the Game of Thrones references?

31st March 2025: More Modernisme and the way back {FFVII Barcelona 2025}

Posted on by

For our final day in Barcelona, I had planned some more architectural visits. I had adjusted my planning considering the underground issues the previous day, but it turned out, it had been a Sunday-only thing. We had breakfast and on check-out, the manager asked how the stay had been. To his merit, when we told him about the issue with the air-conditioning, he apologised and offered us free breakfast in compensation. After we declined – timed entry visit – he advised us to write a complaint letter for a discount next time. I didn’t think it was necessary.

Since the station we had to change at was open, there was no issue with the underground, so we were half an hour early. I had booked a locker for the luggage in the centre of town, as the hotel is very convenient for attending a concert at CCIB, but quite far from… everything else, really. The locker system was convenient: you book online and get a code which opens both the place and your assigned locker. I found it more trustworthy than leaving the bags in a random shop which “looks after luggage”. However, about a month later, there was a complete outage in Spain, which made me second-guess the convenience of these things, as I heard about a lady who could not go home because her luggage was inside one of those lockers. We’ll see whether I dare use them again.

We were to continue on my Modernisme route, visiting one of the works of Antoni Gaudí (1852 – 1926), considered the peak representative of the style – to the point that some of his works have been declared Unesco Heritage by themselves as Works of Antoni Gaudí. Gaudí originally found inspiration in orientalism and Neo-Gothic, but as he became more and more established, he turned to nature forms – seeds, branches, bones, catenary shapes… The UNESCO work we wanted to see was Casa Milà, a building commissioned to Gaudí by lawyer Pere Milà in 1906. The building itself was erected between 1906 and 1910, and it was nicknamed “The Quarry” La Pedrera. It is an eight-floor apartment building with a self-supporting façade, electricity, running and hot water. The building was designed around a central patio, and it has a very particular roof-terrace. Some people claim that Casa Milà does not even fit into the Modernisme category, but it should be classified as “organic naturalism”, or even “expressionism” all by itself.

La Pedrera, exterior

I found the building… underwhelming. We had a combined ticket for Sant Pau and Casa Milà at 39 €, but the normal ticket price for the building is 40 €, and this is only for one of the floors with a “recreated apartment”, the attic, and the terrace. At least you get to see the patio as you have to walk past it so you reach the tiny lift in which they cram you to take you to the 7th floor. The experience felt… like… not enough. I was for sure expecting something more.

La Pedrera, Interior

Do not get me wrong, the house is extremely cool, but you get to see really little in comparison to how big the place is. So even if it is pretty, it feels crowded and small, with way too many gift shops crammed in. The terrace is fun, with chimneys that look like ancient warriors – some people say they represent chess pieces, others that they hide religious undertones – Gaudí was very spiritual. Reportedly, they also inspired the stormtroopers’ helmets in Star Wars.

La Pedrera, terrace

Afterwards, we walked to the music hall Palau de la Música Catalana part of the Unesco Heritage Site Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona. The so-called Palace of Music was designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner a couple of years after projecting the hospital.

Palau de la Música Catalana

Everything that Casa Milá came short, the Palace passed with full marks. The building has an original entrance designed by Domènech, in dark brick with extensive decoration. The interior is laced with tiles and glass, and tinted-glass windows. The concert hall is amazing. At first, we could not access it, because there was an educative concert for children going on, but we were later allowed to sit at the paradise. There is a huge skylight / lamp in coloured glass, pegasus statues. The concert was incredible too, with four to six musicians playing classical music and… running around the stage too. Lady trotting up the stairs while playing the cello, you have my admiration. I loved everything about the palace, to be honest, except the creaky chairs.

Palau Música Catalana

Once we were done in the Palau, we walked to the market Mercat de Sant Josep (St. Joseph’s market), known as La Boquería (The Butcher’s). It used to be a regular marketplace, but now it has turned a touristic attraction. The main entrance is also part of the Modernisme route, designed by architect Antoni de Falguera, who also created the inner metal cover. Though I had half a mind about eating there, the prices were ridiculous, so we ended up at an Asian place a couple of streets down. On the way, I had been excited about the “Barcelona Aqueduct”, but it turns out it’s a modern construction with old ashlars, nothing historical in it at all.

Market La Boquería

After lunch, we had about an hour to kill, and we decided to try our luck in the hobby-shops area. The Norma Comics shop was open, and we spent a while looking at the books there. Then, we headed back to pick up our luggage and commute to the station.

We had to change trains, and there was an announcement that any passengers with a connection shorter than 30 minutes would be escorted to their train. Of course, that’s only PA, and you’re on your own – I asked a worker, who tried to divert us to the suburban trains, not our connection. From that conversation, I think that we were supposed to go out of the system and get our tickets scanned again, but we found our train before that. There was no one else to consult with, so I decided that we would get on it. My sibling was mortified, but we were not doing anything wrong. If anyone checked on us, we had a valid ticket. They had not lived up to their part of the agreement anyway – and I would have told them exactly that, had anyone even thought of scolding us.

But we made it, as I predicted nobody gave us any grief, and the drive from the train station was uneventful. All in all, it was an intense weekend – though I feel I could have squeezed in a monument or two more had we skipped the sit-down meals, but my sibling can’t handle that. All in all, I think everything worked out rather well.

30th March 2025: Sant Pau, Verne & a chocobo {FFVII Barcelona 2025}

Posted on by

The Barcelona hotel charged 20 € per day and person or breakfast, and I was not willing to pay for that, and so I told my sibling. They had no option but to accept since they had decided to delegate all planning and credit-card’ing on me. Instead of booking with breakfast, I brought cold latte bottles and snacks – good for taking headache medicine, which I did. After a quick breakfast, we set off. As we left, I asked at reception if they could do something about the air conditioning.

We headed towards the underground. It should have been an easy twenty-five-minute commute, but one of the stations was half-closed. We had to go outside and walk towards the other entrance to change lines, which was strange and consumed a ridiculous amount of time. We had to be at the ticket booth of our booked visit ten minutes before the allotted time, and we barely made it – though they did not seem to care. When I was looking at tickets, I found a combined ticket that saved us 10 € for two iconic buildings in town that I had not visited before. That however implied exchanging vouchers for tickets, thus the extra time.

We reached the former hospital of Saint Paul Sant Pau Recinte Modernista ten minutes after I had anticipated, right at the time we had to be there. Sant Pau is a huge hospital complex erected between 1901 and 1930 by architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner (1849 – 1923). Domènech favoured Modernisme, and is considered one of the most influential architects in shaping it. He designed buildings which balanced functionality and decoration, with lots of mosaics and polychrome. Though the precinct had been a hospital since the Middle Ages, it was completely redeveloped for the early 20th century project. Today, it is half of the Unesco Heritage Site Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona.

Hospital San Pau from the street

The hospital is considered one of the most important, and largest, complexes in the local Modernisme style. The complex was designed with 26 buildings, 12 of them pavilions for patients, separated by sexes and kind of disease. The pavilions were connected by underground tunnels, leaving space for gardens and open spaces between structures. It was originally conceived to be self-sufficient, closed off to protect the rest of the city.

Hospital San Pau, outside

The buildings are erected in brick, and decorated with ceramics both inside and outside, some of them forming complex mosaics on the roofs and ceilings. After a new hospital was built next to the original one in 2009, the complex was recovered as a museum in 2014. We could visit the pavilions, the tunnels, and the administrative building. The whole enclosure is magnificent, and incredibly large. It took over two hours to see everything we were allowed to visit and I loved every second of it. Well, except the pavilion with political propaganda.

Hospital San Pau, interior

Afterwards, we headed out towards a fun restaurant I had found online – Verne Barcelona, decorated simulating Captain Nemo’s Nautilus from the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by French writer Jules Verne. We shared a cone of tempura vegetables and I ordered a “Submarine” – a sandwich made from toasted brioche bread – called Turtle, with battered squid, sauce and salsa (I just don’t understand how they are supposed to resemble a submarine…).

Verne Barcelona

We headed back towards the hotel, stopping at a Starbucks for a coffee – a matcha in my case – because I helped my sibling dress up for the concert. We had been carrying the cosplay after all, of course they were going to wear it!

We were in Barcelona to attend the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour, to be held in the CCIB – Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona. Final Fantasy is an expanded video game anthology which set off in 1987. Since then, it has spawned 16 main games and countless spin-offs, media, plushies, and remakes. One of the most famous games is the seventh instalment, Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997. The game is set in a cyberpunk dystopia where energy is obtained by draining the Planet’s life-force. Gameplay follows the adventures of a party which opposes the system, embodied by the electric company Shinra, while at the same time trying to stop the main antagonist – mad soldier Sephiroth – from destroying the Planet itself.

Since 2015, Final Fantasy VII has been under redevelopment into a trilogy using modern graphics. The first game was Final Fantasy VII Remake, released in 2020, whose music had its very own World Tour in 2021. The second instalment, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth came out in 2024, and its music event – Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour – began almost immediately, ending precisely with our concert.

We were at the queue already when doors opened, but not early enough, so we needed to line again for the merchandise booth, almost an hour. It was in that queue where something amazing happened. When we attended the previous concert Final Fantasy Distant Worlds 35th Anniversary – Coral –, we were stuck at the merchandise queue for about an hour too and by the time we reached the front, they had ran out of most of the items. That included what I wanted the most – the chocobo plushies. Chocobo are a recurring species in the Final Fantasy franchise, large birds that can be ridden in-game, and in real life be sewn into cutesy toys.

It turned out that in 2023 the last chocobo plush had been bought by the guy who was sitting behind me. I might have made some jokes about stealing it and running away, and he promised to get me one for the next concert. I of course filed that under “one encounter silliness” and forgot all about it.

Well, he did not.

In that queue, two years later, he found me, and he gave me a chocobo plush. He actually found my sibling, who was easier to identify due to the cosplay. I was absolutely flabbergasted. Gobsmacked. Never in a million years would I have expected something like that to happen. Just… figure that everything that went on afterwards was coloured by a feeling of puzzlement and amazement at this stranger’s kindness over a silly plush I wasn’t able to buy two years before.

Chocobo!

We got to the front of the line over an hour later, almost at the time of start. I only wanted a programme, and we were seated around 20:50. I am good at choosing seats, by the way. We were dead centre at a great distance from the stage.

Setlist:
  First part:
  1. The Unknown Journey Continues
  2. FFVII Rebirth Opening
  3. Main Theme of FFVII – Battle Edit
  4. A New Journey Begins: Grasslands / Junon / Mt. Corel
  5. Crossing the Planet: Corel Desert / Gongaga / Nibel
  6. Queen’s Blood
  7. Stamp – Rebirth Medley
  8. Rufus’s Welcoming Ceremony – A New Leader
  9. Costa del Sol – Fun in the Sun
  10. Custom Valkyrie
  11. End of the World Medley
  12. Cosmo Canyon – Sanctum of Planetology
  13. Bare Your Soul
  14. Welcome to the Gold Saucer
  Second part:
  15. Loveless Symphonic Suite – Gift of the Goddess
  16. No Promises to Keep – Loveless Ver.
  17. Galian Beast
  18. J-E-N-O-V-A Lifeclinger
  19. Sephiroth Reborn Symphony
  Encore:
  20. One-Winged Angel – Rebirth Medley
  21. Aerith’s Theme – Return to the Planet Medley

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth orchestra playing

The orchestra was directed by Eric Roth. It was all right, I enjoyed it. However, I don’t think it was as powerful as the first one I saw, but that one was the first post-Covid event so it was emotional in other ways. Then again, I am not a gamer. I just watch gameplays on the Internet… I was a bit disappointed by the arrangement of One-Winged Angel, it felt… too elegant. What I love about the song is the pure chaos it represents, after all.

In attendance was composer Masashi Hamauzu [浜渦 正志 | Hamauzu Masashi]. He started working for Square Enix in 1996 under Nobuo Umematsu, the main composer of Final Fantasy VII music. Hamauzu’s first direct work related to the saga was the Chocobo’s Mysterious Dungeon soundtrack in 1997. He was in charge music for the Final Fantasy VII spin-off Dirge of Cerberus and alongside Mitsuto Suzuki, he has worked in both Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

After the concert, we joined the VIP queue for pictures and autographs. Though I had brought the CD from the time before – when I did not get the pamphlet – I was equipped this time. And I even managed the Spanish – English – Japanese cacophony without messing up either of them. That’s a first for me, I think. I got my programme autographed on the setlist page, and then my sibling and myself headed back to the hotel. For 179 €, I keep thinking the VIPs should at least get their own merch queue, or an item to get signed. I guess there are lots of people to get paid…

Eric Roth and Masashi Hamauzu signing autographs

Something that surprises me a lot about this area of Barcelona is that not even the McDonald’s at the shopping centre is open after 23:00, so I always make sure we buy something to snack after the concerts. The room was at least not freezing, though not particularly welcoming either. I had a hot shower, and that finally got rid of my headache, just in time for bed…

29th March 2025: Tibidabo & Friends {FFVII Barcelona 2025}

Posted on by

It sometimes feels like the alarm clock going off at 6:00 is actually worse than it going off at 3.00… Fortunately, after a hefty dose of coffee, I was able to get on my way, and we got to the station on time to do some reorganising of luggage. The situation with the trains was chaotic due to some projected works on the tracks. They announced that the train would be 12 minutes late, but it actually arrived and left a minute early. The train ride was uneventful, despite a large crowd of loud teenagers from a rugby team who had no idea where the were going, and really dirty toilets in the cars. The train reached Barcelona ten minutes before schedule. However, it did not go into the station until 15 minutes later for some reason – I really don’t understand what was going on with the whole railway system, or how construction in Madrid affected the time to enter Barcelona, but at least we were there.

