España

Also, I went to Spain last week! Finished up some research in the National Library, lugged back 22 (yes, 22!) books and DVDs  - and in a carry-on to boot - and celebrated my friend Erika's birthday with her. AND saw the sun and experienced temperatures over 70 degrees for the first time in a while.

Dinner with Erika;  hopefully an optical illusion that my head is twice as large as hers.

Headless statue at the end of a sunny hallway near the Sala Barbieri in the National Library

Erika's sister Lorena on their beautiful terrace shows off her various Cookie Monster accessories

Below: Took a very hot stroll through the new Madrid Río Park with an old friend from when I lived in France. The park is kind of an attempt at green space/beach space (sorta) that also expanded the Manzanares River from its former status as a trickle. I'm not sure how ideal it is in scorching sunlight - could use more shade - but it's beautiful and there were people swimming and sunbathing. I was not one of them.

bridge over the Manzanares

house murals next to the bridge

the newly expanded river with sunbathers and swimmers in the pools

That same day I headed over to the Reina Sofía museum to meet another old friend. I arrived early and checked out the temporary exhibits - one of them, "Castles in the Air" by Hans Haacke, was really phenomenal. It was a retrospective of his career featuring a new piece that was very critical of the current state of things in Spain - photos and video art of a half-built suburban housing complex that lies largely empty following the real estate bubble's implosion. 

Some photos of the newish expansion courtyard, from above and from below:

And views from the new roof terrace:

And what better way to end a post on Spain than with a relic of the Franco dictatorship, on the door of my friend María's apartment building (and many others):

The plaque just indicates that the building complies with a 1954 law, but prominently features the Falange's symbol of the yoke and arrows.