A favourite tree. HFF everyone!

Madrid


Folder: Spain provinces (and Madrid)

Another from the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Real M…

21 Jun 2020 20 15 227
The top tier has already gone and strange towers are going up which will, I suppose, support the ugly new roof thing. I have a few more I will post every few days or so.

Spookily quiet! Paseo de La Castellana - no traffi…

21 Jun 2020 34 26 220
It doesn't seem to be a Covid thing. On some Sundays sections of this north-south main Madrid axis are closed. I presume for demonstrations or just for the public to enjoy on foot, on bikes, on scooters, roller skates, etc. But honestly I don't know why! However,today it was blocked off along very long sections and there was absolutely no-one around. It's like seeing Oxford Street or the Champs Elysées on a Sunday afternoon without a soul. Unthinkable! And I'm still puzzled! If Prez T was paying a visit to Madrid I could understand it; no crowds would show so no security would be required!

I always liked this modern building at 46 Paseo de…

20 Jun 2020 32 23 219
And yet it's not as modern as it looks, being constructed in 1975 by architects José Antonio Corrales Gutiérrez and Ramón Vásquez Molezún. Built with pink granite from local quarries, bronze-coloured glass and red coloured anodised aluminium, it currently houses the offices of the European Parliament in Madrid and the Irish Embassy.

H. A. N. W. E. everyone!

19 Jun 2020 22 19 176
From the periphery of Nuevos Ministerios looking out onto the Paseo de Castellana, Madrid's main north-south vehicular axis, previously named Paseo del Generalisimo and before that La Routa de Francia (as it leads north).

HFF everyone.

18 Jun 2020 40 68 275
The ubiquitous oleander. Well, my park has finally re-opened but there is only one thing one can do and that is enter and leave by one entrance only (five gates are closed. Bad luck if you live on the far side of the park, such as I!). You can walk round the outer edge of the park on the running track but running and jogging are banned. Lesser paths among the rose beds and so on are blocked, all seats are out of bounds as are all the children's play areas and the many cafes and bars. Masks are obligatory as is 2 metres distancing but these last two rules are ignored by many which makes me seethe like little else!

Estadio Santiago Bernabéu

17 Jun 2020 26 22 233
An iconic stadium and home of Real Madrid. I thought I had better take a last photo before it is turned into a giant aluminium George Foreman grilling machine. (Thanks to Keith Burton for that analogy! Better than the 'Cornish pasty' I compared it to at first!). I saw the plans a few years ago - I taught English there - so I know of what I speak ...and was horrified! OK, here it is www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pPohc_3dRA I sincerely believe the current building should be preserved as a cultural and architectural icon. But I am too late as the building work has begun and Real Madrid are playing their revived season's fan-less home match programme at their training complex at Valdebebas to the north-east of Madrid and I presume they will play there until 2023.

Art Deco petrol station.

14 Jun 2020 26 17 254
Built in 1927 to the design of architect Casto Fernández Shaw. Dismantled in 1977 and pleasingly rebuilt to the exact original design 20 years later. The hotel behind is an '80s construction. I think the two architectural styles fit together pretty well. Better on black and full screen.

On the outside looking in. Parque de Santander, Ma…

09 Jun 2020 39 37 227
My local park is still closed. I'm sure it's because of the much-used running track seen here. It would have been crammed full of joggers, mostly without masks, so the authorities had no choice I suppose.

A little more wisteria (and a bee)

10 Jun 2020 37 32 228
Jardín Enrique Herreros. One of the few parks open in Madrid (and it's tiny!) I certainly didn't spot the bee until long after uploading!

Sunrise Madrid

02 Nov 2012 46 33 270
Living in an east-facing flat near the top of a high-rise block in 2012/13, I saw lots of sunrises - all very different from each other! www.youtube.com/watch?v=P701paKEMXs Sight and sound.

Hospital de Maudes, catching the last of the sun (…

06 Jun 2020 33 24 232
The first free hospital in Madrid, funded by a consortium of religious foundations and designed by the famous architect, Antonio Palacios. With the builder, Joaquín Otamendi he built many iconic Madrid buildings of this era (1910-1925). Now it is government offices. It occurs to me that this was completed (1916) just in time for the virus pandemic(s) of a few years later! This is just around the corner from my flat.

HFF everyone!

04 Jun 2020 35 42 214
The first (very small) park I saw open in Madrid since the start of lockdown. And I just caught the very last of the wisteria. That's my spring flora shot for the year! (Better on large, z, black, full screen.)

The oldest surviving door in Madrid. OK on black,…

20 Jul 2016 37 33 266
Puerta lateral de la torre de los Lujanes. Mediados del siglo XV. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HDdiz8MU8o Sight and sound, knocking on a door - seems reasonable!

El primer depósito elevado, Madrid, Calle de Santa…

30 May 2020 36 24 201
The first raised water tower in Madrid. In use 1911 - 1952, Now an art gallery and exposition centre. Original construction (and still owned) by the water company Canal de Isabel II. Architects Luis Moya Idígoras and Ramón de Aguinaga. I also think the foreground wall is attractive in a "Mondrian / Klee / Braque / Machu Picchu" kind of way.

Blue forms and reflections. H. A. N. W. E. everyon…

20 Sep 2011 28 26 267
La Finca Business Park, Somosaguas, Madrid. I used to teach business English here for a couple of years (in Santander, Orange and FNAC). The ornamental olive tree plantings seen here are repicated everywhere in Spain.

HFF Everyone!

29 Apr 2012 40 52 279
Colombia Metro Station, Madrid. I just LIKE this station. They didn't have to do this but I'm pleased they did. Just about every other metro station has something of interest to see, admire, like, enjoy the vibrant colours of, etc!

Dappled glade

19 Jun 2016 28 19 170
Parque de El Capricho, Madrid suburbs. Almost English looking! For a few weeks in late spring and early summer, parks in Madrid do look quite English!

A Madrid park in early summer

19 Jun 2016 30 23 232
Almost an English woodland glade! Parque de El Capricho, Madrid suburbs.

595 items in total