The Heart of 16th Century Europe

Hey guys! Remember us?

It is I, Maddy, writing to tell you about my day trip to the famous Spanish palace, El Escorial, located in a little town just 45 minutes outside Madrid. Now, the name might not sound all too familiar, but it was this palace from which the Holy Roman Empire and nearly all of Europe was ruled in the 16th and 17th centuries. This place is massive and it’s because so much was needed to ensure the power of the Spanish Empire when it was at its peak. Think of the White House, FBI, CIA and state department all combined in one incredible building. Yup, that’s now influential it was. Who knows if Europe would ever be the same without this palace and those who lived in it.

We took a 2.5-hour walking tour of this majestic beauty — and didn’t even see half of it! What we did see were one-of-a-kind tapestries, stunning artwork, a mixture of architecture and the best part…the tombs!

It is in this palace where all the kings and queens of Spain are buried (minus Ferdie and Izzy and the current King). In a giant gold-gilded room sits dozens of coffins encrypted with the royal’s name, their bones inside. A grosser side note? El Escorial has a rotting chamber where they let the bodies decompose before placing their skeleton in the coffin. The current King’s parents are undergoing this process as I type this. Cool, right?

The professor that led the tour was so informative and told us about the legacies of Carlos I, Phillip II (the king who built the palace) and other notables in the Habsburg dynasty. The history buff in me was ecstatic. I was elated to be standing so close to the King and Queen’s bedrooms, seeing where they prayed and where they died/rotted!

The library within the palace is considered one of the most extensive in Europe! It’s been extremely well-preserved and contains books on how to play chess and magic.

Another cool detail? All over the palace is the symbol of a grill. Why? Well, the palace was built in honor of St. Lawrence, a Catholic man who refused to denounce his faith in front of the Roman army and so was grilled alive as punishment. It’s been painted into the palace’s art and carved into the architecture — the whole palace is shaped like a grill when seen from above!

I could not possibly fall more in love with Spain and its history, but visiting El Escorial has definitely made it possible!

Love,
Maddy

Pretending to be Queens

Hey guys!

Thanks to the wonderful programs provided by our school, Maya and I were able to take a day trip to the city of Segovia, just 1.5 hours outside of Madrid. The town is known for its 2,000-year-old aqueduct (made with stone–nothing more!), as well as being the heart of Queen Isabelle’s Castile-Leon kingdom. We even got to visit the castle in which her and Ferdinand ruled during their badass matrimony (seen below).

Segovia is very much like Toledo, Tarragona and Santiago–narrow streets, plenty of cobblestone and age-old architecture. It’s quite a charming little town, with its own unique beauty and history. The professor that sponsored the trip was very knowledgable, and made the tour a lot of fun and interesting.

The above photos are of the castle, Isabelle and Ferdinand’s throne room, and a sort of council room next to that. Once I found out we were visiting this castle, I got really excited. Ever since learning about this famous power couple, I’ve become increasingly interested in them. They ruled Spain during a monumental point in its history–which cascaded into so many more influential points in history. Cool, right?

After Segovia, we took a detour to visit the “Spanish Versaille” (actually called La Granja or, farm). This was Phillip V’s palace during his reign as the first Bourbon king of Spain. It was stunning! The architecture and gardens were very formal and French-like. It was too easy to feel like a princess while there.

And that, my friends, is Segovia in a nutshell. Gorgeous, right? I can’t get enough of this country.

Love,
Maddy

 

Una corrida de toros

Hey readers,

This post contains just a couple photos of Maya’s and my first bullfight. We had some exciting expectations going into it. Bullfights are considered a sport, an art form and a cultural spectacle in Spain. Yes, less and less Spanish citizens agree with it, but Maya and I wanted to experience a centuries-old tradition and get to know this wonderful country just a little bit better.

The reason there aren’t as many photos as usual is because I didn’t feel comfortable posting them. Bullfights are graphic and violent, and I was shocked by the reality of it. As Americans, we are raised to believe this kind of thing is wrong. Therefore, it was hard to accept that what I saw was once considered a very popular past time.

Six bulls came out to fight three matadors (two bulls for each one). A collection of detailed movements, quick thinking and fearlessness results in a dead bull and a cheering crowd. Dont’get me wrong–there is much more to learn about bullfights. Signs of bravery, triumph, strength and pride are prevalent throughout the process, which bullfight-goers recognize and understand. For us, it was a little too much to grasp.

