Submitted by Brianna Ramirez on the 2016 fall semester study abroad program in Granada, Spain…
This particular weekend was very busy and full of amazing experiences. After riding on a bus for five hours, we arrived in Escorial, a little town north of Madrid. This location is where all, except for four, of the Spanish kings and queens were buried. It was a quaint little town with a huge palace where we got to see amazing works of art and the burial site of the royal families.
Later that day, we headed over to Madrid and stopped by our hotel. After dropping off our luggage, we took a walk around the city. It was definitely a change from Granada; it was much bigger and full of tourists. The next day was filled with activities back to back. First, we went to The Congress of Deputies, which is where the Congress and the Senate meet to pass laws and handle government budgets. It was a short tour, but one of my favorites because it had the most relevance to present day politics in Spain.
Next, we headed over to Museo del Prado (Prado Museum) where we saw works by El Greco and Velazquez. My favorite painting which I had been learning about for years now, was Las Meninas. It was so amazing to be able to see it in person, to see the brush strokes and to analyze the different aspects of it. Later, we went to El Palacio Real (Royal Palace), which is currently not occupied by the royal family.
That night, we went to the Reina Sofia (Queen Sofia Art Museum), which has all of Picasso’s work. They even had his sketches hung up on the wall and seeing Guernica was very impressive. I didn’t think it would take up a whole wall so I stood in front of it for a good 20 minutes. They also had very interesting contemporary art paintings and sculptures.
The following day, we left Madrid and visited Toledo. It reminded me a lot of Granada because it was a small town and had a fortress that overlooked the city similar to the Alhambra. During our visit, we went to a synagogue and a cathedral. There were a lot of similarities in the architecture of the cathedral when compared to the cathedral in Granada. Overall, it was a memorable weekend that combined both art and culture. I really enjoyed being able to see the things I learned about in textbooks being applied to real life.