Madrid!

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The study abroad program had organized an excursion to Madrid for this past weekend. We left early Friday morning via bus. It had been rainy all week in Malaga so the 6 hour long bus ride was melancholic, periods of drizzle interspersed with random sunny spots. The countryside was beautiful, we passed through all kinds of terrain. I liked the mountains the best, although the goats in the prairies were quite amusing. I napped for part of the time... I knew I had a packed weekend ahead of me.

Once we arrived in Madrid we immediately took the metro to our hostel, which was in the center of the city. More like a hotel, we divided up into groups of 3 for our room assignments. As usual, Amanda and Jamie and I roomed together. We went exploring until dinner, which was at an Italian buffet. Needless to say, we all ate too much and didn't make it anywhere later that night.

Saturday we grabbed our coffee and croissants and headed towards the historical part of the city to check out the Madrid 'de los Austrias' and the Madrid 'de los Borbones'. After some strolling and picture taking we ventured on to the Palacio Real. Even the walk towards the Royal Palace was beautiful. As soon as I stepped off the metro, or rather climbed up the stairs out of the metro station, I fell in love with the city.

Madrid might be just another European capital to some people, but to me it felt so incredibly comfortable to be there. Just like Berlin felt like a second (third?) home when I was there last summer, Madrid (even for the short time that I visited) felt very welcoming. It made me realize how different Málaga is... Málaga is a Mediterranean town, it's surrounded by rural areas. Although the Costa del Sol attracts a lot of tourism, I always feel like the odd one out in town - people staring, etc. Granted, I am a giant blond in comparison to the local people...but Málaga is a very sheltered town, I want to say. There's not much diversity when you're walking down the street. Madrid was a breath of fresh air, literally as well. It's a very clean city (unlike Málaga) and there was definitely less smoking than back home in Málaga. People picked up after their dogs and bothered to throw away their trash. It was very interesting to be in a big city again, after having grown accustomed to the coast life.

The Royal Palace... in continuation... was fascinating. The garden outside of it was French-style - very neat trimmings of the trees and a labyrinth of bushes. We had warm, sunny weather and we were all just soaking it in. The exterior of the palace was breathtaking... we weren't allowed to take pictures of the interior but we had a guided tour that explained everything. Apparently it's the largest royal palace in western Europe and has over 2,800 rooms! It's officially where the royal family resides, but they live in a smaller palace on the outskirts of Madrid. I was pretty much flabbergasted by all the detail and the wealth of the palace... there was an overwhelming amount to look at.

After lunch we strolled through the "Parque del Retiro" which was very relaxing. We took our time people-watching at the lake and listening to the random drummers who had set up camp nearby. The lavender trees were in full bloom and it was so blissful I didn't want to leave. But we continued on to visit the "Museo Reina Sofia" where we saw some of Picasso's art (the famous Guernica - I was astonished at the size of the painting... it literally filled an entire wall) and Salvador Dalí (one of my favorite artists, I could stare at his work for hours).

Sunday we visited the "Museo del Prado" where we saw lots of older artwork (12th - 19th century). Among others we got to see artwork by Bosch (el Bosco here), Velázquez, Rembrandt, and Goya. It was really cool to see artwork like that in person because I've only ever seen it in textbooks. I'm really happy I got the opportunity to see so much while I was in Madrid. Before heading back on the bus we lunched at a Cuban restaurant to enjoy some 'international' culture before leaving the big city.

Overall it was a busy and exhausting weekend but it was well worth it. I am going to come back to Madrid...

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