When I finished kindergarten (by the skin of my teeth), we had a mini-graduation ceremony in our auditorium. We all had to get up and say what we wanted to be when we grew up. I wanted to be a princess. Of course, I was far from unique, and by the time I was asked to stand in front of a slew of families, teachers and other students, two other girls had already claimed the throne. I did not want to be an usurper; I was already embarrassed enough standing on the echoing stage and sufficiently nervous about making such a definite commitment at such a young age. And so, standing before everyone, I declared that I wanted to be … a gym teacher… My parents were shocked, my gym teacher cried, and I cringed internally. I really just wanted to be a princess.
Flash forward twenty years, and my wealth of knowledge on the subject leads me to believe I really was picking the better option of the two when I stood on that stage. Being a princess in real life seems to have a lot more to do with politics and which cousin you need to be sold - I mean married off - to and how many baby boys you can bring into the world, than dancing in fancy ball gowns, being whisked off your feet by a handsome prince, or singing to furry woodland creatures. But, it is always still fun to imagine what it would be like to wield that kind of power. And there is no better place to indulge in the fiction of it all than an actual royal palace.
The Palacio Real de Madrid, the largest palace in Europe when considering square footage of just the palace itself (1,450,000 sq ft), was constructed between 1738 and 1755 under King Philip V’s orders, after a fire destroyed the “Old Alcázar” in 1736. In 1764, King Charles III became the first King to take up residence in the new palace. Its last regular inhabitants were Alfonso XIII and Manuel Azaña (president of the second republic). Now it is only used for state ceremonies, and the royal family resides at Palacio de la Zarzuela on the outskirts of the city.
To get to the Palace, we took the metro to Ópera, which opens up onto a plaza that confronts you with domineering theatre and opera buildings all around you (and a Foster’s Hollywood!). From there, we trekked past the towering salmon-colored building, and looking to our left, we caught our first glimpses of the lavish edifice and Plaza de Oriente - a park-like plaza lined with ancient rulers in pigeon-topped white marble, gardens and a giant fountain, making your final steps to the palace feel as if the red carpet has been rolled out before you.
In truth, I have never been all that impressed with the Royal Palace. It’s too modern, too lavish, too over the top, and all-in-all, it lacks the sentiment of authenticity. In fact, on one of my first visits there, I made the unfortunate discovery that the plates displayed in one of the rooms we were touring, had price tags on them...
But, my distaste for this palace aside, it is probably still worth one’s time to visit – and if you are lucky enough to be a resident of Europe or a student, there are several times in the evening when it is free to enter. A word to the wise: if you want to get in for free, come no later than 40 minutes before it would open for such guests. The line gets out-of-control long as the time gets closer, and it moves slowly when the gates open because everyone must pass through security. Make sure you bring your passport or residency card as well to take advantage of this free opportunity.
Once you successfully pass through the entrance-way, stop at the bathroom because you have been inhaling water while the sun beat down on you in line for forty minutes, and store your belongings in the lockers (€1 deposit), it is time to start exploring!
We left the entrance section of the building and encountered an enormous plaza of giant grey stones, with nothing other than some beautiful lampposts decorating its interior. The palace itself wraps around this square in a U-shape, with an elaborate iron wrought gate keeping the lowly commoners out. Beyond the enormous gate, we could look upon the adjacent Cathedral, where royal weddings and baptisms have been held.
After this brief pause, we headed towards the center of the U-shaped structure, through a bare, stone hallway and turned right. Immediately, we were smacked in the face with the grandest of grandiose stairways leading visitors to the palace’s gaudy interior. A giant marble staircase that wrapped around itself with a second flight of marble stairs marked the start of open-mouthed stairs and owl-eyes. White, stone lions greeted visitors at the turn of the steps. But with the chaos of a golden, heavenly fresco swimming across the ceiling above us and the mural paintings covering the windows and the curtains taller than any reasonably sized room and the vases bigger than my childhood bedroom, the lions were almost easy to overlook. Take caution walking up the stairs; no one is looking where they are walking!
Unfortunately, here is where the pictures of the interior cease. The palace must have some unnecessary concerns that people might capture and attempt to recreate the interior designs of the building. Maybe the real concern is they don’t want anyone to know how visually painful each room becomes until they get you in the door. Whatever the reason, I respect it, and you will have to take my word on it – it is an experience of over-stimulation, so brace yourself.
Royals were apparently very concerned in this country with having everything match, and the result is dizzying. After passing through a narrower room of giant fireplaces and enormous rugs, and pausing in my favorite room – one filled several chandeliers hanging far from the ceiling by what appears to be cloth as well as some beautiful busts created in a strategic combination of different colored marble – you encounter the dressing room. This room is, insane. Deep green vines with occasional spurts of dark flowers emerge along eggshell white walls, twisting their way towards the center of the ceiling, and imprinting themselves on each piece of furniture therein. Large mirrors on the dressers create more distortion of the chaos that surrounds you, but in your effort to escape the images your mind cannot withstand, you are plunged into rooms that only continue to astound the eyes. A royal blue room with darker blue letters of the royal family embroidered in its silk walls, a small golden room with dark brown, wooden furniture, a purple smoking room with vibrant patterns emerging out of the square paneled walls, a room made floor-to-ceiling of porcelain, and so on. If you survive this circus, and the crowds pushing all around you, you will find relief from the crazy uniformity in the throne room. The throne itself – not so impressive, but for the black stone lions playing with black stone balls at the foot of each seat. The dining room is out of this world – a table with hundreds of chairs, five glasses to each of the hundreds of plates, and silverware I would use inappropriately. Perhaps the most enticing draw to this not-so-humble abode is the display of a complete Stradivarius quintet (highly valuable string-instruments made from the dense wood of trees that grew during a mini ice-age, and embellished beautifully along their perimeter). Then again, it’s not for everyone (cue the board German boy on a class tour who decided to spruce up his hair in his reflection on a Cello…), and if so, perhaps the table made out of a countless variety of semi-precious stones in the next room, or the prior king’s declaration of abdication signed on display across from the coronation jewels will do it for you.
Escaping the lunacy of the interior with time to spare, we paused under the arched and open arm of the U-shape structure opposite the entrance to take in the sights of forest-gardens where prostitutes have been known to frequent in recent history before ducking into the not so well advertised, but included, armory. Again no photos.
This was a fun armory to peruse, and it is considered one of the best in all of Europe, particularly because its contents date as far back as the 15th century. It is filled with armor used in battle of course, for horses and men, but it also showed various weapons, shields, and decorative armor for the young royals. We could not get over how short people used to be, and we marveled at how anyone could possibly see out of their helmets.
Finally, it was time to pass through the gift shop and head out – the free visit to the interior of the palace was coming to a close and we were hungry.
No comments:
Post a Comment