As Americans, we’re simply not used to the graphic nature of it all. Maya and I viewed it as an unjust fight and killing of an animal for sport. Yes, this is not the Spanish mindset we should have used, but it was hard to ignore. We stayed for all six bulls and are very proud of ourselves for doing so, but probably won’t go back. For the record, it really was a fascinating and intriguing experience, and one I will surely remember for a long time.We’re happy to say we experienced this side of Spain, and don’t regret it.

Tomorrow, we are headed to Segovia for a day trip! We’re both excited to see the famous aquaduct.

Have a good weekend,
Maddy

Exploring the Wild West: Day 4

Hello and welcome to Day 4 (the last) of Maya’s and my western adventure.

At the end of Day 3, we arrived in Salamanca, Spain. Salamanca is an old city, but is know for its youth culture. The famous university resides here, but so do thousands of young Spaniards looking for a good party. I can best compare it to the city of Syracuse, where the school is the city’s main source of fun/money and young adults are scattered all around. For dinner that night, I tried my first plate of Spanish Chinese food. It was cheap and very delicious!

The next morning, we began our tour of the beautiful city of Salamanca. We walked through the city’s Plaza Mayor (which looks a lot like Madrid’s) before arriving at the original university, built in 1248–making it the third oldest university in the world, the first in Spain. It was originally a cathedral, but the school was built into it, making it very religion-centric in terms of studies, etc. Many of the rooms are still in tact, including the “auditorium” and “university chapel,” where students got married, pictured below.

After touring the school, we got to explore the inside of the actual Catedral de Salamanca. It’s massive, gorgeous, intricate and breathtaking. After getting a one-of-a-kind view looking over the inside of the cathedral, our group was lucky enough to scale the roof of it, too, allowing for some pretty amazing sights. I sort of felt like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, climbing all over the top of it. It was amazing!

After taking in pretty much all of Salamanca from the top of the cathedral, we came back down to earth for lunch. Salamanca is quite the little city, and we really enjoyed walking around the small, cobblestone streets and enjoying the interesting (and cheap!) souvenirs. Turns out the University of Salamanca’s mascot is the frog (la rana). Before students went inside to take their exams, they would search for the frog sculpted into the school’s architecture over the entrance. If they found it, it meant good luck. Cute, right?

P.S. The tower you see in the background of the above photo–we got to climb all the way to the top! Maya and a few of our friends are already planning to come back. I think we all just appreciated the small-town-cheap-price feel, especially after living in Madrid for so long.

In the late afternoon, we left Salamanca and returned to Madrid, where our school/social schedules returned to normal. I love Salamanca, but I was glad to be back in the big city. I’ve always been an urban girl.

Buenas noches,
Maddy

Exploring the Wild West: Day 3

Thought yesterday’s post was beautiful? Wait until you read about Day 3. I still can’t believe a country can be this breathtaking all the time, and that I’m living in it. I try hard every day to soak up what I can because I know a time will come where I can’t be immersed in it. Thankfully, I have this blog and some amazing stories to keep stunning views like this from ever leaving my memory.

This is me (Maddy) standing atop a 15th-century castle, but I’ll get to that later. To start the day, our group explored Santiago de Campostela, the capital of the region of Galicia and the final destination of Patron Santiago’s Christian pilgrimage. The weather was pretty gray, making for a slightly eerie walk throughout the town. The architecture, of course, was incredibly detailed and all the more beautiful with dark clouds and ringing church bells. All around us were modern-day pilgrims finishing their personal journeys. We passed lots of stands selling walking sticks with Santiago’s signature symbol.

Above is the inside of the Catedral de Santiago, where every pilgrim yearns to be and where Santiago himself is buried. When we arrived, a service was going on and we were lucky enough to explore and listen in. At one point, a few priests hoisted up a giant lantern filled with special incense and began to swing it across the church (until it almost touched the ceiling!). This is now a tradition, but used to be use to freshen up the church after all the un-showered pilgrims had entered!

The cathedral really was beautiful. For someone who is not very religious, it really was breathtaking to witness people who dedicate their lives to it. Along the walls sat mini-confessionals with priests inside, ready to listen to anyone’s problems. I enjoyed it a lot.

