Word: madrid
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Spain in 1981 is a country divided by the 20th century. Half of it--the large, pseudo-cosmopolitan cities like Madrid and Barcelona--strives mightily to industrialize, modernize; computerize, and merge with the rest of Western Europe...
...Madrid, according to legend, became Spain's capital when Ferdinand drew lines from the corners of the country through the middle. They intersected at Madrid. The city is a curious mixture of ornate 16th century architecture and clean-cut neo-classical buildings constructed during the years of fascist rule. The most modern street, something of a cross between Boston's Newbury Street and New York's Fifth Avenue in atmosphere. Proudly bears the name Avenida de Generalissimo Franco...
...principle commercial activity centers on Calle de la Pricessa and Avenida de Jose Antonio, south of which lies a maze of twisting alleys lined by innumerable restaurants. This is the Madrid you see in brochures, the old part of town that converges on Plaza Mayor and Plaza del Sol. This part of the city brings the reality of Spain somewhat closer to the idealized conception: Here you can sit down to a meal of paella, the music of guitars in the distance, and know you're not in America any more...
...sight that makes a vist to Madrid mandatory is the Prado, one of the world best art museurns. What can one say about a museum that has an unparalleled collection of Spanish masters, including El Greco, Goya and Velasquez, as well as pre-Renaissance and Renaissance Italian paintings and works by Bosch, Bruegel, Rubens and Rembrandt...
Barcelona, like Madrid, has little to offer in the way of traditional Spanish atmosphere. The main thoroughfare of the older part of the city. Las Ramblas, resembles an enormous flea market. Peddlers line the central strip, hawking birds, animals, jewelry and pornographic magazines...