The first step was dropping off the suitcase. Fortunately, Barcelona Sants has a luggage storage. I decided that for 10 € I could ditch my backpack and not haul it through the underground. Barcelona Sants station was under construction in 2021 and it’s still under renovation, so it took a bit to get to the correct place with the suitcase. Once we could drop the luggage off, we headed off to the underground.

There, we had to queue up to get our transportation cards from a machine – which apparently could not be used in any language except Catalonian. I had a code to input, and with that code the machine spat the tickets. They were convenient to use, and they worked on the underground and the buses without problem. The online discount made them better value for money: a single ticket is 2.65 €, and the 72-hour card Hola Barcelona is 26.30 €, which is reduced to 23.67 € if you order online (a 10% discount which is almost the price of one trip).

I had waited to book activities till the very same week because I wanted a relatively good prediction on the weather. It was not as nice as I had hoped due to the wind that morning, but oh well. Unfortunately though, the eclipse caught us in the underground. I had hoped we would be outside already, but we were over half an hour behind schedule due to the train and the construction in Sants.

I had bought tickets for the amusement park Parc d’Atraccions Tibidabo. A long time ago, from Park Güell, I was trying the zoom of my then-new camera and I was intrigued by its silhouette. I was curious and honestly, I thought it was an interesting place to see. Tibidabo is considered the oldest – or at least longest-running – amusement park in Spain. The first rides opened in 1905 under private initiative, though the park is now owned by the Barcelona city council.

I found a ticket which allowed to see the panoramic area and ride the “classical attractions”. It included the shuttle bus and the funicular Cuca de Llum, opened in 2021, which is not the original from the turn of the 20th century, but a recently renovated one. There’s no way I am getting on a funicular which older than 100 years old. To get there, we took the underground, and walked to the so-called Tibidabo Store, where we exchanged our tickets for bracelets so we could ride the bus to the funicular. The place is a bit out of town indeed.

We reached Parc d’Atraccions Tibidabo around 12:45, a good couple of hours after leaving Sants. Upon entering, it was colder than I had imagined, because it was windy, especially at the top of the mountain. There was no ticket control except for the attractions, so we were able to come and go as we pleased, and i found that was a regular mini-bus that went there. I felt a bit cheated, but I guess the funicular itself was an experience! Good thing that I am not too keen on rides and I decided to only get the basic ticket. It did not feel cheap either (21.50 €). The ticket Pase atracciones emblemáticas allowed us to wander around and ride the ‘emblematic’ rides – i.e. the classic one – and see the museum.

Barcelona from above

We first had a look at the city of Barcelona underneath. The view was not particularly different from the one in Parc Güell, except I’m more familiar with the layout by now. We then turned to snoop around the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor, a Christian church designed by Enric Sagnier i Vilavecchia (1858-1931) in a mix of Neo-styles, halfway between a Disney Castle and a classic cathedral. Construction was carried in two phases: 1903 – 1911, and 1915 – 1951. The upper towers were built later on, and work continued until 1961. The outer lower area is Neo-Romanesque, and the upper one Neo-Gothic; the inside is Neo-Byzantine, with mosaic walls. It has stairs a the sides to move from one level to another, and a lift inside. All in all, the whole building is… weird.

Sacred Heart Basilica

We ambled around for a while, and finally decided to have an early lunch, so we could avoid the family rush. My sibling wanted a proper sit-down, and we found the only option offering actual tables. The service was terrible – we never got glasses nor cutlery. We had to ask for napkins twice I think. Thrice for the bill after ordering two bottles of water and two burgers Hamburguesa de mejilla ibérica con pepinillo (Pulled pork and pickles burger). The service was so bad that the waiter decided to give us a complementary 15% discount on their own volition.

After lunch, we queued to ride the carousel and the Ferris wheel, and we saw the Automatons Museum, which was really interesting. The oldest piece dates back from 1880, and the newest from 2005. There used to be automatons sprinkled through the park for almost a century, but they were housed in their current home in 1982 to protect them from the weather.

Tibidabo Panorama

Automaton Museum

Around 15:00, we came down from Tibidabo. We had to share one ticket to get into the funicular, and the doors closed on me. I had to go to customer service to wait for someone to give me a replacement one. We undid all the way back to Sants to pick up our luggage, then we went back to the underground to meet with my friends E**** and P***o near their house to celebrate an important event in their family. We stayed with them for a few hours, then dropped by the supermarket to buy dinner for the next day, and took a bus towards our hotel.

We checked in, dropped our stuff in the room, cranked up the heating, and went to have dinner. We ended up at a Japanese franchise because the website said they had okonomiyaki, which they didn’t. At least they had dorayaki to compensate.

When we came back the room was at 19 ºC, and the air conditioning was blowing out cold air. I turned the thing off and went down to reception, where they told me they would call with a solution – either maintenance or a change of room. An hour later, without having heard from them, I went down again and a different receptionist told me the only thing that could be done was giving us extra blankets. I asked for three blankets and only got two. But I was too tired to fight – there was an extra towel I could use for added warmth. I defrosted in the shower and went to bed.

29th – 31st March 2025: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour in Barcelona (Spain) {FFVII Barcelona 2025}

Posted on by

My sibling is an avid Final Fantasy fan, or at least of the concerts, and they usually ask me to prepare a trip when there is one in Spain. They tend to be in Barcelona, which has a love-to-hate relationships with tourism. Short-term letting apartments to tourists is more profitable than renting to residents, which is (allegedly) one of the causes of the current housing crisis. Finally, it has one of the highest criminality rates in Spain, and the epicentre of the secessionist movement. Thus, I’ve not planned much the last couple of times we were there, just enough to fill the days. It does not help that my sibling is a cosplayer and we have to haul a suitcase with the outfit.

This time, however, the Final Fantasy Rebirth Orchestra World Tour concert was on a Sunday. I have no faith in the public transport system any more, and Monday had to be requested off anyway, so we ended up looking at Saturday-morning to Monday-evening trip. Thus, I decided to fit in a bunch of Modernisme and other stuff that had been on my list for a while. Also, friends! Because friends are extremely important, especially when big changes are on the way!

I bought tickets for the concert in June 2024, when they went on sale. I booked the hotel in November, but I refused to pay for breakfast, because it was 20 € per person and day, and I was not going to pay 40 bucks for weak coffee and stuff I don’t even eat… And then I did not do much planning until February. However, I knew that at some point I needed to get things organised, else we would spend the weekend queueing to enter places. I’ve seen it happen before…

The train tickets only came out 90 days in advance, and I got them in early February. They were expensive – I had hoped to catch one of the new low-cost trains, but paying for the cosplay suitcase would push it to normal ticket prices. I found an outbound direct train, bit the return one that I wanted was not running, so we had to take a connection – which meant going to Madrid, then backwards on our way back. Oh, well. And on top of that, construction on the tracks triggered delay warnings – which did not come true in the end, good thing I insisted on being at the stations for the earlier time, whether it was the old or new one.

I put together a tentative itinerary waiting for the weather forecast, and the week of the trip itself, I booked tickets, including the transportation card – which was a nightmare. I really don’t understand how or why cities have decided to get rid of regular transport tickets. The ten-trip ticket has disappeared, and buying a one-way was prohibitive. Considering how many trips we would get, it made sense to get a 72-hour tourist ticket, since it was impossible to register to get a normal card… I also organised where to leave the luggage, since the hotel is next to the venue, and that is more than a bit out…

Spoiler alert though: we did not get pick-pocketed nor robbed, unless you count the insane tourist tax at the hotel, and we did not take forever to do the check-in.

27th March 2025: The Raven Age at ReviLive (Madrid, Spain)

Posted on by

Sometimes one has to wonder what guides music promoters to make certain decisions. It would be interesting to be aware of factors like costs of renting a venue, fuel, ticketing and so on. Because on occasion, it feels like tour schedules are suboptimal from all angles – acknowledging the lack of information. In the case of The Forsaken Tour by The Raven Age featuring Disconnected, I think that the most important factor that was considered was minimising bus-tour kilometres. Unfortunately, that placed their Madrid show on a Thursday, in a venue which… I’m pretty sure was inconvenient for everyone but myself.

The Raven Age is an English heavy metal band formed in 2009 by guitarists George Harris and Dan Wright – though Wright has since left the band. Current members are Harris and Tommy Gentry on guitars, Matt Cox on bass and backing vocals, Jai Patel on drums, and Matt James (MJ) on lead vocals. They have released three studio albums, and supported Iron Maiden, Anthrax and Apocalyptica during the Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol 2 Tour 2024. Though I saw Artics supporting that tour, my friend A****d saw The Raven Age and highly recommended them – actually she was the one who informed me of the upcoming tour and the Madrid date and place.

The Raven Age Tour Schedule

The concert was held in ReviLive, a concert and party venue associated with the musical studio ReviRock, which provides recording equipment, sets, rehearsal spaces… It is located near the Vicálvaro train station and Puerta de Arganda underground stop in Madrid. Unfortunately, it’s pretty far out from most commuting hubs. I had first thought about driving there, but my Sat-Nav has been failing lately. Furthermore, I did not feel comfortable parking and walking around the area – not the best – without knowing my way.

Since Vicálvaro was close and the way was rather straightforward, I decided to drive to a nearby station, then take a high-frequency train. But in the end, that day I had a headache, so I wanted to drive as little as possible. That meant risking it with the trains. I had previously checked finishing times and with doors at 19:00, I should be out at 22:30 latest. I had no intention to queue, so I took a train that arrived at the station around 18:50. That got me to the venue at 19:05. I was all right with staying back, but the crowd was so small that I found a spot at the barrier… And I was not wearing barrier shoes, at all. The good thing of a small side-lined venue is that security is nicer – and you are allowed to do outrageous things like bringing in your water bottle.

Supporting act throughout the tour was the French artists Disconnected, an independent French progressive metal band. Formed in 2016, it features Ivan Pavlakovic on vocals, Adrian Martinot and Florian Merindol on guitars, Romain Laure on Bass and Amaury Pastorelli on drums.

Doors ended up being at 19:30, not at 19:00, which was mean to the poor fans that had been there since early, particularly the meet & greet ones. I have to admit I did check for M&G tickets, but found no way to get them, else I would have. Maybe they were fanclub-only, I don’t know. I was hoping the venue would fill up more – similarly to La Riviera, where the crowd (that I’ve seen) skips the supporting act and drips in without queuing.

At 19:50, Disconnected started their act, and it was quite all right. What was unfortunately not so good was the sound. For such an empty venue, it was a pity, because it was not as if there was a roar from the attendees. The vocalist had great energy, and he was fun – though painfully aware of how few people there were. They sang in English and French, but the ratty sound made it a bit difficult to follow.

Disconnected’s setlist:
  1. Living incomplete
  2. I Fall Again
  3. The Wish
  4. La Puissance
  5. Unstoppable
  6. A World of Futile Pains
  7. Life Will Always Find Its Way
  8. We Carry On

The Raven Age Madrid Concert: Disconnected

The Raven Age Madrid Concert: Disconnected

Unfortunately, the venue had not filled up when it was time for the main act, and that was a bit sad. Despite the ongoing sound problems and the small crowd, The Raven Age had a great presence. The music did not sound as powerful as what I had been listening online though, and I am sure that they did not have any tea in their thermos bottles…

The Raven Age’s setlist:
  1. The Guillotine
  2. Promised Land
  3. Forgive & Forget
  4. Nostradamus
  5. Surrogate
  6. The Face That Launched A Thousand Ships
  7. Scimitar
  8. The Day The Earth Stood Still
  9. Essence of Time
  10. The Journey
  11. Seventh Heaven
  12. Angel in Disgrace
  13. Serpent’s Tongue
  14. Grave of the Fireflies
  15. Fleur de Lis

The Raven Age Madrid Concert: The Raven Age

It was extremely amusing to hear a heavy metal singer with such a strong British accent, talking in a natural way and dropping swearwords without sweating them. The members seemed to be quite happy taking over all the stage, and there was a lot of interaction, which is always good and fun. Unfortunately, considering that promoter was giving tickets away, I don’t think I’ll ever have the chance to see them close to home again.

The act was not long. They started at 20:50 and finished at 22:10, so it was a relatively short show, but it went by really fast. There was no real encore, because MJ said “this is the time when we go backstage, you guys yell for more, we come back and sing some more, so we’re going to skip all that and go on.” I approve of that.

The Raven Age Madrid Concert: The Raven Age

The Raven Age Madrid Concert: The Raven Age

The Raven Age Madrid Concert: The Raven Age

The Raven Age Madrid Concert: The Raven Age

The whole event had a weird atmosphere from start to end – the lack of a queue, the… chairs outside so we could wait… The… “hey, hold my spot, I’m going to change into this merch shirt I just got” and “Sure, but then hold mine while I go to the toilet” conversations… And especially, the lack of people. I really hoped that there would be more concertgoers after 20:00, and at least some more enthusiasm. When I saw Kamijo in Barcelona there was a small crowd, but it was loud. Here, it was lukewarm. I felt a bit heartbroken for the bands, because they both did a great job.

