I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long--it's been a hectic couple of weeks! I went to Madrid last weekend with Margaux and stayed with some relatives of hers there and we had an amazing time, although our trip had a bumpy start with us almost missing our plane and Sarah, our other roommate who was supposed to come with us, missing her plane completely because she accidentally booked her tickets for 9 AM instead of 9 PM (or 21:00 as it is here in Spain).
So, needless to say, we were excited when Margaux's relative, Diana, picked us up at the airport in Madrid after an evening at the airport that was comparable to a finale episode of The Amazing Race. Diana and her husband live about half an hour outside of Madrid in a suburb that kind of reminded me of a Spanish version of the Palisades. They have six kids--six!--two of whom live at home. One of their children, Madalena, is close to Margaux's and I's age so she told us she would take us out that weekend.
The following day, we explored the city a bit, getting completely lost trying to make our way to the Atocha, which is Madrid's railway station. Why were we so eager to get to a train station after our hectic day of travel? you might ask. The reason is this:
Those crazy Spaniards have put an entire tropical garden inside the train station! We weren't able to walk through it when we were there, but it was still really cool to look at.
After the Atocha, we made our way to the infamous Prado Museum to get our fill of the classics for our trip. For those of you who don't know, the Prado is pretty much like the Louvre or the Met of Spain. It contains thousands of artworks, such as Hieronymous Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights, Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas, and tons of Goya, including The Third of May, 1808, his famous anti-war painting. I took a class about Spanish and Portuguese art at GW two semesters ago, and it was amazing to get to see all the works I studied up close and personal!
That night, Madalena and her friends took us to a Mexican restaurant, a bar, and an underground club...needless to say, after a night out "Madrid style," it was difficult for us to get up in the morning!
However, we managed to drag ourselves to the Reina Sofía, the modern art equivalent of the Prado, and the museum that houses Picasso's Guernica. We had a great time just meandering around the exhibits and taking everything in. We weren't allowed to photograph Guernica, but I managed to get a shot of one of the paintings he did in preparation, which was my favorite:
After the museum, we gave Madrid nightlife round two a shot, but it was tragically cut short when we were in line at a club, only to be informed that the entry fee was 20 euros! I'm sorry, but no club, no matter how amazing it might be, is worth almost 40 dollars--just to get in the door!
The next day was our last day, so we packed it full of activities. We started out at the Thyssen-Bornemisza art museum, which is the private collection of a wealthy elevator magnate who is married to a Spanish ex-beauty queen. I highly recommend this museum for anyone who goes to Madrid. It is not as overwhelming as the Prado and the Reina Sofía, and it has a wonderful mix of all kinds of art, from Renaissance to Impressionist to contemporary. We both loved it, and it was conveniently raining during the time we were in the museum, and then stopped as soon as we came out.
We then made our way to the Palacio Real, or the Royal Palace of Spain (see above). It was absolutely beautiful. We were going to take a tour of it, but it was not open :( We walked up a ways to the Templo de Debod, which is an Egyptian temple, discovered in the Valley of the Kings, that the Egyptian government had moved to Madrid, brick by brick, as a gift of appreciation to the Spanish government. Pretty cool!
The Communications Palace along Paseo de Castellana
Our next stop was the Basilica de San Francisco El Grande. Although we couldn't go inside, we stood on the steps and marveled at the huge dome of the church, which is bigger than St. Paul's in London! After that, we wandered around the medieval part of Madrid for a while, stopping in a little plaza called Plaza de la Paja for a quick cup of tea.
Due to our 7:30 AM flight, we didn't get the chance to go out again that night, but instead stayed in and talked with the family we were staying with. They were so sweet to us and a kind of reminder of home since we were able to speak English with them all weekend.
I'm off to film class right now, and I am leaving for the Basque Country (San Sebastián and Bilbao) tomorrow morning for a weekend trip! I promise a quicker blog post next week.
Lots of love,
Kelsey
So, needless to say, we were excited when Margaux's relative, Diana, picked us up at the airport in Madrid after an evening at the airport that was comparable to a finale episode of The Amazing Race. Diana and her husband live about half an hour outside of Madrid in a suburb that kind of reminded me of a Spanish version of the Palisades. They have six kids--six!--two of whom live at home. One of their children, Madalena, is close to Margaux's and I's age so she told us she would take us out that weekend.
The following day, we explored the city a bit, getting completely lost trying to make our way to the Atocha, which is Madrid's railway station. Why were we so eager to get to a train station after our hectic day of travel? you might ask. The reason is this:
Those crazy Spaniards have put an entire tropical garden inside the train station! We weren't able to walk through it when we were there, but it was still really cool to look at.After the Atocha, we made our way to the infamous Prado Museum to get our fill of the classics for our trip. For those of you who don't know, the Prado is pretty much like the Louvre or the Met of Spain. It contains thousands of artworks, such as Hieronymous Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights, Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas, and tons of Goya, including The Third of May, 1808, his famous anti-war painting. I took a class about Spanish and Portuguese art at GW two semesters ago, and it was amazing to get to see all the works I studied up close and personal!
That night, Madalena and her friends took us to a Mexican restaurant, a bar, and an underground club...needless to say, after a night out "Madrid style," it was difficult for us to get up in the morning!
However, we managed to drag ourselves to the Reina Sofía, the modern art equivalent of the Prado, and the museum that houses Picasso's Guernica. We had a great time just meandering around the exhibits and taking everything in. We weren't allowed to photograph Guernica, but I managed to get a shot of one of the paintings he did in preparation, which was my favorite:
After the museum, we gave Madrid nightlife round two a shot, but it was tragically cut short when we were in line at a club, only to be informed that the entry fee was 20 euros! I'm sorry, but no club, no matter how amazing it might be, is worth almost 40 dollars--just to get in the door!The next day was our last day, so we packed it full of activities. We started out at the Thyssen-Bornemisza art museum, which is the private collection of a wealthy elevator magnate who is married to a Spanish ex-beauty queen. I highly recommend this museum for anyone who goes to Madrid. It is not as overwhelming as the Prado and the Reina Sofía, and it has a wonderful mix of all kinds of art, from Renaissance to Impressionist to contemporary. We both loved it, and it was conveniently raining during the time we were in the museum, and then stopped as soon as we came out.
We then made our way to the Palacio Real, or the Royal Palace of Spain (see above). It was absolutely beautiful. We were going to take a tour of it, but it was not open :( We walked up a ways to the Templo de Debod, which is an Egyptian temple, discovered in the Valley of the Kings, that the Egyptian government had moved to Madrid, brick by brick, as a gift of appreciation to the Spanish government. Pretty cool!
The Communications Palace along Paseo de CastellanaOur next stop was the Basilica de San Francisco El Grande. Although we couldn't go inside, we stood on the steps and marveled at the huge dome of the church, which is bigger than St. Paul's in London! After that, we wandered around the medieval part of Madrid for a while, stopping in a little plaza called Plaza de la Paja for a quick cup of tea.
Due to our 7:30 AM flight, we didn't get the chance to go out again that night, but instead stayed in and talked with the family we were staying with. They were so sweet to us and a kind of reminder of home since we were able to speak English with them all weekend.
I'm off to film class right now, and I am leaving for the Basque Country (San Sebastián and Bilbao) tomorrow morning for a weekend trip! I promise a quicker blog post next week.
Lots of love,
Kelsey
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