After the cathedral, we headed to lunch at a pulpateria, where octopus is the menu specialty. We got to try a bit, and I actually liked it! It tasted sort of life calamari. The best part was dessert–leche frito! Literally, fried milk, they came served in squares that tasted a bit like very bland flan. I loved it.

Our day ended in the town of Sanabria, a small town that is known for the castle that sits overlooking it (named Castillo del Pueblo Sanabria). We got there a little late in the evening so we were the last group to take the tour–which really meant a bunch of teenagers running around a 15th-century castle pretending they were royalty. The top photo is actually me pretending to be a princess. The photo below is what I meant when I talked about Spain’s beauty. Where in the U.S. would you get a view like this?

That’s all for now. Look out for Day 4: Salamanca!

Paz y amor,
Maddy

 

 

Exploring the Wild West: Day 2

Hey guys! Maddy again, back with more photos and enchanting tales from Day 2 of our adventure to Western Spain. This day was probably one of my favorite seminar experiences. The sights we saw, the things we ate and memories we made were quite unlike anything else in the entire world. That’s pretty cool to think about.

We were lucky enough to get a later wake-up call, which made for a much happier group. We boarded our bus and headed to a small port city called O Grove. There, we were shuffled into a pretty tourist-y boat that we thought was going to take us on an uneventful tour of the water. How wrong we were…

Instead, we got to see and learn about the dozens of mussel farms that dot this small, enclosed body of water. These farms have ropes that hang in the water, where thousand of mussels will latch on to be harvested to eat. To watch the process was cool, but we really thought that was it. That is, until a giant, freshly-steamed plate of mussels appeared before us. Not kidding, we were given a buffet of mussels to enjoy as we cruised along the water just outside of O Grove. The best part? Discoteca music began to blast over the speakers and we just HAD to dance. Free mussels and rage music? This company knew how to make me happy.

After our tour, we had a free lunch where I enjoyed some fresh shrimp. On my way to bathroom I spotted this sitting out to cool.

Yup! Octopus is a delicacy in Galicia. There are places called pulpaterias where they are sold and eaten every day.

After lunch, our seminar headed to the best, most beautiful place in all of rural Spain. We arrived at a pebble beach where, to this day, exist sone of the oldest forms of architecture in Spain: los castros. The remains of these houses are the circular stone structures in the photo below. This was a tiny pueblo manned by an immense stone wall, perfect for defending against other attacking communities.

Fortunately, we were lucky enough to get to explore and climb all over them. Maya conquered her fear of heights, and I was able to take some of the most stunning photos in my seven years of photo-taking. The ocean behind them is actually the Atlantic, which is weird to think about because the last time I traveled outside Madrid, it was to the Mediterranean! Nevertheless, I was the closest I’d ever be to home. Hey America!

After exploring these beautiful ruins for an hour or so, we were pretty beaten. We said goodbye to the end of the world and returned back to our bus, tired but totally fulfilled. To end what was a beautiful and fun day, here’s a photo of Maya, me and some of our friends with the Atlantic behind us.

Exploring the Wild West: Day 1

¿Que tal, amigas? Maddy hablando (What’s up, guys? Maddy speaking).

This weekend was quite the adventure, one that requires four different blog posts with lengthy explanations and TONS of photos! Our seminar group reconvened for one last time to explore the western coast of Spain. We drove through the province of Castile-Leon and into Galicia–all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Pretty cool to say I’ve tasted both Mediterranean and Atlantic ocean water in the matter of a month!

At 8:30 in the morning we were off and out of Madrid. I’ll have to admit, it was weird leaving a city I had come to call home. I have easily gotten used to life here and love every piece of it. If I was this bummed about leaving Madrid for 4 days, imagine leaving it at the end of the semester. Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.

Anyway! Our first stop was to a little town called Astorga in Castile-Leon. It’s famous another piece of Gaudi work: El Palacio de Gaudi: El Museo de los Caminos, as well as a beautiful cathedral and lots of pastry shops. This trips involved a lot of pueblo-hopping, where we visited small towns just to explore the simpler life of the western country side. I’ll tell you, it’s much calmer than anything I’ve seen in Madrid. Below is a photo of the Gaudi piece and the Astorga town hall.

After Astorga, we drove to the smallest, quietest little town in Spain. It’s called el pueblo de Castrillo de los Polvazares and was covered with gorgeous red brick and brightly-colored accents. We stopped here for lunch and had a giant FEAST of meat to enjoy, apparently typical in this part of the country. With food in our bellies, we were able to happily take in the stunning color and environment of this itty-bitty town.

