Madrriid

Hola lectores! Last weekend I was in Madrid!  I liked it, but not as much as Barcelona.  It was really crowded and busy, lots of people, and really big, but we still did some cool things there.  As a group we went to el museo del prado (an art museum), and it was actually really cool.  I got to see all these paintings that I remember learning about in class, but in person.  There's something different about seeing a painting in person that is really cool.  Here are some of them that I saw

This is a painting of the Royal Family by Velasquez.  Velasquez actually painted himself in the painting on the left.  Everyone seems to be looking at you because Velasquez is painting the King and Queen who are near the same spot as the view of the painting whom you see reflected back in the mirror behind the girl in the white dress.  It also shows that the girl in the center is the next heir to the throne because if you connect everybody's heads together in the painting, they create a constellation that is her name.

This is another painting of the Royal Family by Goya.  He also included himself in the painting  in the back left.  He is painting the royal family, but the question is how can he paint the family when he is behind them?  The answer is that there is a mirror in front of them and so he is painting them from the mirror.  Also, the girl on the left has her head turned away because she is not yet part of the royal family.

Later that day we continued to just walk around the city and take some pictures.  

People get crazy for soccer

Plaza Mayor in Madrid

mounument thing by a lake

Plaza Espana

Wish I could be there to see this :(

Then later that night we went out and got Kebabs beforehand and it was seriously one of the best things I have tasted in a long time.  I can't even explain it, it was like meat, tomato, onion, lettuce, mayo, and some other really good kind of sauce.  Basically it changed my life.  It was so good.  


The next day we woke up and went a giant flea market where they sold stuff for really cheap! I boughts some scarfs and gifts for people back home.  By the time we left my feet were ready to fall off from walking every where.  So far my favorite cities in order are  Barcelona, Segovia, Madrid, and Salamanca.  Next week we will be traveling to Granada, Sevilla, and Valencia.  We finally booked all our tickets for trasportation for those trips.  We are literally taking all types of transportation...bus, train, and plane.  I'm excited to travel, but also can't believe this is my last week here.  It'll be sad to leave my host family, but I'm so ready for classes to be done.  Hasta Luego!