Madrid — El Escorial — Toledo
For those of you following along, congrats! You get to hear from me twice in one week! Yesterday we finished up our time in Madrid, our first major metropolitan city of the trip. While still surrounded by hanging legs of ham, Madrid is very different from Seville and Granada. The traffic is crazy (leaving the airport, the cars in the roundabout seemed to have no comprehension of what a lane was), the streets are wide, and there are always people in the street — except when I got up early for Mass or to get to the airport. The pace of life here is much faster than the other Spanish cities we have visited, but Matthew and I still found plenty of time to wander around and enjoy ourselves.
Our first day in Madrid we went to the Prado Museum, a very large museum filled with paintings and sculptures primarily from Spanish artists. I enjoyed seeing a lot of the paintings I had learned about in Spanish class again (Las Meninas!) and I appreciated knowing the background many of the artists we saw (Goya, Greco, etc). That being said, there is only so much fine art I can take in one day, and the 6 hours we spent in the Prado was about my limit. In order to make the experience more of a game, I decided to cross off each room on the map as we looked through it, and I made it our goal to see all of the paintings that the museum had listed as “masterpieces”. Having a goal (and being able to see our progress to the end), definitely made the time go faster :). All in all, we really enjoyed the Prado and now I am looking forward to the Louvre later on (though maybe not for 6 hours).
Matt and I spent a day wandering around Madrid, stoping at the Plaza de España to see Don Quijote (famous Spanish literary character — picture 1) and visiting the Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol, where Kilometer 0 (geographical center of Spain) is located (picture 2). We ended the day walking around the Retiro park (picture 3 and 4). Our wandering days are some of my favorites, and this one was no exception as we filled it with calamari sandwiches, churros con chocolate, and helado — I love helado :).
Besides all of the touristy stuff, we also did quite a bit off the beaten path. We lucked out that Plaza Mayor was celebrating is 400th birthday while we were there, and we were able to see a light show picturing the history of the square from its beginning as a hunting pond to the flourishing city hub it is today. Also by chance, we stumbled upon a military demonstration/parade happening at the Royal Palace. The military from 2 Spanish cities in Morocco were at the Palace and were marching around the courtyard in what we assumed was practice for an event coming later that evening (picture 1). The armed soldiers were accompanied by a military band, complete with a flügel, that led them around the square and down the parade route. Probably the most “local” activity of the trip was grabbing a drink on the roof of the Circuio de Bellas Artes building with an old tour guide friend, Whitney. With fantastic views of the city, discussion of Spain and professional school (Whitney is going to Med School in the fall), and glasses of wine, it was a great night (pictures 2 and 3).
While staying in Madrid, we took two excursions to nearby cities. The first was to El Escorial, where we toured the basilica and palace used by the Bourbon and Habsburg dynasties. We wandered down to the crypts, where the remains of the royal families are held. There is a separate room that leads to the final resting place for the kings and queens of Spain. It is majestic, somewhat creepy, but most interestingly, full — meaning they are not sure where the current king and queen will be laid to rest. Good thing they are young so they have some time to figure it out.
The second day trip brought us to Toledo. The entire city of Toledo is a World Heritage Site, so Matt and I spent quite a bit of time just walking around and seeing the sights. We saw the oldest synagogue in Spain (picture 1), and hiked around a gorge to find the best views of the city (picture 3). We ended our day by walking along the river Tajo, taking in the city’s beauty and watching our step count go up and up. (If you are going to be walking a ton, you might as well set a goal. That way when you make a wrong turn or your feet hurt — both of which happen often — you can go “well, at least we are getting some good steps!”)
We had a great time in Madrid and enjoyed fantastic weather. Continuing in that trend, we made it to Lisbon yesterday and were greeted with the warmest temperatures yet! We will be here in Lisbon for a few more days and then off to Barcelona before heading south to Morocco. 2 weeks down, 13(ish) to go!
Peace, Love, and Blue Skies,
Kelsey
