Submitted by Daniel Bailey on the 2019 fall semester study abroad program in Granada, Spain…
This past weekend, my program took a group trip to Madrid and Toledo. These couple of days in Madrid were noticeably different from my experiences so far in Granada. Since it is the capital and largest city in Spain, Madrid is so much bigger with so many more things to do. The first day we got to see the Congress building and learn a little about the Spanish government, which was especially interesting because it was the day before the presidential elections. I was also able to see the Prado Museum, one of the largest and most important collections of art in the world.
However, possibly my favorite part of Madrid came as a surprise. The official Game of Thrones Expo happened to be in Madrid the same weekend I was there, so I went with a couple friends. We saw real props, sets, and costumes that were actually used in the show, which was amazing since I am such a huge fan of the show.
After leaving Madrid, we stopped in Toledo for a couple hours. Toledo is a very small city and had a completely different vibe from Madrid. It almost felt like a medieval village up on a hill. We were lucky enough to find a great spot high up on a hill next to the Tagus River where we were able to get amazing panoramic pictures of the whole city. Both Madrid and Toledo were beautiful and I greatly enjoyed my time in each city. However, I’m not sure if I could see myself spending more than a couple of weeks in each place. This made me grateful once again that my home is now in Granada, because I really think it is the perfect city to study abroad.