The train I was supposed to take back did not pass, so I had to wait almost 45 minutes at the Vicálvaro station. That was not fun because the only seats were in the open platform and my lower back hurt – bad choice of shoes. It was extremely cold, too, so I just huddled on a bench, and it felt good when the train finally came. I got to my car just before midnight, and home soon after. I was so tired I almost hit the kerb on my last curve, so it is good that I did not drive back and forth on the speedway, actually.

All in all, I enjoyed the day, the supporting act, and the concert. Would I travel abroad for The Raven Age? Probably not. Will I buy their CDs when I have money to spare? Probably yes. Although I keep getting sidetracked by activities and places to see and burning through my fun budget… Just you wait until there is a concert somewhere I want to visit, and I’ll be taking this whole “not travelling for The Raven Age” back.

22nd March 2025: The Historical Flow of River Henares (Guadalajara, Spain)

Posted on by

The presence of the anticyclone over Great Britain created an unusual rainy March in the centre of Spain, with four storms hitting almost back to back. An average March in Guadalajara sees 4.9 days of rain. Between the 1st and 25th of March 2025, it rained for 21 days. Storms Jana, Konrad, Laurence and Martinho delivered rainfall not seen in the area for 30 years or so.

Rain is measured using gauges and in a unit of “millimetres” – one millimetre of rain is equivalent to one litre of water per square metre. The average rainfall in the Guadalajara area is around 46 litres per square metre for the whole month of March. This four-storm period left over 150 litres per square metre. That’s a lot of rain on rain – dark clouds, soaked soil, wind blowing off the cherry plum blossoms (Prunus cerasifera).

Prune flowers in the storm

Guadalajara was built on the river Río Henares a tributary of a tributary of river Tagus. The Henares sprouts out of the mountain range Sierra Minsitra and runs about 160 km with a variable average flow between 10 and 40 cubic metres per second. The flow of the river and its tributaries is heavily regulated by the presence of a network of reservoirs in the area, designed to fight the cyclical droughts in central Spain, an arid plateau known as La Meseta (The Plateau). There are sixteen reservoirs in the province of Guadalajara, ten of them actively monitored. In March 2025, it rained so much that six of them (Alcorlo, Atance, Beleña, El Vado, La Tajera and Pálmaces) reached critical capacity and their floodgates had to be open, which dumped more water into the already “fattened” river. Furthermore, it was already thawing season, and the little snow that was on the peaks had started melting…

The result? The flow was up to over 300 cubic metres per second. That… is a lot. Official sources say that the water level increased by 40 cm, which of course caused the river to jump its usual banks. Along Guadalajara, this was mostly seen around the 10th century bridge Puente Califal (though other rivers were scary to cross). The structure was originally an Arab bridge, probably dating to the times of Abd al-Rahman III (Abd al-Rahmán ibn Muhámmad [عبد الرحمن بن محمد‎], 891 – 961 CE), though it was repeatedly damaged and repaired later on, particularly during the reign of Carlos III in the 18th century.

The bridge was built in ashlar masonry using a common technique from Al-Andalus architecture, stretcher and header soga y tizón, which means laying a layer of ashlar so the long side is outwards, then a layer so the short side is outwards, with the widest area always horizontal. The structure is almost 120 metres long, with five arches and four pillars, so thick that one of them allows for a spillway. Normally, only three of these arches are above water, allowing for most of the arch to be seen. This is a 2021 photograph which shows the usual situation underneath the bridge.

The normal state of the bridge - the low areas are dry, and only three arches have water running underneath

The humble bridge became the city’s most important tourist attraction during the storms period, as the river swelled and the water rose. Since I was in the area for work, I decided that I had to take a look. It was impressive. The water roared, and it had jumped the banks around the “park” area that has been built, along the footpaths.

Stone structure alongside the bridge, with water covering everything

Puente Califal Guadalajara during the March 2025 floods

River Henares underneath the Arab bridge

River Henares underneath the Arab bridge

Wideview of the Bridge, banks burst

9th March 2025: Expominerales 2025, the other half of the weekend’s plans (Madrid, Spain)

Posted on by

Since I had to be in Madrid to watch the fantastic concert by the Wiener Sängerknaben, the plan had been to attend the yearly Expominerales mineral fair in the Mine and Energy Engineering School Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Minas y Energía (ETSIME) that same day. However, the fair closes on Saturdays between 14:00 and 16:00 for a lunch break, so since the weather was so horrid, I decided not to wait. On Sunday, the weather forecast was slightly less miserable, and in the end I was lucky with only some gentle rain as I walked between the train station and the Engineering School, nothing like the sleet deluge the previous day.

Expominerales fills the ETSIME with stalls selling minerals, fossils and crystals offered by reputable sellers. Here I’ve seen the biggest megalodon teeth in my life, held a plesiosaur vertebra – which I regret not buying when I had the chance – and discovered that moldavite exists – and which I regret not buying when I had the chance… do you spot a pattern here? I did not break it anyway, because in the end I cannot afford most of what is sold, and I already own most of what I can…

Overlook of ETSIME during Expominerales

I arrived at the School shortly after the exhibit opened around 10:00, and the area was still pretty empty. There were fewer stands than the previous years I’ve been there, and the moldavite stand was not there. Actually, there were very few meteorite-related stands this time around. I did see amazing modern-times frog fossils from Owens Lake. Owens Lake is called Patsiata in the Mono Native American language. In 1913, the lake dried out when the water from the Owens River was redirected and with years it has become a deadly salt flat, a source of alkali sand storms with a side of carcinogen materials. One of the minerals found in Owens Lake is trona, a crystal formed by the precipitation of sodium carbonate, making it a type of evaporite. In 2023, an atmospheric river caused floods in California, filling the lake up for the first time in over a century. The floods damaged infrastructure and created a surge of floodwater to the lake, which eroded surfaces and dragged a lot of small hibernating animals towards the lake, where they were killed instantly. Their soft tissues were quickly replaced by trona salt before the bodies even decomposed, creating a perfect cast of the poor critters. There were two on display at Expominerales and they were creepy!

Something else that caught my eye (and was actually within my doable price range) was a polished abalone shell. The Korean abalone (Haliotis discus) has been used for centuries in the art of najeonchilgi [나전칠기], which refers to decorating items with mother of pearl. The abalone can be polished in full, creating a whole iridescent body of nacre. These mollusks used to be collected by haenyeo [해녀], traditional female divers from the Jeju province, but most of them are farmed for food today. A small polished abalone came home with me.

Items from Expominerales

The School opens its classic museum during the exhibit, and I always enjoy visiting it. However, after wandering around for a bit (and spending some money), I moved onto what basically is the next building over to the ETSIME, the Spanish Mining and Geology Institute IGME – Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, which hosts the Geomineral Museum Museo Geominero. The original design of the building was conceived by Francisco Javier de Luque, and work started in 1921. Though a congress was held there in 1925, construction went on until 1941. The building has not been extensively restored, but it presents deviations from the original plans, and even from subsequent ones.

The museum is hosted in the former hall, and to get there, first you have to go through a very bored security guard – who first asked if I was sure I wanted to be there. Once inside the building, one goes up the main staircase towards the gallery underneath a glass-and-iron skylight with the logo of the Mining Institute. It was designed by Luque himself and created by the Madrid workshop La Veneciana, a glassware shop dating from 1876 and which, under a different name, still exists today.

Entrance staircase to the Geomineralogical museum

The museum is an open area, located underneath another incredible skylight. The displays are hosted in wooden cabinets in the main floor. The upper balconies can be accessed through spiral staircases and are protected by metalwork railings. One of the details I absolutely adore are the glassworks displaying geological sample cores of different surveys. I’ve never seen the library, but I was once part of a group which was allowed to play with some of the “lesser value” items they have as part of a training session, and that was super fun. The museum is probably one of my favourite spots in town.

The Geomineralogical Museum

From the architecture point of view, I like the building and the skylights. However, there are way more things to love in the museum, such as the wooden cabinets, full with samples of minerals, fossils and meteorites. The museum’s collection are divided into “Mineralogy and Petrology”, “Flora and Invertebrate fossils from Spain”, “Vertebrate fossils from Spain”, “Foreign fossils”, “Systematic invertebrate palaeontology”, “Micro-palaeontology”, “Fossil resin”, “Fossil tracks”, “Stromatolites”, and the “special exhibits”. One of these is a complete cavern bear (Ursus spelaeus), another one is an Ibex (Capra ibex). The last two have honour spots, with their own display.

When you come into the museum, one of the first things that you see, in front of the door, up on the first-floor balcony, is the cast of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skull ever found – Stan. Specimen BHI 3033, Stan, was found in 1987 and excavated in 1992, in South Dakota’s Hell Creek Formation. Stan lived around 65 million years ago, in the Cretaceous period. We know he fought for his life more than once – his ribs were broken and healed, two vertebrae were fused together, and he suffered a bite to his snout. Stan remains one of the most complete skeletons ever found, and probably the most-often cast. The skeleton made mainstream news when it was auctioned at Christie’s in New York due to money disputes among partners of the original owner-firm, Black Hills Institute. An anonymous buyer paid $31.8 million for it in October 2020. In 2022 it was disclosed that the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi had bought Stan for their projected new Natural History Museum.

On the ground floor there is a mastodon fossil Anancus arvernensis found in the 1990s. These animals related to modern elephants lived throughout the Miocene and went extinct in the Early Pliocene (two million years ago). The could have been around the size of a modern African bush elephants, but their tusks were mostly straight. They would have lived in steppe with dry and warm climate, but close to water. The fossilised bones were recovered are dated around 3.2 million years ago, and were dug from the Las Higueruelas site between 1948 and 1991.

Exhibits at the Museo Geominero

After I wandered the museum for a while, I left towards my train which was delayed… 43 minutes. Fortunately, so were the ones that had to pass before, so I ended catching one in the right direction after only a twenty-minute wait. And then I got junk food, because some days have to end in junk food…

8th March 2025: Wiener Sängerknaben Spain Tour, half of a weekend’s plan (Madrid, Spain)

Posted on by

Where should I get to see the Vienna Boy’s choir Wiener Sängerknaben? Vienna? Of course not! Madrid, of course. We did try to see them in their home town, but it did not work out, because they sang before we arrived, and while we were on our way to the airport on the day we left. However, chance wanted that their Schubert Choir Schubertchor would be touring Spain in March, and Madrid would be their first stop. We got good tickets by a hair’s breadth, because my parents do not believe in booking in advance – nor in me booking for everyone – but we got them, literally last row of stalls.

Nobody knows exactly when the historical Wiener Sängerknaben was established, but there are records of boys singing at the Imperial Chapel back in 1296, even before the chapel was in Vienna. The Boys Choir just performed for the Court until 1918, when the Austria-Hungary Empire collapsed. In 1924, the institution was re-established as a private non-profit. It remained boys-only until 2004, when the Girls Choir Wiener Chormädchen was founded.

The boys attend their own campus from primary to senior high school. There are 100 choristers divided in four choirs (Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert), each of which tours for around 10 weeks per school year. They perform High Mass in the chapel of the Imperial Palace every Sunday as part of an ensemble called Hofmusikkapelle (Court Music Orchestra), formed by the boys and members of the choir and orchestra of the Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsope).

As part of those ten-week tours, it was announced that in 2025 the Schubert Choir would tour South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Italy. In Spain, they were to perform four special concerts in Madrid, Seville, Alicante and Valencia. The Madrid show took place at 11:00 in the national auditorium Auditorio Nacional de Música. The auditorium was designed by architect José María García de Paredes and it opened in 1988. The largest music hall can host over 2400 spectators.

Auditorio Nacional, inside and out

The Schubertchor has 22 members from all over the world – though most are Austrian, others come from China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, England, Germany, Hungary, Japan, South Korea and Ukraine. The boys’ names are not released, but they were touring with Peruvian conductor Andy Icochea Icochea, who had previously worked in the Wiener Sängerknaben between 2005 and 2011. Icochea seems to have specialised in training young choristers, and has had a long career with different choirs and orchestras, even with a music charity. He has collaborated with other directors such as Riccardo Muti, who conducted the 2024 Silvesterkontzert / 2025 New Year’s concert in Vienna.

The day of the concert started raining buckets, but we had decided to try public transport instead of driving to the area where the Auditorio Nacional de Música stands. Afterwards, we wanted to have lunch and head to Expominerales, which was held that same weekend. We arrived with plenty of time, and we had to find a café to pass the time until doors opened. Once that happened, it was a bit of a chaos of umbrellas and everybody trying to push in at the same time. If you think young people get excited before a concert, they’ve got nothing on senior citizens.

At 11:00 sharp, even before the hall had completely filled up – doors had opened kind of late in my opinion, less than half hour in advance – the children and the director came out. People were still being admitted during for the first couple of songs, and the auditorium staff were harassing patrons about where they had placed their jackets, or whether they were in their correct seats, well into the show. It was weird, and a bit disrespectful, those details should have been sorted beforehand. However, the concert itself were amazing. Most of it was sung a capella, and only a piano was used for accompanying the choristers in several songs, played by Icochea himself.

