Madrid y Salamanca

Wow, time really does fly when you’re having fun. It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been in Spain for a month and a half and that I have less than 3 months left. These last two weeks, I was able to travel with friends (and classmates) to Madrid and Salamanca.

For those who don’t know, Madrid is the capital of Spain and while there, I was able to visit the Royal Palace (El Palacio Real) as well as two of the most renowned art museums in the world, El Prado y La Reina Sofia.

The Royal Palace

It was amazing to walk through the same building where countless royals have grown-up. Although we weren’t allowed to take pictures, I’ll forever remember walking through the royal halls. Nearly every room had magnificent chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and gorgeous paintings were everywhere. However, I think the best part was seeing the scepter and crown the Spanish kings hold/wear at their coronations.  

La Reina Sofia and El Prado:

El Museo de la Reina Sofia is filled with thousands of works including some by famous Spanish artists including by Miró, Goya, Picasso, and many more. I think my favorite was seeing Guernica by Picasso and his other works that were there. After visiting La Reina Sofia, we then went to El Museo del Prado. I have never seen so many amazing works of art in my life! And they were all at the same place. At the Prado, there are works by Velazquez, Goya, El Greco, Rembrandt, and even “the other Mona Lisa” that was probably painted by DaVinci. Wow, they were all so incredible and I can barely draw flowers!

The second city: Salamanca. Home to beautiful cathedrals, one of the oldest Universities in Europe, a gorgeous Plaza Mayor, a bridge that dates back to the Romans, and places/things important in Spanish literature.  

The first stops were the Cathedrals and the Plaza Mayor. After listening to the bells ring at the monastery, then we went to the two conjoined cathedrals in Salamanca. These cathedrals are both completely different but are actually connected and share a wall. After exploring these cathedrals, we visited the Plaza Mayor, which was absolutely gorgeous, and saw one of the University buildings (the most famous one). Within the architecture of the building, there is a hidden frog and if you are able to find it, it’s said that you will have good luck with your academics and will be able to pass your exams. Hopefully that means I did well on my Geography and Literature quizzes this week! After these buildings, we went to explore the Garden of Melibea (from the story la Celestina which we read in Literature Class), and found the statue from the book Lanzarillo de Tormes (another book read in class).

In general, it was just an excellent day to explore the beautiful sun in such a fantastic city! I even got a little sun-burned! And although seeing all of the architecture was amazing, I think my favorite part was finding a park and going on a teeter-totter with some friends! All-in-all, a fabulous day!

Próxima parada: Toledo