Madrid

Our time spent in Madrid consisted of three things: museums, fiestas, and zero sleep. We woke up early Friday morning and took the AVE, which is the fastest way to get to Madrid besides flying. The AVE is about a two and a half hour train ride, and goes by pretty quickly. On the way there, I read my book that my parent’s gave me for suggestions on what to see, where to eat, and how to plan my day in Madrid. When we arrived to the hotel, Justin and I decided we’d rather go sightseeing and explore the city instead of shopping like some others in our group so we met up with another girl in our program and spent nearly seven hours out on the town. We saw Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol, which were packed with people, both tourists and natives. Puerta del Sol is the exact center of Madrid and was surrounded by shops and large buildings. However, it is an area generally known for pickpocketing, so we decided not to stay there too long at the risk of getting something stolen. The majority of our afternoon was spent at El Museo del Arte Thyssen. There was a special collection on display of Jardines, which are gardens. There were some very famous pieces in this collection such as art by Monet, Picasso, and Dali. When we finished walking through this section, we went to the original museum, which is a private collection of art owned by the Thyssen family. The first floor was full of contemporary art, and as we continued up to the different floors of the museum, the art became more classical and antique styled. I decided I like classical art better because of the story it tells, and the message it sends to the viewer. Maybe it is just because I am not very good at interpreting abstract art, and prefer the works that are specific and concrete. We spent so much time in the museum, that when we finally got out of there we were starving. We went to a tapas restaurant, and the food was pretty good. We all split three different plates. That night we went to a discoteca called “Joy”. Fortunately, my friends and I were given a free entry pass on the street so we did not have to pay the 15 euro cover fee. We stayed out extremely late, per usual in the Spanish culture. The discos here are packed with people and full of dancing. Most of them have 2 or 3 floors too that have different themes to them, like Salsa, Techno music, and Pop Culture.  The next day we had a scheduled tour of the Prado museum, which houses some of the world’s most famous art by Velazquez and Goya. Some of the more famous works we saw included “Las Meninas”, “Los Borrachos”, “La rendicion de Breda”, “La Familia de Carlos IV”, “El Tres de Mayo de 1808”, and “Saturno devorando a un hijo”. An actual professor at the University of Seville led our tour and gave us some very interesting insights into the histories of these paintings. I also got the chance to see “Danae and the shower of Gold”, a work done by Titian, which I learned about in my Art History class at Michigan this past fall. A group of 6 of us spent the afternoon at Reina Sofia, yet another museum, which contains more contemporary art, such as works by Picasso and Dali. We saw the Guernica in person, which is one of Spain’s most famous pieces. Saturday was undoubtedly an exhausting day for all of us, because we went to the famous nature park in Madrid after our museum adventures. It is called Retiro, and is a beautiful park with water fountains and maze-like paths. It was very cold in Madrid, so I am sure I didn’t get to see this park in it’s prime condition, but it was amazing nevertheless. On Sunday, we had kind of a rough start to the day because I woke up a little late for the tour of Palacio Real, or the "Royal Palace". I still was able to get the whole tour though, and I was extremely happy I did. The Palacio has around 2000 rooms, and I only saw about 20. Of the one’s I saw, some common themes were large, grandiose architecture, chandeliers, large pillars, and huge central stairways. It is interesting to see where the Royal Family once lived. It is also interesting that some Royal functions, such as dinners and weddings are still held there today. I never thought I could pack three art museums, two plazas, two discotecas, and a royal palace into one weekend, but apparently I did the impossible. I was glad to return to Seville Sunday night, to a nice home cooked meal by Lourdes. Her cooking is great, I feel very fortunate to have her has my host madre. In sum, Madrid was a great success, and I feel much more informed about the capital of the country in which I currently reside. It was a great weekend to get to know the kids in my program better too. And I think we are all improving our Spanish too, which is fun to watch everyone progress. This week, we have seen even more cool and historic places in Seville. I don’t know what I am going to do when I have to go to class instead of field trips everyday!