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Published: December 15th 2006
Parque Oeste
My favorite place in Madrid, and perhaps the most relaxing place in Europe.Oh how I love you Madrid! The people, the weather, the fountains...the chupitos. I traveled to Madrid to study Spanish and discovered an entire culture surrounded around all the things I love...talking and meeting with friends, enjoying good food and dancing. Que bueno!
Sure, I learned a little bit of espanol, but more importantly I learned about a completely different culture, which turned out to be not so different in the end...
This was also the moment I decided I must learn more languages. My friend and I hung out with a group of guys from Senegal and Nigeria and was astonished at their vast knowledge of languages, and became utterly jealous. And yes, these boys were the best dancers in the club, and thus we were attracted to them. Apart from the vibrant nightlife, it was incredible to be part of a culture with such a rich history. Turning the corner and seeing castles and palaces was inspiring. My appreciation of architecture (which is completely a biproduct of hanging out with my dad) definitly expanded being around such old, beautiful buildings.
Museums that are a must see in Madrid: The Prado, the Thyssen and the Reina Sofia (only because of
Bora Bora
Free tapas with exotic mixed drinks.
Gwen and I with the girls... Picasso's Guernica). If you are at all interested in Spanish artists all these museums are orgasmically fulfilling. I also went to museum of anthropology which was okay...I am the person at the museum that gets yelled at for touching the sculptures (I like textures) so it was exciting for me to graze past the sculptures dated tens and thousands of years old. But the best musuem by far was the Prado, which is free to everyone on Sundays and discounted momentously for students...how awesome is that! Also, Picasso's Guernica is soooooo worth it, especially if you have studied it.
Other points of interest in the city: the parks, the fountains and the shopping. Everyone talks about going to Parque Retiro (a huge centrally located park) which is cool, but there are definitly other exciting things to see. My favorite park, and the one that most of my homework was written in was Parque Oeste. This park is best known for Dedod, an Egyptian gift to the city (see picture). Also, there are great parks scattered everywhere in the city, which was a fabulous surprise for such a large city. (Another random surprise was finding cheap internet at cyber cafes.) The
The Bull Fight
Gwen and I at the Bull Fight. It was sad and we were cheering for the bulls, unfortunately they never win. fountains are great, and since its quite warm its nice that the city allows people to dangle their feet in and relax. Of course, the shopping is great! I heard rumor of this prior, and brought a half-empty suitcase. Not only do you gain a new wardrobe completely different from the Gap and Old Navy kids in your neighborhood but you also begin to fit in while you are traveling around the country.
Highlights from the trip are best described by the pictures.
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