Well, after 25 hours of traveling and some serious time zone crossing I finally made it to España! It is the end of my second full day in Madrid and I can hardly believe how much we have done. I arrived on Sunday morning around 7 a.m. and was lucky enough to have two girls next to me on my flight that are part of my program. It was nice to kick-start my trip knowing a couple of people. We were greeted by our program director then bussed to our hotel in El Centro Madrid. Sunday night we took a short walk led by our director around La puerta del sol and la plaza mayor, which brought back memories of when I was here four years ago. We even stood at the center most point of Spain (0 degrees), which is in La puerta del sol.
The center most point of Spain
We were treated to dinner at a quant little restaurant in walking distance from our hotel. It was fun getting to know everyone despite the jet-lag. There are more than 70 people in my program from all over the U.S. Oddly enough, I made some sort of connection with more than half of them. It's a small world even on the other side of it. The dinner seemed pretty American-ized with a goat cheese salad, chicken and french fries, but it was still delicious.
First course: Goat cheese salad with olive oil dressing. Yum!
The next morning we met for breakfast in the hotel lobby before heading to the Palacio Royal. Anyone who knows me knows that breakfast is my favorite meal, and this continental breakfast was to die for. Unlike customary Spanish breakfasts, there was an abundance of food. I had fresh fruit, cereal, toast with Spain’s version of Nutella (awesome) and coffee.
El desayuno
My roommates Meri and Emma. Meri is from Vermont and Emma is from New Jersey.
Then we headed to the Palacio Royal and although I had been there before, we had one of the best tours I’ve ever had. Our tour guide led us through 32 rooms of the palace and told stories in Spanish about the King and Queen. Although the King and Queen don't currently live there, she said at one point more than 3,000 people lived in the palace! Unfortunately, cameras weren’t allowed so we were only allowed to take pictures outside.
El Palacio Royal
A small group of us later ventured off in search of some TAPAS. For those who don’t know, tapas are like appetizers and are a huge part of the Spanish culture. Most tapas are free with the purchase of a drink (cerveza or sangria) and are truly my favorite thing about the culture. My friend and I split a plate of mini bocadillos (sandwiches) and cervezas for only 4 euros each.
TAPAS! Bocadillos y cerveza
Today we visited El Escorial, which is an old translation for “ashes”. It’s a Monastery up in the mountains about 45 minutes from Madrid and was built in the 1500’s. It’s now a beautiful church, tourist attraction and a boarding school for young boys. During our tour we heard little kids screaming and playing through the walls but never did see them…it was a bit creepy! We even saw the tombs of ancient Spanish kings and queens. The best part about the tours aside from the history was the ability to listen to the native tour guides speak 100 percent Spanish and understand them. Even after two days I feel like my comprehension level has gone up so much. It’s definitely a beautiful thing.
El Escorial
Back of El Escorial
We grabbed some quick bocadillios at a local place called "El Museo de Jamón" near our hotel for lunch. The entire meal (cerveza included) only cost 2 euros! (about $3). The best part is, getting a cerveza with your bocadillio is the same price as getting a coke. Salud!
Bocadillo de jamón y cerveza
Museo de jamón
Tonight will be our first night out (last night in Madrid) and then we head to Toledo tomorrow morning. After Toledo we get to meet our host families, which is the most exciting part! I will post more about that later this week. Ciao!