Vienna Boys' Choir Madrid

Setlist:
  First part:
    1. Kaiser-Walzer, Op. 437 (Emperor Waltz), composed by Johan Strauß II, with lyrics by Victor Gombocz and arranged by Gerald Wirth.
    2. Der Wassermann (The Water Genie), composed by Robert Schumann, with lyrics by Justinus Kerner.
    3. Hebe deine Augen auf zu den Bergen (Lift thine eyes), trio from Elias, Op. 70 (The Prophet Elijah), composed by Felix Mendelssohn from the lyrics of Psalm 121:1-4.
    4. Die Meere, Op. 20 No. 3 (The Seas), composed by Johannes Brahms
    5. Psalm 23, D.706, composed by Franz Schubert with Germany lyrics by Moses Mendelssohn.
    6a. Nun stehen die Rosen in Blüte (Now the roses have bloomed) from Der Jungbrunnen, Op. 44 (The Fountain of Youth) composed by Johannes Brahms with lyrics by Paul Heyse.
    6b. Die Berge sind spitz (The mountains are pointed) from Der Jungbrunnen, Op. 44 (The Fountain of Youth) composed by Johannes Brahms with lyrics by Paul Heyse.
    6c. Am Wildbach die Weiden (The willows beside the stream) from Der Jungbrunnen, Op. 44 (The Fountain of Youth) composed by Johannes Brahms with lyrics by Paul Heyse.
    6d. Und gehst du über den Kirchhof (And if you walk across the churchyard) from Der Jungbrunnen, Op. 44 (The Fountain of Youth) composed by Johannes Brahms with lyrics by Paul Heyse.
    7. Inclina Domine aurem tuam ad me, Op. 118 (Incline your ear, Lord, to me), Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (Psalm 86).
    8. Erlkonig (The Elven King) composed by Franz Schubert, with lyrics by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, arranged by Oliver Gies.
    9. Sängerslust, Polka française, Op. 328 (Singer’s Joy, French Polka), composed by Johann Strauß II with lyrics by Joseph Weil.
    10. Wiener Blut, Walzer Op. 354 (Viennese Spirit), composed by Johann Strauß II, arranged by Helmuth Froschauer.
  Second part:
    11. 아리랑 [Arirang] (impossible to translate, but it might have meant “My beloved one” in Ancient Korean), arranged by Gerald Wirth, a traditional Korean love song from the Kyonggi Do province, with over 60 variations.
    12. Vreneli abem Guggisberg (Vreneli from Guggisberg), Swiss folk song arranged by Gerald Wirth.
    13. Müsle gang ga schlofa (Go to sleep, little mouse). Cradle song from Vorarlberg, Austria with lyrics by Walter Weinzierl, arranged by Gerald Wirth.
    14. Unz Wättr isch winti (Until the weather is windy), written by Luis Stefan Stecher like an Italian folk song, with music by by Ernst Thoma.
    15. O more duboko (Oh, deep sea), Croatian folk song, arranged by Gerald Wirth.
    16. La Paloma (The Dove), Spanish habanera by Sebastián Yradier, arranged by Gerald Wirth.
    17. Chim Chim Cher-ee from Mary Poppins (1964 film), by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, arranged by Christi Cary Miller.
    18. What Was I Made For? from Barbie (2023 film), by Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, arranged by Jennifer Lucy Cook.
    19. Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid (1989 film), by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, arranged by Kirby Shaw.
    20. For ever, Polka schnell, Op. 193 (Forever, Fast Polka) by Josef Strauß, arranged by Gerald Wirth with English lyrics by Tina Breckwoldt.
    21. An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314 (The Blue Danube), composed by Johann Strauß II, with lyrics by Franz von Gernerth (1821-1900) and arranged Gerald Wirth.
  Encore
    22. Radetzky-Marsch, Op. 228 (Radetzky March), by Johann Strauß I, arranged by Gerald Wirth.
    23. Un Elefante Se Balanceaba (An elephant swung), Spanish children counting song, probably arranged by Icochea.

Charming does not even come close to describing the show. I’d never understood the concept of “angelic voices” until now, and I found it really unfair that you can’t actually find out the names of the boys. I don’t know whether it is to protect their privacy as they are minors, but it would have been great to at least know the names of the soloists, because the powerful voices from those little bodies was amazing.

The children were organised by tone of voice, which was similar to size, with the highest voices (smallest boys) on the front left and the lowest voices (biggest kids) on the back right. They sang most of their numbers towards the stalls, but for one song they turned to the people behind them, to both sides of the organ. Highlights included any time a child sang a solo – particularly the first one during the Emperor Waltz, as people were still coming in. During another song, Icochea left the stage for another boy to direct.

Vienna Boys' Choir Madrid

The oldest boy was in charge of having the audience clap during the Radetzky March, just like in the New Year’s Concert – and he looked right at that age when teens are all knees and elbows and awkwardness, but he seemed to be extremely proud of himself (well deserved!).

The last song of the encore was a total surprise. Before it started, the director invited us to “sing along if we were familiar with it”. This unexpected performance was a Spanish counting song, Un Elefante Se Balanceaba (An elephant swung), which goes “one elephant swung on a spiderweb – as it saw it did not fall down, it went to call another elephant. Two elephants swung on a spiderweb – as they saw they did not fall down, they went to call another elephant. Three elephants…” you get the idea – not precisely a philosophical song, but way less traumatic than say Hush little baby. One of the boys walked to the front and made a sort of trunk with one of his arms as he “swung” to the music. One by one, the others joined him until the proverbial spiderweb snapped and down to the floor all the children went. It was absolutely hilarious, and adorable.

Vienna Boys' Choir Madrid

Vienna Boys' Choir Madrid singing the elephant song

It was still raining heavily when we left the auditorium. It was 13:15, so no real time to get to Expominerales before it closed between 14:00 and 16:00. Had the weather been nicer (decent, at the very least), I would have found something else to do before it re-opened. But it was still raining cats and dogs – and maybe some ice – so we just decided to call it a (half) day.

23rd February 2025: The Annual Medieval Fair (Tendilla, Spain)

Posted on by

For the last few years, the Medieval fair Feria de Mercaderíass de San Matías in Tendilla has started on the 25th (2022), 24th (2023) and the 23rd (2024) of February. So it makes perfect sense that my mind placed 2025’s edition start on the… 14th, right? Since the fair celebrates St. Matthew, and the onomastic is the 13th, I unilaterally decided that the fair must be that weekend. Obviously, I was wrong, and the fair was held from the 21st to the 23rd. Due to the date mishap, I had a visit booked on the 22nd, and I amended my plans to head to the fair on Sunday the 23rd instead of on Saturday as I usually do – that way I could see the Palace, the Botarga Parade and the Fair on the same weekend.

It was a good thing that I decided to go to the Parade instead of trying to make it to the fair on Saturday, because apparently they were blocking cars from entering the village, but not letting them park anywhere close-by which… is a problem. To avoid a similar issue on Sunday, I drove to Tendilla before the fair even opened, so I was there around 8:40. I used the time to climb up the frozen nearby hills to see if there were nice views from above. I also headed into the pine forest, which was covered by a thin layer of frost everywhere. It was pretty.

Tendilla: Landscapes before the fair started

There was a parade scheduled to take place at 11:00, which did not happen until around 13:00 – there was just a trio of musicians going up and down the main street. In the mean time, I wandered up the fair, and stayed around the ox paddock hearing things like “such noble eyes the animal has” from the mouths of city-dwellers. The poor oxen seemed pretty much used to to be stared at, so they just munched on hay with an air of resignation. There were two of them separated from the herd, which would later be yoked to a traditional cart. Looking back, I’m slightly surprised that I did not get any allergy symptom from their straw.

Three musicians in Medieval Clothes

Oxen in the Medieval Fair

I also found the newly-inaugurated statue to honour the fair – a tiny farmer with two donkeys standing atop a column which… was a bit underwhelming, to be honest.

La borriquilla - the little donkey

Around noon, a queue started forming for migas. In the mornings during the fair, some of the villagers prepare this typical dish from the area for all passers-by (queuers-by?) to enjoy. The traditional migas are made from fried breadcrumbs, paprika and meat from pig slaughtering. However, Tendilla is famous for its torreznos (processed pork lard snacks), so these communal migas are served with the local dry treats, and accompanied with a glass of wine to be washed down. I had never queued for them, but some family members saw me when they were almost at the front of the line and I was snuck forward in exchange for some photos. I also got to talk to one of the stand owners, and I discovered about a place called Emociones al Vuelo, a bird-of-prey rescue and training centre which organises activities. I may or may not have decided to pay them a visit.

Communal migas being prepared

We snacked, and then moved around the village. I was in the middle of Main Street Calle Mayor when the parade came through. The troupe had changed this year, and it was not Christian knights and moors, but gypsies and magicians. They brought horses and “wolfdogs” – not actual wolfdogs but wolf-looking domestic dogs. Enough to fool a lot of people. There was supposed to be a tournament, but apparently the gypsies were not up to it. There was no tournament, and after an hour of waiting, the troupe went back to the Main Square Plaza Mayor, did a couple of horse tricks, and started cutting ham to share with the onlookers. It was a bit disappointing, but I least I got to pet the dogs.

Troupe of horse riders dressed as Medieval gypsies

Dogs from the gypsy troupe

I headed to my relatives’ place and we prepared lunch, though I had some leftover migas that had been saved for me from the previous day, and a fried egg on top. Much better than the communal ones, for real.

The last activities for the day were related to the long-suffering oxen. First, two of them were yoked to a traditional hay cart and children were given rides through the fair. The two oxen were led to the cart and then tied to the structure. Something that I had never known was that part of this tie went around their horns and forehead, so the owners placed a small pillow on the animals’ foreheads for them to pull more comfortably. However, to do the tie the knots as strong as it was necessary for them to be, he had to use his foot as leverage on the ox’s head… Once the animals were yoked, the cart started moving. One small child who had apparently been asking about the ride all day long was the first to be helped on the cart – even though some others tried to cut the line! At first, they went up and down the village, but apparently some idiot spooked the poor animals and the owners decided to just move around the main square afterwards.

Oxen being yoked

After six or seven rides, the oxen were untied and let into the paddock. A lorry was brought and the owners created a mini stampede for all the oxen to go into the vehicle. That was wickedly cool.

That was the last activity, so I decided to say goodbye to my relatives soon and drive back through the sunset. Most of the stalls were already closing anyway and there was no way I was going to stay for dinner – because that would mean I’d have to actually eat more that day, which was not the plan.

On the way back I drove into a very weird traffic jam. It did not happen around the bottleneck, but much much earlier, and the bottleneck was clear. I’ve never understood traffic jams anyway…

So all in all, I had a very complete weekend, combining Madrid, Guadalajara and Tendilla, I had relatively good weather, and got to check out most of what I wanted. The only downside? Having to go to my day job on Monday without having caught any rest!

22nd February 2025: Architecture in Madrid, and folklore in Guadalajara (Spain)

Posted on by

By now, reaching Madrid by train without anything remarkable to comment on is actually remarkable all by itself – there were actually no problems for once. I had booked a spot for a visit at noon, but since I don’t trust the rail service, I hopped on a train to be at Atocha Station around 10:00, and for once I was there right on time, maybe even a minute early!

As I walked up the street Paseo del Prado, I passed by the exhibition centre CaixaForum, where the Patagotitan still stands. Since it was still winter, the trees on both sides had little to no leaves, and I could see it from the opposite side. I of course said hi.

Patagotitan skeleton

My first stop was the church Iglesia de San Jerónimo el Real, dedicated to St. Jerome, a late Gothic – early Renaissance building erected between 1502 and 1505. It belonged to a monkhood whose original monastery stood near the river. The stagnant waters caused illnesses among the brethren, who asked the Catholic Monarchs for a new location. The church for the new community was created from brick and masonry, and towers were added in the 17th century. The interior is decorated with two gothic altars to the sides, but no main altarpiece, as the original one has been lost to time. Instead, there is a painting by Rafael Tegeo La última comunión de San Jerónimo – Saint Jerome’s last communion – created in 1829.

Monastery Monasterio de Jerónimos

Afterwards, I headed towards the National Museum of Anthropology Museo Nacional de Antropología, a small museum dedicated to the diversity of cultures in the world, particularly the Americas, Philippines, Africa and the “Far East”, focusing on traditions, culture and religion. It is covered by my national museum card.

At the moment, the museum is running a temporal exhibit on art based on myths, legends, and sacred texts from India, Caminos místicos. Tradiciones vivas del arte de la India – Mystic Paths. Living Traditions of art from India. I was curious about it, but not expecting how much I liked it in the end. The pieces of the exhibit were mostly based on Hinduism (Sanātana Dharma, सनातन धर्म), the oldest religion in the world. According to Hindu tradition, the Supreme Being Brahma exists as themself, but also as the manifestation of the deities Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Sustainer and Shiva the Destroyer, all of who at the same time have different avatars (avatāra, अवतार) or incarnations. One of the core principles of Hinduism is the concept of cosmic cause-and-effect justice, karma [कर्म]. Another is reincarnation (saṃsāra, संसार), an eternal cycle of life and death until the individual is liberated from it through self realisation or illumination. The religion is based on values like righteousness, truth, love, peace, and ethical conduct, and it is quite open to other beliefs and ethics.

Religious Indian Art pieces

The Museum of Anthropology’s permanent exhibition has a lot of items from the Philippines on the ground floor, probably due to how long(1565–1898) the islands were a Spanish colony. There are clothes, tobacco items, ritual objects, and a small sample of how the local culture was throughout the 1800s. To the back, there is a room dedicated to the religions of Asia and the Middle East – Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. The first floor is dedicated to Africa, combining a number of traditional exhibits with modern photographs of the traditional people’s way of life – baskets, pottery, leather and wooden objects, ritual masks… The second floor holds items from the Americas, especially from South America. Some of them include a Mexican Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) altar, Andean Carnival masks, Sioux-Lakota clothes, Inuit coats…

Religious icons and traditional masks

I remember visiting the museum when I was a child, and then feeling disappointed in it when I returned as an adult. This time around, I found the permanent and temporal exhibitions quite interesting, so it’s a good thing I headed there. It also helped make time until noon, when my next visit was due, to the only Ministry that can be visited – albeit not freely, by appointment and paying a fee – as it is a historical building.

