Postcard from Madrid, Spain: No Cibeles selfies posted here

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The star spot for selfie-snappers visiting Madrid, Plaza de Cibeles, was a block from our apartment. So many people pause for photos on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the plaza from Palacio de Cibeles that there is always someone nearby hawking extender sticks to improve the composition of selfies.

We circled the enormous plaza so many times during our stay, I thought we forgot to even take a photo of the gleaming off-white building erected at the beginning of the 20th century. Originally housing the main post office and telecommunications, the elegant building recently was remodeled dramatically to serve as City Hall and a cultural center, Centro Centro, showcasing contemporary art exhibits and offering sofa-filled areas with Wi-Fi access. The wedding cake center is topped with terraces offering commanding views of the city.

At the center of the plaza is a fountain and sculpture of Cybele driving a chariot drawn by a pair of lions, formerly a lusty human couple who dishonored the goddess by having sex in her temple. Cybele’s followers in ancient Greece were cult-like, and she continues to earn many exuberant fans during her residency in contemporary Madrid.

The soccer club Real Madrid considers her a patroness, honoring her by draping her with their team flag when they are victorious. Players and their legions of fans swarm into the plaza for rambunctious post-game celebrations.

Hope they all keep their passions in check, lest their inappropriate behavior offend the patroness capable of transforming them into another pair of stony lions permanently harnessed to her chariot.

As for us, our-selfies never managed to slip into camera range.

I spy what you are reading here….

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A 1911 postcard shows the beauty of the land in Brackenridge Park formerly owned by Helen Madarasz.
A 1911 postcard shows the beauty of the land in Brackenridge Park formerly owned by Helen Madarasz.

Time for the semiannual big-brother spy report on what posts you have been reading most during the past 12 months. As usual, you are all over the map, seemingly encouraging me to continue randomly sending postcards from San Antonio and back home no matter where we wander.

The mysterious murder of Helen Madarasz in Brackenridge Park rose to the top, which makes me wonder why ghost-hunters have not latched onto the story of Martha Mansfield. There are still some who pine to hear the San Antonio Song, a post from five years ago, but a few new posts squeezed into the top dozen. Hope some of you have found your way to dine in our favorite restaurants in Oaxaca, but my personal favorite entry about food in Oaxaca is on grasshoppers.

The number in parentheses represents the rankings from six months ago:

  1. The Madarasz Murder Mystery: Might Helen Haunt Brackenridge Park?, 2012 (2)
  2. Artist Foundation unleashes another round of creative fervor, 2015
  3. The danger of playing hardball with our Library: Bookworms tend to vote, 2014 (1)
  4. Remembering everyday people: Our rural heritage merits attention, 2014 (5)
  5. Seeing San Fernando Cathedral in a new light…, 2014 (7)
  6. Please put this song on Tony’s pony and make it ride away, 2010 (3)
  7. Picturing the City’s Past Just Got Easier, 2014 (6)
  8. How would you feel about the Alamo with a crewcut?, 2011 (10)
  9. That Crabby Old Colonel Cribby Condemned the River to Years of Lowlife, 2013 (11)
  10. Weather Forecast: 11 Days of Confetti Ahead, 2015
  11. Photographs from the 1800s place faces on the names in Zephaniah Conner’s Bible, 2014
  12. Postcard from Oaxaca, Mexico: Favorites on the food front, 2015

Thanks for dropping by every once in a while. Love hearing your feedback.

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Postcard from Madrid, Spain: Trying to absorb the history of man in a day

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In 1867, Queen Isabella II (1830-1904) founded the Museo Arqueologico Nacional (MAN), partially in recognition of the need to protect Spain’s historical artifacts from political turmoil. The preservation of the cultural heritage of the country proved easier than the protection of her own rule. A revolt pushed the queen into exile in France the following year, and she wound up abdicating the throne in favor of one of her sons.

MAN traces the history of man in Spain from his earliest known origins and also includes extensive displays of ancient archaeological treasures from Egypt, the Near East and Greece.

The featured image is known as the Lady of Elche, dating from the 5th or 4th century B.C. The “lady” was found in Elche, located on the Mediterranean coast of Spain and continually impacted by waves of invaders from Greece, Carthage, Rome and the land of the Moors.

The main structure housing MAN dates from the 19th century, but the museum was closed for five years beginning in 2008 to dramatically modernize the space displaying more than 15,000 items.

Yes, it is totally overwhelming. Not realizing the immensity of the collection, we squandered time in the prehistoric section of relatively little interest to us and felt rushed in viewing the rest, all of it masterfully displayed.