I have crossed the pond. I would like to know who began referring to the Atlantic as a pond, because for whatever reason, it is a perfectly amusing and ironic way to describe the staggering cultural barriers and volumes of water one must cross when traveling between the United States and Europe.
Clockwise from top; quintessentially European architecture, the view from our hotel window, and the unique ceiling in Madrid-Barajas airport (sorry but DIA's tent mountains have nothing on MAD). By some stroke of fate my plane to Miami was chock full of professional athletes who play soccer for Honduras' misleadingly named Real España, who were returning from a match against the Colorado Rapids. I sat between two of them (chicos guapos) and by the end of the flight, everyone within a two seat radius was helping me with my Spanish review packet, laid out on my tray table. While they didn't speak much English and I was embarrassed by my broken Spanish, somehow we managed to communicate and share erratic, yet somehow purposeful conversation. This is my primary goal for studying abroad in Spain; not just to learn the language, but to learn to connect with and communicate with people on a deeper level.
Madrid is so vivid. Pictured above, La Plaza Mayor in the capital city, graffiti in a doorway, a crown above Plaza Mayor, and the Sith invade Spain. At two in the morning I can still hear people streaming through the cobblestone streets below my hotel window.
This is La Catedral Almudena, late in the evening. I didn't have my camera when we visited during the day, but while getting lost in the city that night, I found myself back here. Although it is exhausting, I'm glad we're having four days of orientation in Madrid; staying busy visiting monuments helps to distract me from the jet lag and homesickness that I know are swimming just below the surface of my excitement. Thus far we have visited the Royal Palace, the world famous Prado Museum, the Plaza Mayor, and still have had plenty of free time to explore the city independently. Today, I braved the metro for a quick trip to the Museo Reina Sofía, where Picasso's Guernica is housed, considered one of the most important paintings of the 20th Century.
Statue in the Plaza Puerta de Sol, and the sixth story view from my room in the Hotel Moderno. I am in love with all of the windows here, like pores for letting the city breathe. These glass structures built over the balconies are also particularly elegant for catching the sun.
Entrance to the metro from Puerta del Sol (in front of the capital building), the beautiful staircase in Hotel Moderno, and a statue of the Virgin and child outside a church I happened upon somewhere deep in the labyrinth of Madrid's city streets. Art and history are intercalated into the vibrancy of modern life here. I think I could wander through Madrid for years and still make new discoveries.
It's a five hour bus ride to Granada tomorrow, and while I have loved getting to know Madrid, I am so excited to meet my family, to arrive in my host city, and stop living out of a suitcase!
Hasta pronto,
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