Some Madrid Trip Images

We go to Madrid

Abril 28 - 30 BCEA had its weekend excursion to Madrid where we took full advantage of the weekend, visiting several monuments, going out to dinner as a group, doing some shopping at local markets and exploring the Madrid night life, as well. The weather was beautiful, with the sky blue and sunny and el Parque del Retiro, one of Madrid´s main park spaces, humming with life - couples rolling around in the grass, families pushing their children in strollers, university-aged students playing the drums (as you can imagine, el Parque del Retiro was definitely one fo the highlights of the trip, with many students choosing to spend mucho of their free time on Sunday there). El Palacio Real (Royal Palace) was fascinating, in its own right, with its over 2000 thousand rooms consisting in the royal ball room, the reception room for official state visits with an actual throne for the queen and king, a music room with a collection of straticaster violins from the 18th century each valued at several million euros (and that must be played at least 6 times a year so as to maintain the sound quality of the wood), and the Royal Armory, just to mention a few. The Prado was a winner for its complete collection of works by Goya and Velazquez. El Museo Thyssen was also well worth the visit for its comprehensive collection of Impressionism and post-Impressionism works by Gauguin, Lautrec, Monet and Renoir. We also did a tour with our guide of central Madrid, also known as el Mardid de los Austrias (Austrian Madrid - seen in its Hapsburg-style architecture), which consists of Plaza Mayor, la Puerta del Sol and City Hall. While Friday evening and Saturday were filled with guided tours of the mentioned monuments, Sunday was free time to do as one pleased. A few students went to Escorrial, a beautiful provincial town outside of the city where some great wine is produced. Others opted for shopping at the Rastro (Madrid´s famous flee-market), visiting the Reina Sofia Museum and spending sun-filled hours at the Buen Retiro Park and the Campo de Moro park. Madrid is definitely a city with a lot of attractions, and one could easily spend days exploring what it has to offer.
Madrid, hands down, is a fabulous place to visit. There is a lot to do, the people are friendly, and the night life is excellent; in short, a visit to Spain´s capital is well worth the time and effort. While Barcelona could seem more cosmopolitan and European, perhaps more Mediterranean (being located on the Meditarranean Sea), Madrid could seem to be the more quintessential "Spanish" city (which would make sense because it is directly in the center of the country and it is the capital of Spain). From the point of view of a traveler, or a visiting student, the cities complement eachother well each offering its own vibe, distinct in some ways but both sharing the same vibrant Spanish essence. In all ways the excursion was a success. Travelling by train we got there in a short amount of time (the train ride is beautiful), leaving us with a lot of time to enjoy the city. We saw a lot of sights in the two and a half days that we were there. We ate well, went out, and, en fin, enjoyed ourselves immensely. Getting into the mix of a new scene is a dose of fresh air; it needs to be done every now and again.