Bienvinidos!!! (Welcome!)
Hola mis amigos! After my crazy first week here in Spain, I thought it was about time to update you all on everything that has gone down so far! We arrived in Madrid a day late (long story short we had an emergency landing in Bordeaux, France and had to stay overnight in a hotel until the next flight out to Madrid) and were whisked away to see our apartment! We live in the barrio (neighborhood) Arganzuela which is a pretty residential area with a lot of families and elderly couples. There are a few restaurants and cafes nearby along with the essential grocery and convenience stores. In Madrid, public transportation is heavily used and is easy to access, similar to the CTA in Chicago! On our first night we ventured onto the metro to head into Sol, the city center of Madrid, for our first tapas experience! Tapas here in Madrid range from croquetas, fried cheese and Spanish ham balls, to tiny finger sized baguette sandwiches called montados (so delicious and so cheap)! Spaniards typically eat smaller breakfasts than back home in the US, a piece of toast, a cup of yogurt or even a piece of fruit. They have a tiny snack during mid morning and then lunch, which is their biggest meal. At 2pm most stores and businesses close for a siesta, meaning coffee break! Dinner doesn’t normally begin until 9pm (my stomach is still getting used to this new meal time…) and many people often eat later than that! I’ve quickly built up a passionate love for Spanish food that no boy could ever replace, trust me, if you had jamon (Spanish ham) you would completely feel the same way too.
A few stops away on the metro is a beautiful park called Parque de el Retiro. Here, people come to picnic, workout, row boats and even visit the Palacio de Cristal! The Palacio de Cristal is a beautiful glass building that literally sparkles in the sun. It was created in 1887 to house exotic flora and fauna as part of an exhibition. Today, the Palacio de Cristal is a popular tourist spot, perfect for shameless selfies and solo pics… 😉 From here we headed over to the monument to Alfonso XII which is really just a big ole’ pond with a huge monument (as seen in my picture below!). Here, people are able to rent row boats and sail around for as long as they want. We weren’t able to snag a boat because it was a busy Sunday afternoon and it seemed like the whole city of Madrid had plans to row boats too!
This past weekend we were able to participate on a program wide field trip to the beautiful city of Segovia. Located about 45 minutes from Madrid, Segovia embodies everything beautiful about Spain. From the tiny cafes, to the beautiful castle, Segovia truly has my heart! We began our day at the Alcazar de Segovia, a masterpiece of a castle that started out as a humble fortress. The tour of the castle was breathtaking, room after room filled with beautiful artwork and so much history. In 1862, the castle survived a terrible fire that destroyed almost the entire interior; since then (thankfully) it has been partially restored. The ceilings were so intricately detailed I could barely look away from them! My favorite part of the tour was when we had to trek (I’m not even being dramatic the stairs were a pain to climb I was #heavybreathing the whole way) to the top of the tower which has an amazing 360 degree view of the city. The pictures do not do the castle justice!
From there we headed down to the cathedral square where we were able to explore on our own for a bit. Full of tiny alleys that house the sweetest shops, we stumbled upon a quaint café and had café con leches (half coffee half milk) and delicious pastries. After about an hour or so of relaxing and souvenir shopping, we were on our way to lunch! For our first course I decided to try gazpacho, a cold vegetable soup that was surprisingly refreshing. Then, it was time for our main course…in Segovia, El Cochinillo (suckling pig) is a city tradition and delicacy. The pig is tender and delicious served with a tasty gravy, my mouth is water just thinking about it! They cut up the pig and serve it in rather large portions (hooves and ears included) like the picture shown below. We finished our meal with a sweet cake that tasted just like Christmas with a scoop of ice cream. 10/10 would recommend trying el Cochinillo if you are ever in Segovia!
Our last stop of the day was to the beautiful summer palace of King Felipe V and his successors called La Granja de San Ildefonso. Full of lush greenery and colorful flowers, la Granja has a calm and relaxing feel that made me want to lie out in the sun and take a snooze! Instead, we opted to try out the maze and see who could finish it fastest. After splitting up it was only a matter of minutes before my group realized there was no way out and we were doomed to stay trapped forever. Thankfully, someone had figured out how to read the map and we finally navigated our way out, 25 minutes later. Finally with one last picture, we were on the bus and on our way back home to Madrid, leaving the beautiful city of Segovia behind.
That seems to wrap up my first week in Madrid, a lot of good food, fun times with new friends, and a new desire to explore a new city (not to mention back to studying because this is STUDY abroad and not just abroad…as our teacher says!) But until next time, adios my friends!!!