I can’t believe I did this!

Studying abroad was the easiest and toughest decision I have ever made. The opportunity to live in another country and travel around Europe was too good to pass up but I definitely worried that I would miss my family, friends, and Loyola too much.
With all the emotions I can think of spinning around in my head I boarded my flight to Madrid on September 3rd. I arrived in Madrid on the morning of the 4th where I met all 40 students in my USAC program. By the airport Madrid looks like a desert and that made me very nervous at the possibility of spending four months in a place like Arizona. I proceeded to eat and not sleep for another 8 hours to try and beat jet lag. Let’s just say those two days felt like infinity.

I have been in Madrid now for 1 week. I met my host family, toured the city, and found my school, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. The view from my bedroom or habitación in Spanish, is unbelievable. I live in North East Madrid about 35 minutes from downtown and from my school. My host family is comprised of Paloma aka my “host mom” and her 23 year old son Alex. Both have been incredibly welcoming and a delight to talk to.

The first full day in Madrid my program divided us into two groups; those that wanted a tour of the city in English and those that wanted to tour in Spanish. I chose the smallest group and not to my surprise that was the group directed in Spanish. My tour guide, Paco, directed my small group through the winding streets of downtown Madrid. Don’t look for traffic lights with the names of streets though, in Madrid street names are painted on tiles and on the buildings at intersections. We passed restaurants with people outside enjoying their café con leche and eating small pastries without a care in the world. We walked through El Mercado de San Martin. Inside this market there are many stations. Some pastries, some ice cream, ham, tapas, small plates and of course an assortment of wines, beers, and sangria. In the center of the market there are tables for customers to enjoy their small bites during lunch at 2 or 3 in the afternoon. After the market we made our way to Puerta del Sol, literally translated as the Door of the Sun. This is a central location of Madrid and the 0 Km marker of the city. If you were to walk anywhere form this point you would start at 0. After Puerta del Sol we ventured to Plaza Mayor. Plaza Mayor, whose construction was ordered by Philip II, is originally home to the positions of the market and the center for entertainment. Today it still holds it’s grasp as the center of entertainment in the city, especially around Christmas time.

After Plaza Mayor we visited the Royal Palace, Palacio Real. This has probably   been my favorite part of the trip so far. I have this very normal, totally ridiculous obsession with royal families. When the royal baby was born my social media was all over that. Anyways going to El Palacio Real was very exciting. The palace itself is no longer home to the Spanish royal family but a museum and offices now. There are 2, 800 rooms in the palace and we only saw about 12-15 of them on the tour. Felipe V, the first Bourbon king, commissioned the Italian architect Francesco Sabatini and Giambattista Sacchetti to build the palace after the fire that destroyed the palace in 1764. It was to model the Palace of Versailles. Walking into the Palace and seeing the frescos on the ceiling ever every room, including the entry way was breathtaking. Every room had vibrant colors of reds, greens, blues, golds, and much more. We saw the throne room, the billiard room, the room that was just for walking through to another room. Yes, I know we usually think of that as a hall way but this was an actual room with chairs, a table, chandeliers, the whole 9 yards. Sadly, visitors are not allowed to take pictures in the palace but I will share a picture of the front of the palace!

Tomorrow is the first day of class and the beginning of an amazing experience! I can’t wait to share with all of you my adventures in Spain and more!