Our final stop could not even be classified as a town but more a collection of hostels, homes and cafes. This place is a stop on the famous Camino de Santiago. Santiago, or St. James, was one of the first Christian missionaries to make a pilgrimage through Spain (correct me if I’m wrong!) and now, thousands of people take the same trek to this day. Hikers will stop in to rest for the night or grab a bowl of soup before continuing on their merry way. Below are some STUNNING views of the mountains just outside this pueblo. Behind me was the town, but I think the lighting over these babies made for a much better photo.

While there, we also learned about los castros, one of the earliest forms of architecture used in Europe. You’ll see more photos of those in the next post. But all in all, our first day was quaint and beautiful. The tiny towns were a fun change and we got to appreciate a different side of Spain.

Look out for day 2!
Maddy

A rainy day in Toledo

Greetings!

Who knew torrential downpours existed in Spain? Well, of course they do, but not to the extent of today’s mini-monsoon. Today, our seminar group joined up again to take on the town of Toledo, just an hour south of Madrid. I’ve heard many wonderful things about this town, which makes it a shame that rain had to ruin what expectations I had. Regardless, it was a fun, water-logged day.

Before Madrid was a bustling metropolis, Toledo (considered a Roman city) was the capital of the territory of Spain. It was a very religious city–home to the Moors (who left behind unique mosques) and the Christians, who took it from the Moors during La Reconquista in 1085. Now, the city is loaded with both mudejar (Muslim) and Christian influence. Narrow, ancient streets, cobblestone steps and towering apartments easily made me feel like I had stepped back in time.

However, these streets also made for some awesome waterfalls and mini-wading pools. I didn’t get many pictures of what is sure to be considered flooding if the town wasn’t on a hill…but just know that I’ve never been so happy to see a pair of nice, warm socks.

This gorgeous cathedral (which has no name) and a stunning El Greco painting finished off a rainy, cold, wet, slippery but interesting afternoon.

The past two weeks of my life in Spain in pictures

Hello everybody! It’s Maya. I’m still alive (shocking, I’m sure), despite not constantly updating this blog. We’ve settled into somewhat of a routine here, so while I’ve been traveling around the city and seeing new places almost daily, it never seems like enough to warrant an update. That said, I now present to you a huge montage of pictures from the past few weeks!

A few weekends ago, I discovered Mercado de San Miguel in Sol, outside of Plaza Mayor. It’s a huge food market, where you can either buy food stuffs to take home and prepare, or you can buy whatever food you want in he market and eat it there. We ended up going to this place called Museo de Jamon (literally translated, the ham museum) for lunch and doubling back here for dessert. My friend Sunghwan ended up getting these churros and chocolate…I’m not crazy about this dessert, though it is pretty good, extremely decadent, and a Spanish favorite.

…And then we went to the historic Plaza Mayor. Architect Juan de Herrera, who also designed el Escorial, turned the square from a marketplace into a gorgeous (albeit extremely touristy) destination hundreds of years ago. If you go there nowadays, you’re likely to get accosted by a bunch of mediocre street performers while taking pictures with your friends in the middle of the square.

I’m in love with the neighborhood Malasaña. It’s an older neighborhood, but it’s sort of bohemian/has the feel of a lower class, youthful area. There’s lots of coffee shops and record shops and even a cupcake store. Anyway, I found Toma Cafe with a bunch of friends on Kathryn’s birthday. The walls are adorned with odd decor, including the bikes of the baristas. Sort of feels like a cross between Recess and Mello Velo. I dig it.

The Gregorio Marañon metro stop at siesta time. Madrid’s metro system is the nicest/cleanest of any I’ve ever used (sorry, New York/Boston/Philadelphia/DC).

Visi swears this is the neighborhood cat, but it’s always standing outside our door meowing in the morning, so I’m fairly convinced otherwise.

Plaza de Toros in the neighborhood Ventas. I’m seeing a bullfight here in a couple weeks.

Went to Reina Sofia (an art museum by Atocha) and saw Guernica, my favorite work of art probably ever. It was even more impressive in person than I’d imagined. Also, all of my clothing is black.

Scarf game is on point so far.

Retiro park might be one of my favorite places in Spain so far. If I ever need a break, this is where I go.

