Vacation in Madrid

               I sat listening to my favorite Granada playlist while en route to Madrid last Friday.  It was a trip that I had long awaited because fifty of my friends would be traveling through three of the most historical cities in Spain together.  While we spent the majority of our time in Madrid, we took day trips to Segovia and Toledo, and every excursion was filled with new and memorable experiences.    

                Once off the five hour bus ride to Madrid, we went straight to El Museo del Prado.  With some of the most historical and famous paintings in the world, it was impactful to see the very same artwork that we had studied during the months prior.  With hundreds of works by El Greco, Goya, and Velásquez scattered throughout the three stories of showrooms, I was most impressed by the self portraits of kings and nobles that could easily be confused with modern day photographs.  As opposed to the contemporary art museum, El Museo de la Reina Sofía, which contained some of the most odd and inexplicable “art” that I’ve ever seen, El Prado contained absolutely stunning masteries.  Aside from spending countless hours in museums, we took a guided tour through the famous plazas that give Madrid its reputation as a beautiful and bustling metropolitan city.  At one point, we visited a historical site in which many people were killed during the Civil War, and it evoked a sense of eerie wonder as to what the scene may have looked like in the serene park just decades ago.  Excluding Granada, the many sights and wonders of Madrid make it my favorite city in Spain thus far.

                Sunday was an exciting day because our program took a bus ride to Segovia, famous for its Roman aqueduct that pierces through the heart of the city.  Constructed literally 2,000 years ago, the aqueduct measures eighteen kilometers and its sheer mass and masterful engineering overwhelmed me.  Not only was it built two millenniums ago with ancient techniques, but the massive structure is held together entirely by the weight of each rock that was carefully placed one on top of the other.  Although the city is the third smallest in Spain with a population of 50,000, its atmosphere and beautiful sights were something to hold onto.  As our guide weaved us through the ancient streets towards famous churches and palaces that appear in Disney’s Snow White, we dodged the thousands of families that were gathered in full costumes for the city-wide carnival.  What an incredible way to spend a Sunday afternoon, for myself, but also for the hundreds of families that call Segovia home. 

                Before trekking back to Granada for a short school week, we spent a day in Toledo.  Having researched and presented information on the city last semester, I was especially excited to bring my silly PowerPoint presentation to life.  Store after store, block after block, we came across thousands of swords, switch-blades, knives, and virtually anything with a sharp point.  Had I not been walking with two guy friends the whole afternoon, we probably would have spent more time in museums and cathedrals, but our undeniable attraction to pointy objects lured us into dozens of stores that girls might propose are all the same.  Regardless, I finally did find my perfect memento in the form of a hand-crafted knife, and I hopped on the bus for a five hour bus ride through the beautiful Spain countryside.  Five hours later and with yet more experiences to cherish for a lifetime, I crawled in bed in preparation for one more fantastic day in Granada.