Madrid Part 1

I know this post is a bit late, but trying to find the words to describe my time in Madrid was a lot harder than I thought it would be. To sum it up, I'd just like to say that Madrid was AMAZING!! I can't get over how beautiful the city is; I've never seen anything like it. I also can't get over how much walking we did! I'm pretty sure we saw enough in one day to satisfy any other tourist for a week; my legs felt like they were going to fall off for two or three days after I got back! Although James may have been disappointed in the number of oohs and ahs I uttered, I was in love with the city as soon as I saw it. I can't even begin to count the number of times my breath was taken away or all I could think to say was "it's so pretty!" I'm actually disappointed in the number of pictures I took, even though there were close to 200. There was so much I wanted to capture, but I knew that pictures could never do it justice and I was honestly too caught up in taking everything in to whip my phone out every two seconds. I really wish I could have stayed longer, but I had my placement exam Monday morning. I also didn't want to overstay my welcome; James and his mom were so sweet and really made me feel at home. :)

The first stop once James picked me up at the bus station was his university, which was beautiful. Coming from CC, I was amazed at how big his campus is! It also has a bit of everything, I was shocked by the number programs it offers. After that mini tour we took the metro to the royal theatre and the palace. I wasn't expecting an hour long tour of the theatre, but it was definitely worth it as soon as I saw the stage. Then, as if that wasn't enough, towards the end of the tour I actually got to see one of the costumes from when they performed the opera Aida! I've never actually seen the opera before, but I love the story and the new musical is what started my love for theatre!

After that tour we made our way across the street to the palace. The gardens, though small, were beautiful. The palace itself was also quite a sight to behold. As strange as some of you may find it, the hallway was actually one of my favorite parts of the palace. As soon as I saw it I felt like I had been taken out of my life and transplanted into Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I seriously felt like I was walking through Pemberley for all of two minutes and I thought I was going to cry from joy! The armory was also pretty cool to look through. They had swords and guns and suits of armor for men, horses, and even dogs! I could have spent forever just in that one section.

The next stop after the palace was la Plaza Mayor. I'm not sure which I like better, the one in Madrid or the one in Salamanca. They're set up the same way, and while there are some differences both are incredibly beautiful! I really don't think I could pick a favorite, even if you made me. After that we saw the point where the four main highways in Spain start, the equivalent of mile marker zero in the states. We stopped in this area to take some pictures and I ended up being photo bombed by Papa Smurf! Imagine my surprise when someone grabbed my arm as I was trying to take a picture and I turned to see a smurf!

We had a brief conversation with the smurf then went on to see the first in a set of three Greek god fountains. The first one we saw was Neptune, god of the sea, and I was quite impressed. I love fountains and I love Greek mythology, so combining the two just took my breath away. I took my time admiring Neptune then continued on to the Prado museum. We’d planned on going inside, but after such extensive tours of the theatre and palace I wasn’t exactly up for one more. We did hang out there for a few minutes, though, so I could take it in from the outside. This is where the unthinkable happened; I got James to take a picture with me! I was quite proud of myself, considering he hates having his picture taken. (James, if you try to downplay this or take away from my sense of accomplishment we’re gonna have some issues. :P)

Once I was satisfied that we had a good picture together we went across the street to see Apollo. This was the least impressive of the three fountains, but I still really liked it. Plus, as James told me, it’s just not the same if you don’t see the whole set. After that is was just a short walk to Cibeles, the last of the Greek god fountains and the one where Real Madrid celebrates their victories. I thought Neptune was impressive, but Cibeles was way better! We definitely saved the best for last, and I’m so glad we did! I’m pretty sure I managed to get a picture from every angle of this plaza, but it was far too pretty not to go picture crazy.

In the midst of our picture frenzy James happened to notice a group of people standing on top of a tower on one of the buildings. He had the bright idea to ask about going up there and discovered it was actually pretty cheap, but the next group wouldn’t be allowed up until 6:30. I have no idea what time it was when we bought our ticket, but I remember it being enough time for us to do some more exploring. We happened upon a book sale, and of course I had to stop and check it out. I found a three volume set of Shakespeare’s plays in Spanish, Alice in Wonderland in Spanish, and a collection of Pablo Neruda’s poems. You have no idea how hard it was to say no to any of those books (well, maybe if you’re an English major you do) but I agonized over them for quite a while. This is where James made his big mistake; he told me I could spend five more minutes looking at books when I told him we could leave. My fellow English majors should understand, you NEVER tell us we have five minutes to look at books. Five turned into 10, and I would have been there even longer if he hadn’t practically drug me away saying we were late to go up the tower. And this is where I made my mistake; while I was busy agonizing over books I never bought, I was missing out on my allotted time to look out across the whole city. I instantly regretted spending those extra few minutes at the book sale as soon as I got my first glimpse from the tower. I can honestly say that my time spent up there was one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole trip. The view was absolutely gorgeous with the city sprawling out beneath us and the sun beginning to sink behind the mountains. I really felt at peace up there, and it’s one of two places where I could have easily spent my entire weekend. I definitely think it’s worth going back.

There's a lot more to talk about, but I feel like this post is getting too long and someone is a bit anxious to get his seven and a half minutes of fame. So I figured I'd go ahead and post what I have and I'll crank out a second post about the rest of my trip by the end of the weekend.