Thought I was going to die of happiness when I found a falafel/greek place with Kathryn in Sol a few weekends ago, just after apparently narrowly missing a huge anti-austerity demonstration there. More on those later.

Chalet 12, home, house of Visi and Tito, etc. I’m really content with my living situation here. Our neighborhood is beautiful.

Our host sister Vita works for Hola magazine, and brought us home an English copy of it last week to read.

Gran Via is the Broadway of Madrid. It’s gorgeous, but it’s also a popular place for pickpocketers. If you don’t lose a bunch of money that way, you inevitably will once you hit the shopping areas there.

Crepes and chocolate shakes for cheap in Tribunal. The Tribunal/Fuencarral area is quickly becoming my favorite area here.

The spanish REALLY love don quijote and cervantes. I thought this was a stations of the cross type thing hanging on Tito and Visi’s back patio, but it’s really a retelling of the story of Quijote. They have a Quijote painting in their living room, too. I can’t think of an American literary hero that is remotely as sought after and well-known in the USA.

I work in the spanish-speaking SU Abroad office a couple days a week. Everyone who works there is super nice and I actually think it’s helping me speak better (hard to believe when I have such an outstanding American accent, right?)!

Oh yeah, and I’m seeing the Black Keys in November here. I don’t even care that it’s a reserved seat and I won’t be with my friends because I’ll be surrounded by Spanish-speaking Black Keys fans for a few hours, and that sounds okay with me.

I finally went to el Prado yesterday and saw a bunch of Goya paintings. I’m not crazy about his Rococo period but his black paintings/2nd and 3rd of may paintings are fascinating. The architecture of the museum in and of itself is gorgeous.

Went to my first Real Madrid game last night! They played a small FC called Millionarios and won 8-0. Spanish people seem to love soccer even more than Americans love football or baseball.

So, that’s about it for the picture update on my life. In more sobering news, President Rajoy just passed the 2013 budget (potentially featuring a lot more austerity cuts, which would turn the welfare state into a privatized model more similar to the US) and people here are real mad about it. I think our host families are slightly more detached from it since they’re older and more affluent, but young people (the unemployment rate for young people 18-35 is 50%. Think about that.) took to the streets on September 25th (called here and in Athens, Greece “S25”) and protested the government’s austerity measures. Here, it turned violent, with a lot of police brutality, arrests, and injuries. I walked by another protest yesterday on my way to the Prado, with people calling for the same things in front of Parliament. More Metro strikes have been happening recently, and I don’t see an end to the protests since conservative Rajoy will likely not ease off the austerity measures any time soon. It’s so, so heartbreaking to have discovered this beautiful country, only to see it be ripped to shreds by its own poor economy. History definitely repeats itself in Spain, a country that has historically bankrupted itself time and again. While it’s really hard to see people suffer here (though not as much as this rather sensationalized New York Times article makes it seem), this is also a fascinating time to be studying here, and I certainly don’t regret at all coming here to study.

Until next time, amigos!

xoxo
maya

¡Viva Real Madrid!

Chicos y chicas,

Tonight, Maya and I attended our first Real Madrid game with a couple friends. We got lucky because the game was pretty low-key (meaning the opposing team was not very good), so we were able to score cheap tickets. We sat a bit high up, but smack dab in the middle of the field. It was a GREAT view, as you can see from my photos. Real Madrid ended up winning 8-0, not kidding. In fact, the game was so easily won that Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t even step on the field. I guess you could say the team was saving its secret weapon for a tougher game.

The game itself, however, was spectacular. Although less people were there because of who they were playing, the environment was so cool. Being able to see it from up above just added to the experience. There was some pre-game build-up outside the stadium, cheers from the stands and even a WAVE! That’s right, a human wave managed to make it around the stadium at least four times–that’s an accomplishment.

I definitely plan on attending a larger game. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if Real Madrid took on a bigger team? I may not be the biggest soccer fan, but the passion and excitement is what I love the most. It’s obvious that during this unbelievably scary time for Spain, citizens rally around this team. It’s a constant source of joy for some, and lets others forget the problems that wait outside the stadium doors.

In other news, fall has most definitely arrived in Spain. The day after the first day of fall, the temperature dropped and Maya and I were pulling out the long leggings. It’s chilly but we don’t love living here any less, I assure you.

Night,
Maddy

My life: The only jersey cheap enough for my budget was a size XL…