Just Call Me La Reina

So I have survived my first few days in Madrid! And so far I am LOVING every minute of it! The tapas bars really are as good as people say they are, and there are so many young people here to meet. I have never been to a more friendly place! Other than the pickpocketing…everyone in our group was warned to be extra careful, but unfortunately two students have already had some of their things stolen. It is so important to always keep an eye on your stuff around here, especially on the crowded metro. But other than that our time here has been wonderful! The weather today was especially beautiful, so my roommates and I decided to explore the city a little bit more. We started off by taking a tour of the Royal Palace, which was absolutely amazing.

My new home

The inside was gorgeous, and we got to walk around a lot of the rooms. But apparently the palace has over 2000 rooms! So clearly we did not get to all of them! Everything in it looked straight out of a fairy tale book, and it only cost 10 euros to get in. It is something that I would highly recommend to anyone who is visiting Madrid! I will probably take my parents there when they come visit in April.

The next site we visited was the Catedral de la Almudena, which was right across from the Royal Palace!

The beautiful cathedral (and my wonderful roommates!)

This is the first European church that I have been in, and I was not at all disappointed! The inside of the cathedral is beautiful, with religious sculptures lining the pews. The ceilings are painted very ornately in bright colors, which is something that I was not expecting at all. However, it just added to the beauty of the cathedral!

We finished off our day at the Plaza de España. This plaza is near the Palace as well, and is home to a statue of Don Quixote.

According to our history professor, this plaza is a huge tourist attraction. But we still had fun and it was great to see a new part of the city! While walking around, we saw lots of places that we’d like to visit in the future, so our list of things to do in Madrid is constantly growing! I can’t wait to check off some things on that list!

Tomorrow my entire class leaves on a nine day trip that takes us to four other major cities in Spain: Barcelona, Valencia, Grenada, and Sevilla! The best part is that we are getting school credit for the trip! Beware of my next post, because I’m sure it will be chock-a-block full of pictures. I can’t wait to continue my travels around Spain!

Happy traveling 🙂