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[ View the Fotopage entry | View the complete Fotopage ]
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[ View the Fotopage entry | View the complete Fotopage ]
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| Thursday, 27-Nov-2008 13:08 |
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M.AD.RI.D - dos días
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Madrid – Day 2
After having breakfast at Farggi, we moved our full-stomach to the Madrid's most famous and most central square, located just a short walk from the Plaza Mayor (where our hostal located). Originally it was the site of one of the city's gates, which faced the east and was adorned with an image of the sun, hence the square's name. The square is actually almost semi-circular in shape and owes its current form to the major renovation work carried out between 1854 and 1860.
This is among the most important statues to be seen in the square, El Oso y El Madroño (the Bear and the Strawberry Tree). Official symbol of the city although with an unclear origin, it seems that there used to be many bears in the fields around Madrid although the original symbol was supposed to be a female bear (osa). And the strawberry tree seems to be have actually been a hackberry tree (almez), which was once in abundance around Madrid. Whatever the real history, this bronze statue is the work of the sculptor Antonio Navarro Santa Fe.
10 minutes ride on Metro, we reached the home of bullfighting in Spain, and arguably in the world as well, is at Plaza Toros Las Ventas. This massive bullring is placed in the Guindalera quarter of Madrid's Salamanca district to the northeast of the city centre.
Plaza Toros Las Ventas is the third largest bullring in the world. The largest is the Plaza de Toros México in Mexico City, and the second largest is Plaza de Toros Monumental de Valencia in Venezuela. Plaza Toros Las Ventas is of course the largest bullring in Spain. It can seat 25,000 people and it measures an impressive 60 metres in diameter.
The best time to experience bullfighting in Madrid is during the San Isidro fiesta, which takes place between May and June each year. This is the most famous bullfighting festival in the world and fights take place every day for three weeks.
Our next stop is at Puerta de Alcalá . We just stopped for few minutes (semestinye tuk ambik2 gambar sahaje)..bcoz by this time badan Rafiq tibe2 panas, nak demam.
The Puerta de Alcalá means "Alcalá Gate" is a monument in the Plaza de la Independencia ("Independence Square") in Madrid, Spain, very close to the city centre and several meters away from the main entrance to the Parque del Buen Retiro. The square is bisected by Alcalá street, although the street itself doesn't cross through the monument, and it is the origin of the Alfonso XII, Serrano and Olózaga streets. Its name originates from the old path from Madrid to the nearby town of Alcalá de Henares
Later, Mak lang decided to take Rafiq back to our hostal, and asked us to tour around ourselves.
We strolled ourselves along the Puerta del Sol, (Madrid and Spain's spiritual heart, since from this square all points on Spain's 6 major national roads are measured), and, heading to Museo del Prado.
Madrid's art museums are second to none, with the Museo del Prado being internationally recognised as one of the world's premier galleries, particularly for European art.
The Prado Museum is Madrid's top cultural sight, and one of the world's greatest art galleries.
Its name derives from the district where it is located, formerly an area of market gardens known as the "prado" or meadow. The Spanish queen at the time had been impressed with the Louvre in Paris and wanted to showcase an enormous collection in her own country. The result is several thousand works at the present time, with a recent modern extension allowing more of them to be displayed.
La Plaza de Cibeles is disected by two major roads, running north is the Paseo del Prado, which turns into the Paseo de Recoletos after the square, and running from West to East is Calle Alcala.
The monumental Cibeles Fountain has become a Madrid icon. Located in the heart of the city, it shows Cybele, the Greek goddess of fertility and nature holding a sceptre and a key while being pulled by two lions on a chariot. The pull of the wild lions symbolize the power of nature or of the goddess.
Designed by Ventura Rodriguez and sculpted in 1782, it originally stood outside the Prado Museum facing the fountain of Neptune. It is said that the source of this original fountain actually goes back to when Madrid was still a Moorish settlement. It provided water to the local population, but in the 19th century it was moved to the centre of the square where it is found today and adorned with other decorative details.
The Spanish football (soccer) team Real Madrid has unofficially adopted the fountain. It is used as a meeting point for its fans and often for the players themselves whenever the team wins the Spanish league or Spanish Cup.
And finally, we went to...
The definitive name of Gran Vía was given when democracy re-established, in 1981 by the then Lord Mayor, Enrique Tierno Galván (said to be Madrid's most loved Mayor!). This name harks back to how the locals originally visualised and named the project back in the 19th century, as the Great Way across the city.
There are several important and interesting buildings located along the street, including the Edificio Metrópolis at the corner of Calle Alcalá and Gran Via, which its grand columns holding decorative statues - and the Telefónica building at number 28 which is 88 metres tall and was Madrid's tallest skyscraper until 1953.
Well...this Metrópolis building, attracts me the most!!! :angel:
when 1st i saw this building, it reminds me of 'Metropulus' in the 'Cicakman' movie..dun't u guys think so..may b KRU once been here..n they 'cilok' the idea of 'metropulus' from this building..opssss..pandai2 je aku kaaan?? LOL :laugh_at: :head_bang: :weee: :lol_up:
me_3009 : uhuuu tuh laa kan mie...u br tgk gambar pun dah tertarikkn?? niee i yg dok tgk sendiri pun dah teruja taaau!!! i pun suke Madrid!! tak pe..insyaAllah ade rezeki..u'll b going there *amiiiin* :angel_fly:
maklang.inmilan : uhuuu tq mak lang bawak me jalan2..n also tq for lend me ur notebook so i can do this 'homework' in d middle of nite in my room :horay: :ty_ty:
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