Submitted by Meghan Noury on the 2012 fall semester program in Granada, Spain…
What did I do this weekend? Glad you asked! I went to visit Escorial, Madrid, and Toledo! no big deal.
The group left BRIGHT and early, and when I say bright I mean still dark outside, Friday morning on our bus on our first program trip! Our first stop was actually a little north of Madrid- to the very famous, very impressive, Escorial. El Escorial is actually a little pueblo (town) on top of a mini mountain: a huge castle that used to be home to the Spanish royalty, a monastery; a museum; and now even a school! The only bad thing? It started to rain. It was the first sight of autumn since we’ve arrived, and the rain was not pleasant, but in my personal opinion I thought it suited this massive palace.
Once we got to Madrid, we definitely did not let the rain get us down. First stop? STARBUCKS! Yes, we are poor, deprived Americans that do not have much mainstream food in Granada, so when we get to this big metro city, we definitely take advantage. Then we took a short walking tour of some of the major areas/plazas. Madrid is HUGE! Not like my quaint Granada. And after a fun filled weekend there, I realized that 1. It is such a fun city! 2. I would DEFINITELY want to visit again because I did not get to see half of the city, and 3. I definitely am happy that I study in Granada rather than in a big place like Madrid… Granada, you have my heart.
Saturday was a jam packed day! We visited the Palacio Real, aka, the Royal Family’s home. Yeah, it’s even bigger in person. My favorite room? The Porcelain Room! There were dozens of rooms, all with a purpose, and all beyond extravagant. They had a dinner table for around 50, a throne room, 20 different living rooms… the coolest (nerdiest) thing about it? EVERYTHING in here is original. It was amazing to see.
We went to two museos (museums) Saturday, that had amazing original Spanish art from people like Dali, Velazquez, and Goya. The second museum, the Reina Sofia had more contemporary art. The coolest thing about the Reina Sofia museum? It holds one of, if not THE most famous painting by Span’s most famous painter, Picasso- Guernica which depicts the Bombing of Guernica by the Germans during the Spanish Civil War… It was SO COOL. Except of course you cannot take photos, the painting had TWO security guards, and a lot of people were squatting in front of the rope to “interpret” this masterpiece, but if you put your butt on the floor, an alarm goes off. Guess that’s the norm for a painting like Picasso’s.
On our way home we saw first hand “Occupy Madrid… Spanish version”. There are huge manifestaciones/protests going on in the capital of this country right now about reforms, the government, and Spain’s very bad economy. Well, lucky us, our hotel is in the CENTER of the center of Madrid… aka, a block from El Congreso. It was very interesting and educational, and as we got back to our hotel we heard the sounds of the protesters making their way past our hotel screaming, and marching to the stairs of El Congreso. Political Science real life experience, anyone?
Sunday we were on our way home, but made a stop for a short day trip to the city of Toledo. Toledo is…. AMAZING! Very different from Madrid, much much smaller, even smaller than Granada, very homey, filled with great people, medieval style buildings, and an atmosphere that just made you so happy! First stop: a panoramic view of the city. I took so many of the same view, it was hard not to keep snapping shots! Here are a few:
We then went to this very famous craftsman shop that made all sorts of medallions, swords, and crafts that were very medieval in style. We saw how they made different pendants, jewelry, and crazy intricate swords. We then toured the city, saw different plazas, gardens, bridges, the Catedral (because Cathedrals are everywhere in Spain) and a couple of different buildings and monuments. We even got these AMAZING cookies made specially by nuns. Yay for nun cookies!
Our last stop was La Ruta de Don Quijote. Don Quijote is probably one of the most famous literary works… ever. It is a fictional story about a Spaniard who goes on these CRAZY adventures! The book is enormous, so I have only read excerpts in different high school and college classes. Spain loves this character. We stopped at the famous “windmills” which Don Quijote thought were scary giants and fought them. They were pretty! And we stopped at the Don Quijote reststop in the little pueblo below which had very cool knickknacks!
Finally we arrived back in Granada, and I said as we got off the bus “Ah, thank goodness we’re home.” Then realizing what I said, I smiled… this truly is home!