Monday, November 19, 2012

Little Bit of Madrid


Trip with Interest Group CIEE

Being back in Madrid felt wonderful. I had a great feeling of familiarity and comfort being there. The people have always treated me very well and the fact that there is always something going on at every hour of the day. I love this city. Hope to come back one day in my life to work at the US Embassy for a couple of years, so check out my future home! 



Getting ready for Xmas the is the Plaza Mayor one of my favorite spots in Madrid, last time I was in Madrid with SMH I would just sit next to this statue and watch Flamenco dancers at night, would be perfect weather, everyone out, just amazing vibe




yep, jumping on the back of a statue does hurt, if anyone was thinking of trying it





was super excited to be here, I had always passed by this church but never went in, very beautiful and colorful. Catedral de la Almudena



The Palace my other favorite place in Madrid sooo beautiful another place I finally got to go into, I made it a point to go inside




where you can have dinner at the opera, a plate of cheese is 18 euro, to give you an idea of the prices haha









inside the opera, we usually are not allowed to go in while they are practicing but the lady liked us, she also got us into the box where the queen sits, there is only one person who has a key to open the door to that box so she would open the main door, once everyone was in she would lock it and then open the door to the box and hold it open till we were all out and then lock it back up again before she let us out from the main door, erin (the blind girl I wrote about in Granada) got to sit in the queens seat, she absolutely loved it, no one is allowed to sit there, like ever. 



outside of the Prado Museum, had to get a pic here, this is exactly where I had a picture with SMH when I was last here it was so cool because I remembered where I was where everything was from three years ago, like to have that feeling in a city in Europe was just way cool, can't imagine how it's going to be when I visit Sevilla again, Sevilla is already my home, feels more like a home to me than Stockton.



in the middle of a park


rachel, ellie,alison, temi, linnea and juan, pretty great group


at el sol, basically the "time square" of madrid



you don't wana know the literal meaning, but basically it means I have had it up to here with you






at the palace we had some free time during the trip so everyone went to the park, I got right off the metro, ran up the stairs and straight to the palace, got there 10 minutes before they stopped selling tickets, my other friends got there a minute late and couldn't get in, I was stoked, had always wanted to see it. There wasn't much to see inside because a lot of it was blocked off but it really is an incredible palace, it is set up as if the royal family still lives there. There is a huge dining area with a 15 foot table for whenever they have royal or political guests. 











church where royal family got married, right across the street from the palace



getting wedding pictures in the park next to the palace, this park
"Jardines de Sabatini" literally my top place in Madrid when I was there with SMH I spent so much time here it is so relaxing and beautiful








they love their ham- they even made a museum for it



Saw the most amazing show of my life in Madrid. A dance/ play. Incredible incredible special affects, dancing, singing like I can't even explain how amazing it was, so many people cried and didn't really know why it was just so powerful with so many different stories and ways to interpret what was going on. Juan tried to explain the family dynamic to me which he did very well, still, just mind boggling. 





crepe


french beer that is absolutely delish


at the kapital in madrid, 7 story club 



me and little dess, the best club I have ever been to by far the best dj i have ever heard, place was packed until closing time, people really go around the metro times, metro closes at 1:30 so thats when you get on and head to the club, metro opens back up at 6 AM so thats what's what time the club closes and you head home, haha Spaniards are crazy!


at another contemporary art museum, lots of cool stuff











Monday, November 12, 2012

Córdoba With Pedro









In front of the mezquita


bridge in back of mezquita


inside, I saw these arches in my history books, pretty cool




Roman Catholic part of the church







Very Islamic/Muslim








Crazy cool















at the park













Spent a few hours at the church/Mezquita it was huge! and then we had lunch at a place around the corner, I ate a rolled up pork fried thing, fried eggplant also known as overjean, also known as beregenas, haha Pedro teaches me english and spanish, it's pretty sad lol. But yep, me eating meat, I even enjoyed it a little bit, I'm a Sevillana. haha

Next week Madrid!!