Week One!

I have officially been in Madrid for over a week, but with all that we've been doing it feels like it's been so much longer! Here are a few of the highlights:

For the first 2 weeks of my program, we attend an intensive language school from 9 am - 1 pm. It's actually a ton of fun, the teachers are incredibly nice and funny, and it's really interesting to talk with international students from all over the world, including Poland, Denmark, South Korea, Germany and Saudia Arabia - not to mention good practice! After class we usually go out for lunch, consisting of tapas, bocadillas, or the "menú del día" - a fixed price with daily choices that includes a starter, main meal, dessert and a drink (water and sangria are the same price!) and after that another exploration of the city! Some of the things we have seen so far:

- Plaza Mayor: many major cities in Spain have a "Plaza Mayor," usually square shaped and modeled after the Palace of Versaille. A really beautiful plaza with lots of fun restaurants in the corners as well as street performers, comedians, and magicians!

- Parque del Retiro: an enormous and beautiful park with statues, monuments, millions of benches and big grass areas to play and relax, and a small lake where you can rent a little row boat and chat with other people on the lake. Lots of runners, bicyclers, families, older people (the retired - get it?) and young people, reading or relaxing or having picnics! It's the perfect place for any afternoon and I definitely plan to spend a lot of time here

In front of the monument of Alfonso XII

- Gran Vía: built in the early 1900's and also in the really historic center of the city, this enormous street has some of the most impressive architecture in all of Madrid. Today it houses a lot of economic buildings, hotels, and big theaters, as well as, of course, restaurants and cervecerias. At the end of the street is La Plaza de Independencia, in front of the beautiful Plaza de Cibeles

- El Museo del Prado: one of Madrid's 2 most famous museums, probably one of the most well known in the entire country. We spent hours here taking in millions of pieces of art from sculptures, to paintings, to drawings, to tapestries, to tables, from lots of different periods and artists, most notably Goya and El Greco. I feel so much more cultured already!

- El Congreso de Diputados: a 15 minute walk from the language school and one of the weekly excursions provided by the program. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed, but it was full of really ornate and detailed decorations, offices and rooms, as well as a grand auditorium where the Congress meets. It was really cool to see exactly where a lot of the political decisions are put into action, especially because I had to take some European government classes for my International Relations major

- Day trip to Toledo!: Just a short and easy 35 minute train ride north is the beautiful city of Toledo. It's famous for it's marzapan, possession of El Greco paintings, incredible gothic cathedral, millions of other chapels and churches, and beautiful historic architecture. Unfortunately no pictures allowed inside of the cathedral either, but that's just as well because none could have done it justice! The streets were all cobblestone and most were too small to allow car access, but it was a lot of fun just walking around, as well as visiting the Toledo Cathedral, the Cathedral of San Tomé, and the museum of Santa Cruz

Quaint streets looked straight out of a movie!

Toledo Cathedral, the city's main tourist attraction

Spanish boyfriend...sorry mom

Toledo in the background!

- Aranjuez and Chinchón: another excursion provided by the school, included a bus tour to Aranjuez to see Casa del Labrador and the Palacio Real (The Royal Palace), and then to Chinchón, both about 45 minutes by bus south of Madrid. There are many Palacio Reals around the country, because the royal family used to have one for each season. The one in Aranjuez was their springtime home, and the Casa del Labrador is only a few minutes away from it, and that's where they spent their days listening to music, reading, talking and studying. Chinchón was another small city about half an hour away from Aranjuez, and is famous for it's after dinner liquor called "Chinchón" that tastes like black licorice and is supposed to be good for digestion, as well as their meats and traditional meat dishes, sweets, and wine! We went to a traditional and delicious restaurant for lunch, and first they take you to the wine cellars for a tasting and tapas before your meal. 

El Palacio Real

La Casa de Labradores

Wine tasting in the restaurant's cellars