Mad(rid) About You

Another week, another trip. This time – Madrid! But first, my week in Sevilla.

I was expecting rain for the majority of the week and was pleasantly surprised when the forecast was wrong and instead there was lots of sun! I think the weather is finally starting to take a turn for the better.

On Wednesday a few friends and I went out for tapas since we weren’t going to be around Sevilla this weekend. Afterwards, my friend Alex and I went to an outdoor plaza for a few drinks, where we met the most adorable, older couple from Belgium. They told us that years ago they had an American girl live with them while she was studying abroad, ad she loved Belgium so much that she stayed for 3 years. The couple had just returned from their former student’s wedding in Texas, and are staying in Sevilla for a couple weeks before returning home to Antwerp. I should have pointed out that we talked to them in English because they were nearly fluent, but they were so sweet. They loved hearing about our experience here and were quite jealous that we were here until May. I told them I would be visiting Brussels in March and they were so excited that they asked for my email address so that they could give me advice as to where to visit. I’m still waiting for an email, but I hope to hear from them!

After class on Thursday another friend and I visited the Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Beautiful Art). Nearly all of the art in the museum seemed to be religious art ranging from the 12^th to the 19^th century (don’t quote me on that though). The art came from all over Europe – not just Spanish art. After the museum we treated ourselves to the best ice cream I’ve had in Sevilla thus far – and I’ve had a lot of ice cream. Thursday night was spent packing and getting to bed early to leave early Friday for Madrid!

I went with 3 friends from CIEE and also met up with Thomas, a friend from Fordham while I was there. Thomas is currently studying abroad in London and visited Madrid for the weekend as well. From Sevilla, my friends and I took a high-speed train which cut the usual 6-hour trip to a quick 2 ½ hours. It was a great way to travel there, especially because I got a window seat and was able to enjoy the view. We passed through some beautiful parts of Spain. After arriving on Friday we walked through the Parque de Buen Retiro (which has been called the Central Park of Madrid) and dropping our stuff at the hostel, we explored the area right around our hostel. We were located very close to Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol – both popular areas in the center of Madrid. Here are a few pictures.

Still a little tired from the early train, I didn't take too many pictures in the 'Central Park' of Madrid,' but here's one.

El Oso Y El Madroño - The Bear and the (Madroño) Tree, the symbol of Madrid.

The view from the hostel! Not bad.

Saturday morning we stumbled upon Mercado de San Miguel which was awesome. Here are some pictures, since I don’t think my attempt to describe it would do it justice.

A shot from the outside.

I've gotten used to see this much meat in markets - it's quite normal in Spain!

This is only half of the Market.

At first, I thought these were repulsive. Then, I decided their facial expressions were hilarious. They look so sad!

After this, we headed to the main Cathedral in Madrid (Catedral de Santa María la Real de la Almudena) followed by the Royal Palace. It seems every city in Spain has their own major Cathedral and Palace.

The Cathedral.

A shot of the interior of the Cathedral. I prefer ours in Sevilla.

Because the Royal Palace is so big, it's hard to capture in a photo. This the best I could do.

After a lunch of delicious bocadillos (sandwiches), we headed to Museo Dell Prado – a major museum in Madrid. I was able to see many artworks I studied in my Art History class at Fordham, such as the Third of May by Francisco Goya and Las Meninas by Diego Velásquez. Saturday night we had tapas at a restaurant right near Plaza Mayor, which also ended up being great. One of the best parts of this trip was the food. We usually just picked places that looked cute, which can be risky, but we actually got quite lucky! We ate a lot of potato dishes as well as various types of seafood tapas. After dinner we met up with a few other kids from my program in Sevilla who were also visiting Madrid to go to Kapital – a 7 floor discoteca. It’s one of the most popular discotecas in Madrid, thanks to its sheer size and different music on every floor.

"The Museo del Prado is more important to Spain than the Republic and Monarchy combined." Manuel Azaña

In the Plaza Mayor.

Every Sunday in Madrid there’s an open market in an area of Madrid called El Rastro. The market was huge and seemed to stretch on and on. We didn’t even make it to the end, but found everything from clothes to artwork to perfumes and old watches. I bought a funky, handmade hair clip that I’m really excited to have as a memento of Spain. After the market, we headed back to the Mercado de San Miguel for lunch where we were able to choose from seafood to ham to various bocadillos. Our plan was to go to the other major museum, Museo de la Reina Sofia, after lunch but somehow had gotten our information mixed up and didn’t realize the museum closed at 2:30 on Sundays. It was frustrating because I was anxious to see Guernica, one of Picasso’s most famous paintings, but we tried not to dwell on it since it was an accident. Instead, we walked to the edge of the city to the Templo de Debod. There’s also a pretty cool view of the area surrounding Madrid, which is actually located on a plateau.

The Templo de Debod.

One of my favorite pictures from the trip.

I had to document the snails that I tried!

Sunday night we went to dinner at another tapas bar – one that was recommended in Thomas’s guidebook – and I tried snails! I can’t say I really liked them, but I’m proud of myself for trying. After, we got churros con chocolate – a popular Spanish dessert. Monday morning we had to get up early to catch the train home! It was really nice having Monday off and being able to stay in Madrid an extra night.

Going away for this trip really made me feel like Sevilla is my home now. Although I certainly liked Madrid a lot more than I expected, I really don’t think I could have picked a better city than Sevilla to study in. Madrid is considerably bigger and more modern, which is why I think Sevilla is prettier. It’s very hard to compare the cities too because they are so different, and my feeling is that they both have a lot of culture, but very different types. Madrid is the capital of the country and is home to a lot of famous artwork, but you can’t find authentic flamenco or bull fighting in Madrid like you can in Sevilla. Overall the weekend was a big success, but I’m glad to be back in Sevilla enjoying the warmer weather.

Also, when I got home Ignacia had made a tortilla española for me for lunch. I mentioned to her last week that I had only tried the traditional Spanish dish once but really liked it, and it was really sweet of her to make it for me upon returning to Sevilla! Unfortunately I didn’t see it made nor do I know the recipe – it can vary – but the main ingredients are eggs and potatoes. It’s not uncommon to see a tortilla española made with cheese, jam, or other ingredients. It looks similar to a quiche, but tends to be a bit plainer. I like it because you can have it any time of day – breakfast, lunch or dinner.

This coming weekend I have a bunch of friends from Fordham who are also studying abroad coming to visit! I am so excited to show my friends where I live and for them to see what a beautiful place Sevilla is. 2 of my friends who are coming are currently studying in Alicante, Spain; one is in Barcelona; another in Rome and the last one is coming from Dublin. Hopefully we’ll get good weather and I’ll be a good tour guide!