Saturday, April 3, 2010

A Weekend in Madrid

A three-day weekend and cheap plane tickets are a fun combination…Tom and I went to Madrid a couple weekends ago. Our first trip ever to Europe was a blast! We were welcomed to Madrid by an efficient train system that brought us from the airport to our hostel in the center of town, right off of the main street Gran Ville.

What a curious hotel... (we didn't stay here)
From Madrid

We decided to live every moment fully: we would wander all day, eat as much tapas (Spanish appetizers) as we could, drink plenty of good Spanish wine and sangria, visit museums, and not go to bed until we completely collapsed. We did NOT make it as long as the locals- the nightclubs and live music started at about 1am.

Wandering around our first evening, we found the recommended El Tigre in our neighborhood. El Tigre is crammed with young people, enjoying the social atmosphere and 1 Euro beers with greasy Tapas. Tom and I visited two nights in a row, we liked it so much.

From Madrid

After starting with "dinner" at El Tigre, Tom and I next wandered into a Museo Jambon, where you can buy sandwiches and sliced meat at the counter, to enjoy with a glass of wine or beer. This place was really fun…

From Madrid

Next, we went to Valor chocolates, where Tom ordered liquid chocolate and churros (I stayed away with my lactose intolerance). We closed the place…not too bad for our first day!

From Madrid

We didn’t go into the Prado museum because old, dark Christian art isn’t really our style. But we did appreciate the statues outside…

From Madrid

From Madrid

We DID visit the Museo Reina Sophia, which is a fantastic modern art museum. We marveled at Picasso’s Guernica. The exhibit included two rooms of Picasso’s sketches and artistic process; I especially liked seeing how he played around with the composition and with the forms of the horse.

Walking through Madrid makes me feel connected to history. The old buildings and squares of fountains made me feel peaceful.

From Madrid
Smart car.
From Madrid

From Madrid

From Madrid

-Karissa :)


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