Madrid

We made it to Madrid yesterday around 6pm. After arriving at the airport, we took a taxi to our hostel, which is more like a hotel if you ask me... Good size, nice, clean, private bathroom, TV, window with a blacony and view of Madrid, breakfast (delivered to our room every morning!), free internet, etc. It´s great! Right on the Gran Via, too. The best 60 euros ever spent.

After checking in we headed out to explore the city. I was glad I had been to Madrid before; I remembered a lot of the city and where we were situated. Grace and I wandered the streets, making our way through tourists and Spaniards alike. We decided to get tapas at La Taurina, a great little restaurant right off the Puerta del Sol. Heads of the many bulls killed in the bullfights adorn the walls. There are also paintings on the tile of scenes from some of the most famous bullfights. Afterwards we headed towards Plaza Mayor, one of the city´s most famous spots. It was built in the early 17th Century. It was a great location for people watching. One thing Grace and I really appreciated was that the Spaniards take time to slow down; for example, if there is a street performance you are sure to find a crowd gathered to watch. In the US most people would find no need to stop, and would rather continue on with their tight schedule. We continued our exploration of the city and eventually returned to the hostel on the early side - almost midnight! (The Spaniards sure do stay out late...)

I woke up this morning to a knock on the door - our breakfast was being delivered! We hit the city again at about 9am and headed to El Prado, one of Spain´s most famous museums. It boasts a fine collection of art from across Europe. There we saw Goya, Valasquez, El Greco, Caravaggio, Reubens, Breugal, and many more. The museum was also having an exhibition on the Renaissance, which was quite a treat. After a couple of hours in the museum we were in need of some shopping. We were lucky that it was Sunday and found ourselves gravitating towards El Rastro, the biggest flea market in Europe! It was amazing and super crowded. We grabbed a bite to eat from a restaurant on a small plaza. Next we went to the Royal Palace. What an amazing sight! We couldn´t go inside because there were no more tours for the day, but the exterior shed some light on what must lie inside. We turned in for a bit of a siesta and then headed out again around 9pm. We got a bite to eat and then walked the streets ofMadrid, making sure to enjoy our last night here. We managed to find the Plaza de España, where there is a statue of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Around midnight we started to head back to our hostel once more.

Off to Sevilla by bus in the morning. It should be a six hour ride, putting us into Sevilla around 5pm. There we will stay in a hotel with our study abroad group for three days, and then we move into our homestays. I still haven´t a clue as to what to expect from all this, but I am confident this will be one of the best years of my life.