The current Agriculture Ministry is housed in the historical building known as Palacio de Fomento – Palace of Development. Its plans were originally drawn by architect Mariano  Belmás y Estrada, aiming for an Arts and Craftwork School. Later, Eduardo Saavedra y Moragas took over to turn the design into a university. Finally, the project ended in the hands of architect Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, who erected the building between 1893 and 1897 to house the then Ministry of Development.

The Palace is an impressive construction. The original design had three floors, which have now been turned into five. From the outside, the building looks white and orange-brown, but a more focused look reveals decorative tiles by Daniel Zuloaga, who also collaborated with Velázquez Bosco in the ETSIME. The entrance is flanked by two caryatids and roof above there is a sculpture group – Glory and Pegasi La Gloria y los Pegasos, a bronze copy of an original marble by Agustín Querol.

Palacio de Fomento, outside

Once you enter, you find yourself in a huge majestic hall, where we had to check in, since the building is a working Ministry. The email said to be there at 11:45 to go through security. I got there at 11:40 and went in at 11:44. They took my name (they did not care about the ticket) and they put my stuff in the X-ray machine. I had to go through the metal detector and when I asked whether I had to remove my belt, I was just told to put my hand over the buckle… So much for security, I thought, because I did not beep. Then I realised that I must look quite non-threatening as quite a few people were thoroughly searched as they set off the machine.

Beyond the hall where we were checked in, there is an imperial staircase in marble, and a vaulted frescoed ceiling. From there, we visited some offices and meeting rooms, and the portrait gallery – from which the ministers who held office during the Franco dictatorship had been removed. Finally, we visited one of the side inner courtyards, covered in a skylight with some ironwork.

Palacio de Fomento, inside

After the visit was over, the security guards saw us out and locked the doors. I walked around the building, because I had honestly never realised it was square. As the place was next to the Retiro Park, I had been considering looking for some archaeological spot they had opened. However, there were more ideas – Guadalajara was having the Botarga parade, and it was the fair weekend in Tendilla, though, a phone call informed me that traffic was horrid and that it was not a good idea to head there so late in the afternoon.

Eventually, I decided on the Parade. I bought some sandwiches and headed for the train. Though I got rained upon, it cleared up, and at 18:00 I was in Guadalajara to have a look at the traditional Parade of Carnival characters Desfile de Botargas – “creatures” from the whole area which meet up in the capital the Saturday before carnival, despite each character having its own schedule wherever it is rooted. The parade was a bit late, so I could talk the local botarga group – El Manda (the Order-giver), Los Mandaneros (the Order-receivers), and the Botarguilla (Little Botarga) – into posing for me. I watched and took pictures from two spots, but the parade moved really fast because they only had thirty minutes to do the route – last year they took well over an hour for that. I decided I did not want to run for it that much… I have to remember to find myself a vantage point next year, instead of trying to get the beginning of the parade…

Guadalajara Botargas

Heifferette from Riba de Saelices

Botarga Parade 2025

I got “attacked” a few times, and ended up with soot all over my face, but at least I avoided the guy painting people with mustard… The botargas seemed to zoom in on children and cameras, and so did the devils Diablos (from Luzón) and the heiferettes Vaquillas and Vaquillones (Villares de Jadraque, Robledillo de Mohernando, Luzaga, Riba de Saelices). It was fun. One of these days I might have to try to follow the botargas in their own villages…

4th January 2025: Bye Bye, Murderbird. MARPA, Alcalá de Henares (Spain)

Posted on by

While it was great to have the Concavenator fossil (a.k.a. Murderbird in my headspace) in the Dragon Hunters exhibit in Alcalá de Henares close enough to visit at will, the time had come to see it move on. Just in case there was any information I was missing, I decided to book a guided visit to the exhibit. As it was scheduled for 12:00, I decided to look for something to do beforehand, and I found guided visits to the monastery Monasterio de San Bernardo at 10:00. I had seen the building before, as it stands next to the MARPA, I just had never given it much of a thought.

The monastery was established under the patronage of Cardinal Bernardo Sandoval y Rojas around 1620. He bought land cheap because it was near the Moorish quarter. The church was erected in brick with decoration in stone on the outside. The inside has an elliptical dome, and it was heavily damaged in a fire during the Civil War, so it had to be restored – the work on it was a Rehabilitation prize in 2019. Most of the decoration of the church was lost and today walls and roof are just white and gold. The building is attributed to architect Juan Gómez de Mora.

There is a free-standing ciborium in gold, with a number of sculptures of Saints instead of an altarpiece. Behind the altar and ciborium, there are a number of paintings – they were created by Italian artist Angelo Nardi. Nardi was born in the late 16th century, and studied in Venice before moving to Madrid, where he became a Court Painter. His style evolved from late-Renaissance (mannerism) to Baroque, and he is known for his expressive faces. He was friends with Velázquez, and famous for being quite kind, though his style eventually fell out of grace. He painted most of the pictures in the church, although some of them are now out of order as they were moved during the Civil War.

The visit was interesting albeit a little underwhelming. It felt a bit weird to be the only visitor and having the whole thing explained to me – that has only happened once before, in Recópolis. However, that was epic, because I ended up getting the whole archaeological place for myself. The monastery was more of a serious experience – and it did not rain on me. But still it felt… colder. And like being in an exam, the guide kept asking me questions about history, architecture and hagiography.

Monastery of San Bernardo in Alcalá de Henares

I had a bit of time before my following visit, so I decided to run to the Sala Museográfica de la BRIPAC, a tiny museum about the history of the Army’s Parachuting Brigade. The Brigade was created in 1953, and the parachuters participated in combat for the first time in 1957. In its origin, it was established in Alcalá, so there is a historical connection there. The hall hosts uniforms, flags, medals, and reports about the peace missions in the 1990s. I am not much of a fan of Armed Forces museums, but today the BRIPAC is considered a peace corps. The museum opened in February 2023, on the 70th anniversary of the foundation.

BRIPAC exhibit

I still had a bit of time, so I dropped by Plaza Cervantes, which was full with Christmas lights and shoppers at the small market. There were food stalls, a small bookshop, some rock shops… Nothing really caught my eye though.

Plaza de Cervantes Christmas

I finally headed back towards the Archaeology and Palaeontology museum MARPA Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid. It was one of the last chances to see the exhibition on the history of palaeontology “Dragon Hunters” Cazadores de Dragones with a guided visit, and I figured out that maybe I could learn anything new – despite the fact that I’ve been there a few times and bought the book. We had a nice fun guide who relied a lot on asking questions to her audience. Apparently I was the only one with… some knowledge of… anything she asked – what’s with guides in Alcalá de Henares trying to have you do their job? I felt a bit sorry for her so I answered her questions – with a higher success rate than the ones from the Monastery, to be honest. She did not impress me with the depth of her knowledge, to be honest. She actually looked at me a bit panicky when I asked her t confirm that the T-Rex replica was a cast of the famous Stan.

Cazadores de Dragones entry in the cloister of the MARPA

I stayed back for a bit longer after the visit ended. I’ve ranted on and on about the Concavenator before, both the fossil slab and the actual-size reconstruction. I just loved having both so at hand. When I was young, the scientific community came to the conclusion that “birds descend from dinosaurs” but today it is actually believed that birds are actual dinosaurs. And since the poor beast has such a ridiculous name, I’ve just been calling it “Murderbird” or “Murderchicken”, for kicks and giggles.

There were these two little kids who kept grilling their dad about the skeletons, and the poor man was a bit overwhelmed. I decided to give him a hand with the questions and explained a little. I thought that was it, but the smallest child pointed at the Concavenator and blurted out “can you tell us more things about that one??” He was so eager that I just took the family to see it and told them a few things further. The family was on their merry way in five minutes – four-year-olds only have so much attention span. The kids were happy, the parents were relieved and I got to geek out about dinosaurs with appreciative public. I think the interaction was an all-around win.

Murderbirds: T-rex and Concavenator

At first I had thought that I would be staying in Alcalá for an exotic lunch, but I was not really feeling up to it. With great sadness, I said goodbye to the Concavenator and moved on to drive home.

19th December 2024: Themed visits at Madrid’s Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Spain)

Posted on by

There have been a lot of witches dripping into mainstream pop culture these last couple of months, what with Disney + / Marvel’s Agatha all Along and (half of) the musical Wicked released as a film. So when I read that the National Museum of Archaeology was running a special guided visit to the exhibition “Between Chaos and Cosmos: Nature in Ancient Greece” Entre Caos y Cosmos. Naturaleza en la Antigua Grecia and part of the permanent exhibition called “Nature, Magic and Witchcraft” Naturaleza, magia y brujería I thought “hey, the Heritage people are catching up with the times!” That day there actually were two guided visits, and the second one was centred around the sculpture Il Pugilatore. One was at 12:00, and the other one at 17:00, so they could be combined – hey, they were free, I just had to find something to do in-between.

Thus, I booked both visits and headed out to Madrid. I got to the archaeological museum Museo Arqueológico Nacional with ample time due to my distrust of trains. As I have the museum card, I decided to just walk in and wait for the time safe from the cold and the rain – and since it had just opened, from the crowds too. Though the ticket said to wait at the meeting point, the museum staff directed me somewhere else, and that is where I sat to wait ten minutes before the starting time. Apparently, a bunch of people did not get the information so when the time came we were few… and promptly joined by about half of the group once we had started.

The first visit was “Nature, Magic and Witchcraft” Naturaleza, magia y brujería. It started at the exhibition Entre Caos y Cosmos. Naturaleza en la Antigua Grecia – “Between Chaos and Cosmos. Nature in Ancient Greece”. As we walked in, the staff scanned a ticket and gave it to us.

The guide made a small introduction to Greek mythology with an emphasis on pre-Olympian “Chaos”. He mostly spoke about hybrids, such as satyrs or harpies, psychopomps (creatures that take souls to the afterlife after death), like Echidna, Cerberus, and the sirens. He also seemed to like the deity Achelous a lot. Achelous [Ἀχελώϊος] was the personification of one of the Greek rivers, a son to the Titans Tethys and Oceanus, and father of the sirens. He was able to shape-shift and would often be represented with small horns as he could turn in to a bull.

Regarding witchcraft, there is a small room in the exhibit about it, and the guide pointed out the concept of sisterhood, and some of the small artefacts and glass carafes. He mentioned the figure of Medea as the greatest witch in Greek mythology. That surprised me, because I had never associated her primarily with magic – I knew her from the Jason and the Argonauts myth, in which she originally helped Jason find the Golden Fleece, but she eventually killed the children they had together when Jason dumped her. Glad to know there was more from her than just being a “crazy lady”.

Afterwards, we moved onto the permanent exhibition. Unfortunately, the tickets we had been issued would not work any more because… reasons. Apparently, they could only be scanned once, and they had already been scanned at the exhibition. However, the person guarding the gates would not let us through without having a ticket beep – despite being with a member of the museum. It was solved quite quickly, but it gave off the feeling of everything being very disorganised.

In the permanent exhibition we mostly saw Talayotic and Iberian talismans and jewellery, then we moved onto the Roman area, where he mentioned the laws regulating the Augurs (people predicting the future), and some small curse tablets that the Romans slipped into each other houses when they were vexed – curses. All in all, the visit did not feel very on topic, just a number of objects vaguely connected together by a weak narrative. And witchcraft was the weakest topic, so it seems that the heritage people have not really caught up with the times. Oh, well.

Artefacts from Naturaleza Magia y Brujería MAN

Before I left the archaeological museum, I dropped by the new “archaeological news” room (Sala de Novedades Arqueológicas). Currently, it holds the exhibit Rostros del Turuñuelo. Los relieves de Casas del Turuñuelo. Guareña, Badajoz – a name larger than the exhibit itself: “The Turuñuelo faces. The reliefs from Casas del Turuñuelo, Guareña, Badajoz”. The Turuñuelo, or Casas del Turuñuelo, archaeological site corresponds to the Tartessian culture – a mix of Palaeohispanic and Phoenician traits which flourished in the south and east of modern Spain (and a bit of Portugal) between the 11th and 5th centuries BCE.

The exhibit is a collection of five faces dating from the late period, found within the ruins of a two-storied building. It seems that the building and everything within were destroyed, set on fire, and buried intentionally. It is possible that the faces found belong to sculptures that can be recovered amongst all that material. The faces, discovered in April 2023, are the first and only human representations associated to the Tartessian culture.

The faces from Turuñuelo

After the visit, I went to have lunch. There is this place I have wanted to visit for a while and it has never panned out. I would have actually wanted to have breakfast there, but whatever – this was doable and convenient. Located near the French Institute, it is a crêperie called Prep’ La Crêpe – it would make sense to think they’re French, but in reality they belong to an English franchise. I ordered a basil crêpe classique (melted cheese, mozzarella, tomato, basil and Mediterranean sauce), a Kick-start smoothie (orange, carrot and ginger), and a Belgian (black) chocolate crêpe sucrée for dessert. All in all, it scratched an itch that I had had for a long time, and it was not bad. A bit on the pricey side, I’d say, but what is not expensive these days?

