Off the Old Continent

Hello loyal followers! I'm apologize for not updating in a few days, but it has certainly been busy here. We are now in London in the UK! I'll post a separate blog entry for London after this Madrid entry.


On our last day in Madrid, after our churros con chocolate (mmm), we went over to the Temple of Debob. This is a real Egyptian temple, exported to Spain for the country's assistance in a Nile River Flood in the late 20th century. After hopping on the metro through Plaza de España, we went to the Reina Sofia Museum. This former hospital holds many modern Spanish and European works, including Picasso's famous Guernica (pictured below). The museum is impressive in it's own architecture, and the glass walls and elevator banks provide spectacular views of the city.


We dined at a traditional Hispano-latin american restaurant for dinner and hit the town for just a small taste of Madrid night life. On Friday, we had a very early wakeup call for our flight to London. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed by more than 4 hours, and we did not land until 5pm in London. After arriving at Gatwick Airport, we had to go through customs (since the UK is not in the free European passport zone).

A long train ride and a few transfers on the tube (London underground subway) later, we arrived at our London hotel. Our room is 6 floors up without a lift (elevator), so it's a bit of a trek anytime we go up or down. Before doing a little laundry and catching up on some sleep after a long travel day, we went to Westminster at night to see Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey by moonlight. Read the next blog post for more of our British adventures!

The New York City of Spain

With over 5 million people and lots of major streets full of traffic, some people refer to Madrid as the "New York City of Spain" (or Europe for that matter. The public transportation system is intricate, and the sidewalks are full of people in Madrid. It is a very different feeling than Barcelona here. There are older buildings with lots of history, and Madrid is much more of the Spain one would expect.


Our first full day in the city was full of tourist sights. We started our day at the Catedral de la Almudena, a large church that faces the Royal Palace. Construction lasted for almost 100 years, and it was only completed in the last 20. Next, we moved on to the Palacio Real, where many of the great kings of Spain lived up until the 20th century. Today it is a museum and open for tours. Luckily it was only 3.50 euros for students, and so far this is the only tourist sight that we have had to pay for in Madrid!


After lunch at a cervezeria (beer and food cafe), we went to Park El Retiro. This picturesque park in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city is home to a large lake where you can paddle boat. Stephen and I took a few laps around the lake, and below is a picture of a large monument at the center. In the evening, we took advantage of free entrance 2 hours before closing at the Museo del Prado, the Spanish Louvre. We saw some of the works of El Greco, Goya, and Velasquez...for free! After dinner, we we walked through some neighborhoods in Chechua before settling in at a pub for a few hours.


Today is our last day in Madrid. We started off the morning - or mid-afternoon I should say - with wonderful and inexpensive churros con chocolate. Off to see more sights of Madrid today!

BCN --> MAD

On Sunday, we spent the whole day at the beach in Barcelona. The sun was bright, the water was blue, and the people were out vacationing in droves. It's not quite the same experience as a Florida beach, but the Mediterranean provides enough sun and sand for an entire day of fun. We had dinner at a small street café for a good price, and we had our first of two large Sangria pitchers for the night. If Spain had a national drink, it would be Sangria. If Sangria had a standard size, it would be pitcher at smallest.


Later that night, Stephen and I returned to the Plaça de Espanya to catch the light and water shower at the Font Màgica. This brilliant display of color and lights took place at the base of the National Art Museum, and it was very difficult to capture its awe in photos. See the pictures below for my best efforts.


On Monday, we trekked up a large hill in Barcelona to see another work of famous architect Gaudi, Park Güell. Situated with a great view of the city, the interesting architecture and design was definitely worth the 200 meter hill climb. Plus the park entrance was free. Later in the day, we stopped for lunch at, where else but, McDonald's. I was really happy because I used French to order my food because the cashier spoke it a little, so I did not have struggle in Catalan. After some light shopping (mostly for the air conditioning in the stores), we made our way to the airport. Our flight to Madrid was over an hour late, the second time so far we've had late departures!


After landing in Madrid, we took the city's clean and efficient metro to our hotel from the airport for just 2 euros. Our hostel is centrally located at the Puerto del Sol in the center of the city. Before calling it a night after a long day, we had a quick bite to eat at a turkish restaurant and finished off a 3 litro tube of sangria. mmm. Off to see the sights in Madrid today, ADIOS!