Madrid and our recent visit

Taking advantage of the gift of a hotel stay we spent last weekend in Madrid visiting museums and some of the other notable places in the city. The coronavirus outbreak has us concerned of course, and today (Wednesday) it has even worsened somewhat. However, the trip was made in line with the general knowledge that the best course of action is calmness and cleanliness. The exhibition “Rembrandt and Amsterdam Portraiture” at the Thyssen Museum told me a lot about both large and small scale pictures of people—people and their activities, because human actions are naturally associated with what we look like, an obvious context. Rembrandt used postures and body language very intelligently in this respect. The Museum's website has a virtual pre-visit, so I'll end with that for the moment. (Link >>>

https://www.museothyssen.org/en/exhibitions/rembrandt-and-amsterdam-portraiture-1590-1670

Vilanovan reflections

Vilanova i la Geltrú, January 11-12, 2020

Vilanova i la Geltrú, January 11-12, 2020

Balloon volley ball after midnight. No net of course, no limit to number of players or boundary. Rhythmically swaying to whatever the restaurant puts on, a semblance of dance yogas the birthday celebration’s conclusion. But wait, there’s more. Don’t stop laughing, don’t stop dancing. But inevitably a few kisses, a long held hand and we’re out in the night air in close to freezing temperatures and a mile or so to the hotel. Moon coming to the full. Sea now audible as we walk. A turn toward the hills then and the simple luxury of a hotel visit, a gift received some months back. So the fragments come in. The false scare of an electricity black out, then relief at a magical repair. And

the following morning, Sunday,

looked down at the hotel pool,

closed but undrained. For

who will deny the beauty,

sometimes found strange, of

an outdoor hotel pool, closed but undrained.

So I stood at the window, waiting for my turn in the shower, thinking of the expansive hours and the waves of emotions that turquoise rectangle would have seen.

The problem with using a camera here is the screen covering the window.

All the same I shoot the pool, go to the adjacent window, take a shot of the street, the palm trees flanking the strip of beach,

the long low roll

of the waves

coming in.