Prep' la Crêpe lunch

Afterwards, I still had a bit of time so I decided to go into the National Library Biblioteca Nacional de España, where they had transformed the book museum into something called “Hell and Marvels” El Infierno y las Maravillas, which runs through the history of printing and knowledge (marvels), then the history of book banning (hell). The exhibition continues with thoughts on how information is preserved, in books and other formats. Finally, the museum is hosting two special exhibits, one around the writer Gonzalo Torrente Ballester Gonzalo Torrente Ballester, la travesía de un creador, and a collection of historical documents belonging a noble family El archivo del Conde de Orgaz. Una ventana a la historia. The archive was really interesting, with a lot of privileges given to the family by successive kings of Spain. The former count was a member of the Friends of the Library, and the exhibition is a homage to him, aside from showing documents dating back from as far as 1220.

Hell and Marvels, National Library

I then went back to the archaeological museum Museo Arqueológico Nacional for the second visit, with another long title Il Pugilatore y la escultura monumental en el Mediterráneo Occidental Antiguo: Cerdeña, Baleares y la Península Ibérica “The Boxer and monumental sculptures in the ancient Western Mediterranean Sea”. The sculpture Il Pugilatore, one of of the Nuragic giants found in the Mont’e Prama archaeological site in Sardinia, Italy. This ambassador giant, who travels the world to introduce people to his culture, is called Manneddu, and he is the statue in best conditions. He would have had a glove in his hand, and a dagger pointing forward, and his chest would have been painted red.

Il Pugilatore

The guide explained that these sculptures – archers, warriors, wrestlers and boxers – were supposed to be armed, but no weapons from either the period or the culture have ever been found. The giants were found, purposely moved and destroyed, in a necropolis for young men. The sculpture also had “little brothers” with the same poses, made in bronze, which have been preserved. That is how the archaeologists know the different weapons and stances they had. The giants are considered the first monumental anthropomorphic sculptures in the coasts of the western Mediterranean Sea, and the only ones in Sardinia.

We also heard about the similarities between the Nuragic towers, which were used for water management and as meeting points, and Talayotic ones in the Balearic Islands. Then, the guide ended up talking about the bronze bull heads that represent Talayotic cultures, and insinuating that they might have been brought from somewhere else…

Talayotic bull heads

The visit ended there. I then wandered around the museum for a little longer, then checked the Christmas market – and a classical merry-go-round similar to what I rode the previous week. Since it was dark already, the lights were on, but it was raining on and off, so the weather was not nice enough to wander around for long. Thus, I headed to the train to get home.

Classic Merry-go-round in a winter night

11th December 2024: CBA, hotpot and lights (Madrid, Spain)

Posted on by

Since I was meeting my sibling for the yearly event of Naturaleza Encendida in Madrid in the evening, I decided get there early and make the most out of the day. As I arrived, I headed to the Círculo de Bellas Artes (literally “Fine Arts Circle”). The CBA is a sort of NGO dedicated to culture and the arts. Its headquarters host many activities such as exhibitions, theatre plays, concerts, lectures… The building was designed by Antonio Palacios, one of my favourite architects. It has seven floors, some of them used for events, others for offices. There is even a small theatre.

The CBA was running an exhibition called “Messenger Species” Especies Mensajeras, by artist Álvaro Soler-Arpa. It is a collection of pieces created from animal bones and items found in dumps. Born in Gerona in 1974, Soler-Arpa is a multifaceted artist who does publicity illustration and creates distressing sculptures using animal bones as its medium to make the viewer to think about waste and pollution. This exhibition of modern art is described as “ecological art for reflection”. I thought that it could be either really good or a holier-than-thou approach, but my curiosity was piqued.

The exhibit collects selected pieces from four series of sculptures: “Toxic Evolution” (Evolución tóxica), “Devastated Nature” (Naturaleza devastada), “Design-methastasis” (Diseño-metástasis) and “Sculptures from the End of the World” (Esculturas del fin del mundo). It was… disturbing, but in a good way. It did not feel preachy. The idea is that nature is affected by the consumerism in current society, but not dying – adapting to it. The imagined futuristic animals are a warning sent through time – nature is resilient and it will survive. Us humans? Maybe not if we do not get any better.

Álvaro Soler-Arpa's Especies Mensajeras

There was another exhibition in the building about the consequences of war, but I decided I could not stomach that one. However, I had the access ticket, so I could take the glass lift to the famous terrace of the building – the one that kicked off a trend of opening terraces in Madrid to watch the skyline while having a drink. It was too cold and too closed to have anything, but I did get a nice view, especially of the Palacio de Telecomunicaciones and the Spanish language Institute Instituto Cervantes, both designed by Antonio Palacios too. The terrace is mostly flat, with a bar and an impressive sculpture of Minerva made in bronze by Juan Luis Vassallo. Minerva – Roman goddess of wisdom and art – is the symbol of the CBA. There is also a smaller and higher structure that looks like it could hold an even better view, but that was closed off.

Skyline from Azotea Círculo Bellas Artes

The CBA building has many cool spaces, such as the ball room (Salón de Baile) or the colonnade room (Sala de Columnas). However, my favourite part of the building are.. the stairs. They are designed as a double staircase with mirrors at the landings, and coloured windows alongside the steps. One of the sides is less bright now, because a building was erected and blocks the sun. I still find the staircase superb, so I hung around there for a while until the security guard gave me a weird look.

Stairs Círculo Bellas Artes

I left the CBA and walked down the street Calle Alcalá and stopped at Galerías Canalejas just to see what kind of decorations they had. It turned out to nutcrackers and elves inside and a huge Christmas tree outside. I still cannot afford anything they sell there.

Chrismas at Galerías Canalejas

I continued down towards the square Plaza de Oriente, where there was a classic merry-go-round – empty and ready to be ridden. Thus, since I have no shame, I went on it. The salesperson was incredibly kind, since I was the only rider – and an adult at that – and yet they directed me to a horse which moved up and down and showed me how to climb on it.

Then, I backtracked to the shop Turrones Casa 1880 in the street Calle Arenal, which hosts a small Museo del Turrón. Turrón is a typical Spanish confectionery eaten mostly at Christmas. It is mainly made out of processed almonds, and 1880 is probably the most famous brand – and it prides itself on the most expensive one. I am not a fan of turrón, to be honest, but it was almost Christmas, and if I was ever going to do it, that was the right time frame. The museum is mostly an audiovisual in a decorated cellar, with a photo-op, but the staff was really nice.

At 14:30 sharp, I met up with my sibling for a restaurant that I’ve been wanting to try for a while 壹锅火锅 Hotpot de Sichuan. Hotpot [火锅, huǒguō] is a Chinese type of stew based on a stock or soup that is kept simmering in the table itself, and you just grab the raw ingredients and dip them in the broth to cook them – imagine a fondue with broth instead of cheese. We ordered a menu for two, a pot with two broths, one mushroom-based and one meat-based. The dips were spring onion, coriander (which was not used, because I hid it), shrimp mince, thin beef slices, tofu stripes, Chinese black mushrooms, cabbage, and rice noodles, along with two sauces – one slightly spicy, and my beloved sesame and peanut sauce. The food was great, but at 15:40, the waiters popped up to tell us that they wanted to close the restaurant, and then stood up next to us until we finished and left. It was more than a bit awkward, so we hurried up to do so. While the food was great, the situation spoilt our experience a little, I think. We were still eating, not slouching around. I am not sure I would want to go back…

Afterwards, my sibling had to do some shopping, so we spent a while going up and down some shops and a department store, before we headed out to Naturaleza Encendida in the park Parque Enrique Tierno Galván. This is a yearly light show organised in Madrid parks – it used to take place in the Botanical Gardens, before it was moved to a larger area. The 2024 edition is titled Naturaleza Encendida: Life.

Naturaleza Encendida Life

To be fair, I was a little bit disappointed, as “Life” turned out to have mostly figures reused from the last few events. Though the organisers tried to build a narrative of water, land and air topics, the novelty had worn off. It was not bad, but the show keeps getting more and more expensive every year, with fewer and fewer perks for the VIP tiers. Furthermore, the new larger location does not imply more light sculptures – they’re just spread farther apart so they can fit more people without it feeling crowded, so it simply takes longer to walk it through. This has its advantages and disadvantages – it was good last year when we had to go on a weekend but this time around it just felt… colder. They also tried to give the whole thing an ecologist spin, and this time it did come out preachy… I mean, it is a show of lights, which technically could count as light pollution, without any actual… purpose… but charging you to watch pretty lights.

Naturaleza Encendida Life

Naturaleza Encendida Life

That was the end of the day, and we just headed home afterwards, but aside having to wait for the train for over half an hour, nothing to report on that end.

6th December 2024: Knowing people gets you places – Church of the Virgin Mary, Guadalajara (Spain)

Posted on by

Knowing people who know people is cool. It opens doors, too. I was in Guadalajara for personal reasons and an acquaintance of an acquaintance offered to show us around the co-cathedral of the Virgin Mary Santa María de la Fuente la Mayor. The church, built in the 14th century in the Mudejar style, shares rank with the co-cathedral of Sigüenza. The whole structure is made or covered in brick, with some traces of coloured ceramic tiles around the horseshoe arch entrance.

Santa María Guadalajara

The interior is covered in plaster, hiding away the original stonework. Golden decoration was added afterwards. The main altarpiece was built by Francisco Mir in the late Renaissance style, with scenes of the life of the Virgin Mary. It was designed in 1622 and decorated in more gold.

Altarpiece at Santa María in Guadalajara

The church has a Mudejar artesonado or Spanish ceiling (a ceiling structure halfway between support and decoration, made out of wood, usually decorated). The artesonado was covered up during the Baroque renovations of the church and recently restored. Furthermore, if you know people, they show it to you. Up the high choir we went, and past a narrow staircase, through a small walkway that has been built for the few privileged visitors who are admitted (a bunch of people apparently tried to emulate us but were declined). We “floated” above the ceiling and underneath the wood for a while, and it was really interesting. Though of course the wood has been restored, most it is the original one. You can also see the Baroque vaults from above, along the original brick ceilings and walls, hidden away in the nave.

Spanish celiling at Santa María in Guadalajara

Spanish celiling at Santa María in Guadalajara

We were invited to climb the bell tower, too. The structure has also been restored, following the original brickwork. The tower is narrower at the top than at the bottom, and the ascending path has vaulted ceilings in brick. On top, there are eight bells. One of them dates from the 18th century, two of them from the 19th century and the rest are newer. There was also a view of the city, but Guadalajara does not really have dramatic backdrops, I fear…

Bell at Santa María Guadalajara

Guadalajara skyline of sorts

It was not a big trip or anything, but apparently you have to know someone to get there. Thus, I guess it is worthy of its own mention, right?

28th November 2024: Parallel Universes (Madrid, Spain)

Posted on by

Whenever a Marvel film comes out, my parent always comments on how they used to read the comics when they were young – probably they belonged to the first generation of comic readers in this country (and I have to confess over the years I salvaged quite a few “relics” from the attic at the old house). Thus, when the exhibition Marvel: Universe of Superheroes opened, I thought I would bring them along. I booked us tickets on the 28th of November at 10:00 for the event, which was happening in the convention centre IFEMA in Madrid.

By pure chance, my parents received an invitation to Feriarte, a collectionism fair – that is what we thought at that moment. They were not particularly into it, so I asked if I could have the invitation. When I checked it out, I realised that we could visit Feriarte on the same day as Marvel: Universe of Superheroes, since the dates overlapped, and it was also at IFEMA, just a couple of pavilions down. My parent agreed after some coaxing. Finally, I offered to take them to a “fun place” for lunch, and we had a plan.

Marvel has traditionally been one of the most important comic publishing houses in the US. Its key writer / creator was Stan Lee, who came up with some of the most iconic characters in the medium – Spiderman, Thor, Iron Man… It is true that the first superheroes to succeed on the big screen belonged to Marvel’s competition, DC – Christopher Reeve’s Superman in the 1970s and Michael Keaton’s Batman the following decade. However, Marvel kicked off a golden age of cinema superheroes. While DC festered in the darkest, more depressed Batman, Marvel released Iron Man, which took superhero films in a new direction – they turned from fun-for-fans to funny-for-all (of course, purists would never be satisfied, but what are you going to do?). Robert Downing Jr. had a lot to do with this boom, dominating the scene whether the film carried the name of his character – Iron Man – or not. For about a decade, Marvel dominated the blockbuster season, with explosions, one-liners and good-triumphs-over-evil plots. Eventually the bubble burst, as they always do, and things went downhill. However, companies are still willing to milk out any cash cow, and as long as Marvel makes money, it will be producing stuff.

Less known than the film boom is the fact that with the launching of Marvel Studios, the parent company also became a transmedia master. The idea of transmedia is not new, and refers to tying stories in different publishing methods (Hasbro was doing this with GI Joe back in the 80s already). However, Marvel has it down to an art. Samuel L. Jackson was cast as Nick Fury because a comic artist based the revamped character on him, so now Nick Fury statuettes look like Samuel L. Jackson. Since Disney acquired Marvel Studios, the so-called MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) is so interwoven with the Disney+ shows that neither can be followed on its own. Funnily enough, this has not washed over to the comics that much, save for the special Alligator Loki that I kept looking for in London earlier in 2024.

