Visiting the Royal Tapestry Factory

1713 was not a good year for Spain.  They lost control of Flanders which was a main source of textile and tapestry manufacture.  And carpets and tapestries were important for keeping castles at least tolerably warm.  So in 1721 the Spanish king set up the Royal Tapestry Factory in Madrid.  Today we went on a tour of the factory.  It's an impressive undertaking.  All work is done by hand and looks incredibly detailed.  The skilled workers transfer patterns to huge looms and then hand knot each strand.  The looms are impressively large.  Some of the early designs were done by Goya and are still used.  It can nearly a year to complete one square meter.  Nowadays, rather than producing for kings and princes the factory produces rugs and tapestries for private clients who often work with the factory on designs.  Aside from the artisans who are very impressive, one of the most impressive items were the rack upon rack of skeins of wool and silk dyed in sumptuous colors that were all around.

Mariachi in Madrid

The guys with roosters on their pants were out in full force today, driving the crowd at Plaza de Sol crazy.  Music and Madrid seem to go together.    We also tried to get tickets to the opera which is performing Idomeneo by Mozart this week.  We were not so lucky.  It is almost sold out except for a few seats with blocked views.  And only single seats at a very high price.  So disappointing.  Plaza de Sol was also the scene of guy dressed as a penguin and Micky Mouse.  Always a circus there.

To assuage our disappointment about the Opera we hit a cute tapas bar around the corner.  These yummy tostadas - one with salmon and one with clams and shrimp got us through the afternoon.

Arriving in Madrid 2019

The air is full of lemons and almonds and diesel exhaust a heady mixture on our jet lagged brains.

As usual the city is enchanting a mix of impossibly chic people and jugglers, opera singers and acrobats in the public plazas. We arrived in beautiful weathers, cloudless skies and warm breezes. People are perched at outdoor cafes like colorful birds. The architecture as usual is breathtaking, balconies and cupolas and full size statues of charging horses atop buildings.

We checked into our charming apartment on a quaint street in the old section (see photo above shot from our balcony). No hassle getting from the airport on bus and subway and finding the apartment. Our lovely host was there and showed us around. Although there is a tapas bar downstairs the apartment is quiet and fully equipped. We cooked in our first night as we were pretty tired from the trip. Although the flight on Norwegian Air was excellent.

We walked a lot our first day to re-orient ourselves to the city. The SIM card I got last year still worked although I had it topped off at the Orange store to make sure I'd have shop enough data. It's really useful when travelling to have apps like google maps and local transit systems.

We found a charming coffee/pastry shop this morning and will do some more exploring later.