Well, one of the many facets of Marvel’s outreach octopus is organising exhibitions. I suspect that they are all the same under different names though. The one which took place in the IFEMA convention centre in Madrid was Marvel: Universe of Superheroes. The exhibition runs through the history of Marvel from its beginning, hailing the works of Stan Lee and running through the influence of the Comics Code Authority (CCA), which censored the content of the media – and made the evolution of American and European comics diverge forever. The pages from that time are mostly lost, so elements like the first issue of a Marvel comic ever, or original Spiderman and Fantastic Four dating back from the 60s are kind of amazing – and belong to private collectors who have lent (or rented out, one guesses) them to the organisers. Most of the exhibition, however, focuses on the MCU, with quite a few costumes and items from the films and Disney+ series. There were life-sized statues, too – or at least to scale for characters like The Thing or Hulk. There was an interactive game where an on-screen you would wear Iron Man’s suit and practice-shoot with it.

We hilariously ran into a preschool day trip, with the teacher completely made things up as she went and kept trying to keep a bunch of rowdy kids in line – without much success.

The first area ran through the history of American comics and Marvel itself, purely as a comic publisher. Then, it moved into the film area, starting with Black Panther, revindicating his status as the first black superhero. Then there was a room on Spiderman, one of the most beloved characters, even if he was almost not made because editors thought a spider-related superhero would not sell. This was probably the last room focusing heavily on comics. Hulk got a small room to share with She-Hulk. Afterwards, the MCU took over, with film memorabilia of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. The following area was a bit of a mix, with Wandavision, X-Men, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Moon Knight, Ghost Rider… which ended in a very psychedelic room for Doctor Strange. The final room was “Marvel in Space”, with The Marvels (Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau and Ms. Marvel) and Guardians of the Galaxy. Considering the huge hit that Agatha All Along was, I was surprised not to find any references to it, but then I realised that the exhibition predates the series.

Marvel Universe of Superheroes

Marvel Universe of Superheroes: Black Panther, Spiderman, Iron Man

Marvel Universe of Superheroes: Doctor Strange, Mighty Thor, Groot

I would have wanted a memento, but none of the items in the shop appealed to me. Besides, everything was too expensive, I thought. I had no idea. We left the exhibit and marched into the inner pavilion where Feriarte took place. Feriarte is way more than the collectionism event I had originally thought – it is an antiques and art fair, with items that range from archaeological artefacts to the most modern pieces. Our minds were blown. There were 64 art galleries and archaeology specialists from all over the world carrying prehistoric items, Egyptian mortuary artefacts (including a whole sarcophagus), Grecian sculptures and vases, Japanese samurai armours and weapons, paintings, contemporary art (Miró, Dalí, Chillida, Sorolla…), furniture, jewellery and watches, reproductions of Medieval manuscripts… And I thought that the Marvel shop was expensive! I could have afforded… a tiny Egyptian scarab smaller than the nail on my little finger. I was shocked when I saw the first three paintings by Miró (a surrealist painter from the beginning of the 20th century), but it turns out they sell like doughnuts among the collectors…

There was a “collectionism for beginners” area, with tips to “start collecting with pieces under 5,000 €”. When thinking about private collections, I’ve often gone with Indiana Jones’ line “it belongs in a museum”, but lately, with the attacks on art by climate activists, and the fact that most of Marvel’s memorabilia was recovered from private collectors… I’m not so sure. I might have started changing my mind. Then again, not really, because when the original fossil of Tyrannosaurus rex Stan was auctioned and I was sad it would end up in private hands and I would never seen it – good news, it was sold to a museum, though I’m not sure I’ll ever make it to the soon-to-open Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi. Needless to say, we left Feriarte empty-handed, and very amused that you go through security and X-ray when you go out, not when you go in. A couple of days after, I read that an organised gang had stolen jewels and watches worth 390,000 €…

Feriarte 2024

Feriarte 2024

We retrieved the car, and got lost trying to get to the shopping centre La Vaguada to have lunch at Runni In Market, the first of the Running Sushi franchise I visited (and got lost trying to get there too, so… maybe it’s just difficult). My parent loved the concept. However, I was peeved that the table before us kept getting all the lychee and mochi when the time came for dessert. Mean!

Runni Sushi In Market

We left afterwards to head home, having caught a glimpse of the secret life of superheroes and what kind of décor rich people have in their houses. Parallel universes indeed…

26th November 2024: Another Concavenator visit (Alcalá de Henares, Spain)

Posted on by

I had to run some errands in Alcalá de Henares in the afternoon, so I decided I would get there in the morning, and walk to the Archaeology and Palaeontology museum Museo Arqueológico y Paleontológico de la Comunidad de Madrid, MARPA. The exhibition “Dragon Hunters” Cazadores de Dragones was still running and since it was a random weekday morning, I thought it would be empty.

I was right, it was deserted enough that the security guard looked at me weirdly. Yes, I’ve been there before. Twice. I hope to be back at least once more before the exhibit closes in January 2025. The security guard should not be remembering me, I did nothing weird. Taking a few hundred photographs of a fossil is completely normal.

Why am I so obsessed about the Concavenator? Well, one does not always have such a unique fossil so handy, and for free. Furthermore, the usual home of the Concavenator does not allow pictures. And lastly, I’m a nerd. The species Concavenator corcovatus was described in 2010 by Francisco Ortega, Fernando Escaso, and José Luis Sanz from a single skeleton found at Las Hoyas site in 2003. The specimen was officially catalogued as MCCM-LH 6666. The animal was a medium-sized carcharodontosaurid. Carcharodontosauria, which included the likes of Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus or Carcharodontosaurus, were a group of large theropods from the Cretaceous period. The skeleton was almost complete, with the tail and neck contorted in rigor mortis. The fossil shows two things that make it special – a hump or sail created by the spines of the back vertebrae, and the fact that some pigments were found on the fossil. Not unique but rare enough findings include impressions of skin and scales, and smaller bones in the belly area, rests of undigested dinner. On the arm bones there are insertions for ligaments similar to those that modern birds have at the insertion of feathers.

Concavenator corcovatus

The Concavenator lived around 125 million years ago, in an area of wetlands. Its teeth, general shape (it walked on its two hindlegs and had small-ish arms), along with the remains of animals that it had eaten, tell us it was a carnivore, and its placement in the carcharodontosaurid family, that it was a predator. However, no large predator is known for rejecting a good scavenging feed. The spikes or hump on its back, above the hips, can be clearly seen on the fossil, but nobody has any idea of what it was for – speculations have been made for communication means, fat deposits and thermoregulation. When alive, the animal would have been around 5 metres long, two metres tall, and 450 kilograms heavy.

Concavenator corcovatus details

All that to end up being dug up and named… Pepito, which is the diminutive of the diminutive of the Spanish version of Joseph. The equivalent of Joseph would be José, nicknamed Pepe, and changing the last “e” into “ito” – the suffix for small – would yield to something like Joey. So this magnificent predator was either named after a mini-mini-Joseph, or a small meat sandwich, which is also referred to as a pepito. Seriously, what happened to the illustrious tradition of Boaty McBoatface? This would have been a glorious Toothy McToothface (“Spanishised” as Dientito Caradientez or something).

Anyway, after the visit I dropped by the museum shop to buy myself some Concavenator-related merchandise. When was there the first time, I bought the exhibition catalogue, but since then they had received some silly cute items – I bought a pin, a badge, and a magnet, just because I could. Maybe as the exhibit draws closer to the end there will be discounts on other things…

I left the museum and decided that since it was way past 14:00, I should grab a bite to eat. As I had parked my car next to a shopping centre, I headed there with the idea of some Asian food. However, there is a burger joint that usually has a long queue and that some friends had told me was really good – as good as fast food can be, I guess. It is called TGB – The Good Burger. It is supposed to serve “NYC style gourmet hamburgers”. The place was empty, so I decided to give it a try.

I ordered a “Cheese Lovers” burger, which consisted of a beef patty, American cheese, goat cheese, Gorgonzola, sautéed onions, arugula and honey mustard sauce. It was… very cheesy. It was nice, but nothing I feel I must try again, especially when there are cheaper options in the shopping centre. And sushi. But at least, I satisfied my curiosity before I went off towards all my dull, grown-up errands which I shall not bore you with…

The Cheese Lovers burger

22nd November 2024: “Wicked” (film) on opening day (Madrid, Spain)

Posted on by

There was a time when you could mute words on social media to avoid spoilers. Since the algorithms have taken over and you can’t curate what you see any more, I decided that the best way to avoid Wicked spoilers was trying to see it as early as possible, preferably on opening day. Ideally, on the first screening on opening day, an English version.

For a change, “ideally” worked. At least, I found a screening at 15:45 on the day the film came out. It was a cinema with Spanish subtitles but I can live with that. I have seen the musical twice in the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London and I’ve loved it both times. Not only I’m a firm believer in the message of Defying Gravity, I also give regular thought to Dancing Through Life. Sometimes I also listen to No One Mourns the Wicked and get all philosophical…

Anyway, I headed off to Madrid with next-to-no information and no expectations, hoping to enjoy the film. I had been slightly surprised that so many tickets were already booked when I bought my own, but I gave it no more than a couple of seconds’ worth of attention, I just thought I was running late since I made the decision the previous weekend before heading out to see Ha·Ya·To . Since the film was rather early in the afternoon, I had to get to Madrid with time for a bite. One of my options was Yatai Market but in the end I decided to grab brunch at Toby’s Brunch Club, where they run an all-day brunch (here I went, cheating the system again, just like I did at the James Joyce – twice in one week, too). I tried to book online but the system only took reservations for two or more. Since the Internet said that it was usually quite busy, just thought I still had Yatai as a backup plan…

I arrived at Atocha Station and walked towards the brunch place. As I did, I had to walk past Caixa Forum, which is still running the exhibit on Patagonian dinosaurs, and the Patagotitan smiled at me. I, of course, smiled back.

Patagotitan mayorum

The very-busy brunch place was empty – weekday “crowds” I guess. I was the only customer there for the duration. Usually, not being able to book for myself on my own discourages me from a place, but I’ve been wanting a “typical” brunch for a while now. The brunch consisted of a cold drink, coffee or tea and two courses (22€). For my cold drink, I ordered orange juice, and for the hot one a coffee latte. The first course was a basket of breads with butter, jams and tomato paste, and a yoghurt with fresh fruit. As my second course, I ordered eggs Benedict with smoked salmon. Because I really wanted eggs Benedict and I can’t cook them to save my life. Everything was delicious, especially the yoghurt. The eggs were perfect. I think this would kill me before noon though, so glad I used it as lunch.

Toby's breakfast club brunch

After my brunch / lunch I still had some time so I dropped by the art gallery Museo del Prado. I used my museum card Tarjeta de Museos Estatales and the lady at the ticket booth told me she had never seen a card like that before. She took it to the back shop, and when she came back, it turned out that the card had stuck to another card, which explained why she was confused. I finally managed to get in, and spent about an hour there. There was a small exhibit called El Taller de Rubens (Rubens’ workshop) which analysed the master’s works and that of his apprentices which was very interesting.

Afterwards, I walked towards Yelmo Cines Ideal (passing by and waving at the Patagotitan again) to watch Wicked. When I got there, the cinema was still closed, but as soon as I turned away to snoop into a shop across the street, the doors opened. I found my seat and I found myself seated between two groups of high school and university students, who were complaining that their life was very hard, and that they had barely had the time to eat lunch before getting to the cinema. And a few of them were threatening to cry. And they were telling each other not to sing along. I had not realised there was such a big following of Wicked from the younger crowd…

After a few minutes of hearing them babble excitedly, I realised that all of them had listened to the songs on the Internet, or something, but they had never had the chance to seen the musical themselves – it’s debuting in Spain in autumn 2025. It made me realise how lucky I am to be able to jump onto a red-eye flight at a random weekend and go to London, and be there for the 14:30 performance at the Apollo Victoria Theatre.

Wicked film poster

In general, I enjoyed the film. More than I believed I would, because I went with zero expectations and I had managed to avoid any kind of spoiler and previous knowledge, except that Jeff Goldblum was the Wizard. The main cast includes Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Ariana Grande as Glinda, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Marissa Bode as Nessa (kudos for an actual disabled actor playing a disabled character!), Ethan Slater as Boq, Jeff Goldblum as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; and Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond (voice).

I do not believe what I am going to say – but I thought Goldblum was the weakest character. I mean, he keeps playing himself, and Jeff Goldblum is not the Wizard (I had the same feeling when I watched Jurassic World: Dominion; he played himself, not Ian Malcolm). On the contrary, Michelle Yeoh was fantastic, her sole presence in a take stole the whole screen. I enjoyed seeing the animal characters a lot, as it is the bit of the musical that always feels a bit off. The logistics of landscaping Oz was a bit awkward at points, but I guess that’s theatrics and not… geography.

I found the music decent. As for me the most important thing was for the story to be faithful to the musical – which is more up my alley than the novel – I was rather satisfied. The best song, in my opinion was What is this feeling?, the camerawork was stunning. It was also great to see the cameo of the actors who portrayed Glinda and Elphaba on Broadway for the first time, Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel – known worldwide today for Frozen’s anthem Let it go. The library scene and choreography for Dancing through life was also impressive.

What I saw of the subtitles was not a good sign though, because the message of No One Mourns the Wicked loses most of its meaning if you translate it as “she’s finally dead”. However, I am rather good at ignoring subtitles anyway. I am not sold on Glinda being all pink either. Too many Legally Blonde vibes there, I prefer ice-blue.

The film ended at the end of the first act of the musical, with the “main event” of sorts – Defying Gravity. Very showy, okay music-wise. It was more visually impacting than musically, and my mind was dubbing it with Kristin Chenoweth’s version anyway. At this point, half the theatre was sobbing, which I found slightly amusing.

All in all, I enjoyed the day and the film. I am looking forward to the second part, and having affordable Wicked merchandise I don’t have to save for special occasions. After leaving the cinema, I walked back, and since it was cold, I got there in record time – and then I had to wait 40 minutes for the train because of course I did.

18 & 19th November 2024: Apocalyptica Played Metallica in Madrid (Spain), so there I went

Posted on by

Planning for this short getaway started on the 23rd of February, when I bought my ticket for the Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2 Tour 2024 stop in La Riviera in Madrid (50.50 €). Almost immediately, I headed off to Apocalyptica’s website to buy the VIP Tour 2024 Upgrade (58,90 €). The upgrade consisted on early access, photograph / meet & greet / autograph session (the important part), VIP lanyard, fabric patch, pin and tote bag. Honestly, all that for barely 100 € was a sweet deal. Back in Antwerp for Starset, someone I was queueing with complained that VIP tickets were too expensive for “a broke uni student”, but for me, meeting with the artist, albeit briefly is usually worth it – early entry is a plus, too, because for some concerts I either find a barrier spot or I just have to go to the back. The bundle was dispatched on the 9th of June (according to the email. Do Finnish post offices open on Sunday?) and it arrived on the 18th.

I originally booked a cheap hotel about half an hour’s walk from the venue. Later, I decided that I preferred the more expensive one less than 10 minutes away, so I changed my booking a week before the concert. I did not book there originally because it required prepayment, and my card was playing up..

On Friday the 4th of November I received an email with instructions for the Meet & Greet, which was to start at 18:30, and I should be there at 18:15. All right, I could do that. It was only a matter of waiting.

On Monday, 17th of November, I took a morning train to head out to Madrid with some leeway for time because I needed to do some small item shopping. I had to dodge some guys trying to get people to sign up for an NGO, but at 11:40 I made it to my first stop of the day – the light museum Museo de la Luz. I had been putting this visit off to go with someone who had expressed interest. However, I also waited for another exhibit and I missed my chance as it turned out to be only temporal. Thus, I decided to head to the Light Museum on my own – it was also one of the few exhibitions open on a Monday morning.

The Light Museum is a modest exhibition with interactive artworks that are mainly made out of lamps, lasers and lights. When you come in, you are given covers for your shoes and a key for a locker – all for free. Then you wait until an attendant takes you in and shows you how to interact with the first artwork “The birdcage” (La Pajarera), a box made out of light and metal that you make change colours with the movement of your arms. Once you know how to “play” with the art, you are left on your own to wander for an hour. At first I thought it would be tight, but the place was small – a bit too small for the price, I thought. I was there for around 40 minutes in total.

There were few people and I was able to check out most of the artwork uninterrupted. The next exhibit is made out of a number of old music festival lights – those that gave a lot of heat from the 90s, which are supposed to be a reference to climate change. Then there is a giant kaleidoscope you can walk in – this one became my favourite. Other rooms or works include a wall of lights that follow you as you move or dance, something with lasers (that I think was broken), some light illusions, a room full of hanging lights, a cube of mirrors and light… At the end there is a wall reading “light museum” in differently coloured lights. When I left, the lady at reception gave me a badge for booking with the official website.

Light Museum Madrid

Light Museum Madrid

I walked out and headed towards the restaurant where I wanted to cheat the system. I crossed the square Puerta del Sol, where they were setting up the Christmas tree – it was about 45% Christmas. On my way, I walked by the underground stop Metro Banco de España which has a tiny door for Little Mouse Pérez – Ratoncito Pérez, the Spanish equivalent to the tooth fairy. I never remember to check it out when I am around, but I made the connection this time.

I finally made it to the James Joyce Pub – which is technically a sports bar. I was not there for the TVs though. I had a while back found the place looking up places which served English breakfasts in Madrid. The James Joyce prides itself in being an Irish pub and offers Irish All-Day Breakfast (12.00 €) – two pork sausages, two rashers of bacon, baked beans, fried egg, sautéed mushrooms, grilled tomato, blood pudding, chips, two half-toasts and butter. No, I would not survive that for breakfast, so I ordered it for lunch (and dinner), thus tricking the system indeed. Unfortunately, it was really good and authentic, so now I’ve got to come back for the sausages and the shepherd’s pie, so at least twice.

James Joyce Irish breakfast

After lunch, I headed out towards the park known as Madrid Río. The park runs along the banks of the river Manzanares. It covers 121 hectares, and it was designed after to cover the space emptied when the belt road M-30 was rebuilt as an underground tunnel. The original project was created by a team of architectural studios and landscapers, with strong ecological consideration – aiming to help the area recover from the degradation and pollution caused by years of road traffic. The project was carried out between 2006 and 2012. In 2015, a second project was carried out to “renaturalise” the river, opening the dams to allow the water to flow freely, which in turn caused the recovery of many plant and animal species (to the detriment of… the local rowing team).

There are also bridges that connect both banks of the river. One of them is the one I crossed – just because I could. It is the pedestrian bridge Puente Monumental de Arganzuela, designed by Dominique Perrault. It is a bridge in two parts – one crosses the river, the other overlooks the park and connects to the urban area, and a total length of 278 metres. It is a tube made out of steel and wood that I’ve been wanting to check out for a while.

Arganzuela bridge

Another important bridge is the completely different Puente de Toledo, a baroque bridge built by Pedro de Ribera. It was erected in granite between 1717 and 1732 as the previous ones had been taken down by torrential floods. This one was made to stay, with nine solid arches opened to allow for the river floods. It was… ready for Christmas.

Madrid Río and bridges

It was weirdly warm for a November afternoon, so when I went to my hotel I opened the window while I had a shower. Around 17:00 I headed out to the venue, where there was a small group of people waiting already. La Riviera is a 1,500 people venue, with really good acoustics – and very dedicated staff. The place was originally a cinema, which was turned into a disco, and then into a music venue and nightclub. It is the same place I saw Epica and Apocalyptica in 2023, and I was surprised how many people came for the M&G considering that last year we were… six. We were around 30 this time around.

At first we were chatting in front of the main door, but soon a queue started forming. A little later, the nice security guy (who last year told me “I looked the part of an Apocalyptica fan”) took us to a secondary door, and the queue was properly organised. Surprisingly, bags were not checked – while last year they even took markers from people.

Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band. It was formed in 1993 as a tribute to Metallica with a classical touch – playing with cellos. Their debut album Apocalyptica plays Metallica by Four Cellos was released in 1993. They slowly moved from covering other bands in a neoclassical style to their very own repertoire. Today, the members are Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen and Perttu Kivilaakso, three classically-trained musicians with a deep love for metal. In 2024, they have gone full circle with the album and tour Apocalyptica Plays Metallica Vol. 2, performing with drummer Mikko Kaakkuriniemi.

Apocalyptica Tour 24/25

We were ushered into a queue for signatures, and afterwards we would go at the end of the line to wait for photographs. I had brought a print-out of the picture from the previous year, and I told them that whenever they came to Madrid, I would come see them. I got a smile for that. It was an awesome photograph, after all. After everyone had their stuff signed we had the photographs. I asked for “a big metal hug” and got trolled instead. Fun times though!

After the photograph, I found a spot at the barrier. Last time I got on the right, this time I went left. Just a little. I did not want to go dead centre in case anyone decided to moshpit, but I might next time as there was no issue – everyone was too entranced for anything like that, I’d say.

The opening act was the Finnish band Arctis, a baby band who has just debuted with their first CD. They were pretty fun, maybe… a bit… too happy bouncy for metal? I’ve read their act described as metal-pop. It might be. I liked them okay, and they were nice.

Setlist:
 1. I’ll Give You Hell
 2. Remedy
 3. Tell Me Why
 4. WWM
 5. Bimbo (Lambretta Cover)
 6. Fire
 7. Frozen Swan
 8. When The Lights Go Out
 9. Theater of Tragedy

Arctis at La Riviera 2024

Arctis at La Riviera 2024

Apocalyptica came on stage at 21:00 sharp, and the live was glorious. All the songs were Metallica covers, from the new album, the first one, or the remastered version of Plays Metallica released in 2016. Despite that, one would not even have to be a Metallica fan to enjoy the concert, because the three men that compose Apocalyptica have an amazing magnetism. Perttu reminds me of the Duracell Bunny, he just did not stop for a second throughout the whole concert, which lasted a good two hours. Paavo seemed to be in his own little world, as he usually does. Eicca is the one doing most of the talking, and he is hilarious when he delivers his puns with a total deadpan voice and face.

Setlist:
 1. Ride the Lightning
 2. Enter Sandman
 3. Creeping Death
 4. For Whom the Bell Tolls
 5. Battery
 6. The Call of Ktulu
 7. St. Anger
 8. The Four Horsemen
 9. Blackened
 10. Master of Puppets
 11. Nothing Else Matters
 12. Seek & Destroy
 13. One

The audience was mostly moved by Nothing Else Matters, I’d say, judging by how they chorused it. Perttu was all in for that. Personally, I found Seek & Destroy and One, particularly, to be extremely powerful. Also, knowing that they dug up the original bass track from deceased Metallica member Cliff Burton for The Call of Ktulu was half-amazing and half-chilling. All in all, it was a fantastic concert, no matter how one looked at it.

Apocalyptica La Riviera 2024

Eicca Toppinen . Apocalyptica La Riviera 2024

Paavo Lötjönen. Apocalyptica La Riviera 2024

Perttu Kivilaakso. Apocalyptica La Riviera 2024

Apocalyptica La Riviera 2024

Afterwards, Arctis was hanging out by the merch. I got their CD, they signed it, we took a photo. It was fun!

I left the venue and I brought an ice-cream and a sports drink for “dinner” of sorts, because I was thirsty. I had both in the hotel room before my shower – the second of the day – and collapsing onto the king-sized bed. I had to wait for the phone to finish charging before I slept though, so I watched a movie before I zonked out.

I woke up on Tuesday, 18th of November and drank my coffee before I set out. It was freezing out there, with frost on the grass, in spite of the warm afternoon the day before. On my way, I found the ancient walls of the city, remains from the old Moorish fortress alcázar, which stand to the side of the Royal Palace and the Almudena cathedral. I walked towards the centre of Madrid – The Sol Christmas tree was about 60% ready – to meet up with my relative for breakfast at a new place called Kawaii Cafe. Inspired by the Japanese kawaii [可愛い]. Kawaii means pretty, childlike, cute, and the Kawaii Cafe has taken the idea to heart, maybe not not in a complete accurate manner though. Everything is pink, full of fluffy and glitter. The food is not only tasty, also pretty. However, the wait staff is dressed as “maids” [マイド], which I tend to associate more to the… hm… more risqué side of hospitality. When food is brought out, you are offered to chant a spell for it to be even tastier.

I found the place existed by chance, and I was instantly smitten by the rainbow waffles, because they were adorable, and very, very rainbow-like. Thus, I ordered them, along a matcha latte. My relative tried the pancakes with a cocoa. She was ecstatic at the quirkiness of the place.

Kawaii Cafe Madrid order

We stayed for well over an hour, and then headed out to one of the local museums Museo de San Isidro – Museum of Saint Isidore the Labourer. Isidore is the patron saint of Madrid. He is credited with several miracles – multiplying wheat and food, having his oxen plough on their own, and rescuing a child from a well making the waters inside rise. According to tradition, the museum is housed where he used to work, and legend has it that the old well is the one he pulled the child from.

Today the museum hosts some palaeontological and archaeological exhibits, from a mastodon and ancient rhinos to Medieval artefacts, running through the Roman occupation and the Muslim period. The place is a complement to the Museo de Historia de Madrid, or maybe its competition, though I think both belong to the same institution – and both are free. As the building is a historical place, it offers the chance to enjoy its small but beautiful Renaissance courtyard, with sculptures of mythological heroes, and of course St. Isidore and his wife. There is also a tiny Baroque chapel.

San Isidro Museum

San Isidro Museum: chapel, well, and courtyard

Right next to the museum stands the Baroque church of Saint Andrew the Apostle Iglesia de San Andrés Apóstol , which was getting ready for Christmas. The church is one of the oldest in town, though it was rebuilt after its destruction during the Civil War, and it has been recently restored. It hosts a number of religious sculptures and a painted vault above the altar.

Saint Andrew church Madrid

We took the underground at the station Tirso de Molina, which can still be accessed through the historical entrance hall, which is similar to the one that was closed off in Pacífico. It was beautiful, though of course busier than the museum one. Over the entrance to the platform there is a tile mosaic with the old shield of Madrid, dating back from the original station. It was installed in 1921, and it is the oldest artistic item in the underground network.

Access Hall at undeground station Tirso de Molina

From there we commuted to Nuevos Ministerios, where they had just kick-started the Christmas market. It seemed to be the “brands” market, with Lego, Disney, and so on. There was also a food truck by a famous chef selling basically chicken sandwiches at outrageous prices. I had been vaguely curious but not going to break the bank for a chicken sandwich, especially after such a breakfast!

I took a train from there back home, with no incidents whatsoever (because by now I’m desensitised to trains being late…)