The weekend after Salamanca, a girl named Fiona came to stay with me for the weekend. She is from Canada but is teaching English in the north of France along with my friend Charlene, which is how we got in touch with each other. She was planning to come to Spain anyway for a short volunteering program and was going to be passing through Madrid on her way to a smaller town, so it was a fortunate coincidence that she happened to mention this to Charlene and that I was able to host her during her first two days here!
 |
| Not the greatest picture, but the only one we got of both of us! |
We hit it off pretty well and I had a great time hanging out with her and showing her around the city. Her time here was a great chance for me to visit all of the touristy places in Madrid that I see every day but usually never stop to appreciate. Her arrival also coincided with the advent of better weather, which obviously makes everything seem more delightful and beautiful. Here are a few pictures of some of the things that I've been re-appreciating lately.
Barrio de las Letras, Sol & the Palace
 |
| The Metropolis Building |
 |
| Plaza Santa Ana |
|
|
A random but beautiful building in my neighborhood
|
All of the places above are less than a ten minute walk from my apartment! The other night I was walking to meet my friends at a bar for drinks and took two photos on Instagram with my phone because the scenery was so beautiful - it's these great moments when you realize, "Dang, I'm living in the middle of Europe and just stepping out the door is a chance to see beautiful and interesting things!" (A bit corny, I know, but it's true!)
So although my posts are usually about my travels outside of Madrid, I decided to write this blog post to fill you in not only on my adventures in other parts of Europe but to also share some pictures of all of the amazing things to do right here in the city where I live! Even though I've already explored a lot, there are still so many museums, restaurants, bars, parks, neighborhoods, cultural centers, monuments, and so much more waiting to be discovered.
To begin with, here are some pictures of two of my favorite things...food and drinks!
 |
| A famous bar that sells shots in chocolate shot glasses |
 |
| A rainy day spent reading in a cozy book store |
 |
| Pizza night with Natalie and Victoria |
 |
| I found a bar with Belgian beer in Madrid! |
Another example is Moncloa, a neighborhood at the northwestern edge of the city center with an enormous, lovely green park, a high concentration of museums, some really pretty buildings and arches, and amazing views of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains in the distance (unfortunately you can't really see them so well in these pictures). I had never spent much time there, but I finally made it out to the Museum of the Americas, a very interesting museum with lots of fantastic Latin American art, including a lot of really famous pieces that we talked about in the art history class I took in Quito! While I was there, I took the opportunity to explore the area and photograph some of its interesting sights.
 |
| Air Force Academy |
 |
| Arco de la Victoria (Victory Arch) |
 |
| Museo de América (Museum of the Americas) |
As another example, one day I took the metro to a random stop and stumbled upon one of Madrid's most iconic architectural sights - The Gate of Europe (see picture below) - along with a small cultural center that had a diminutive but interesting exhibit on Degas. That center also advertised classical music concerts once a month, which I am still hoping to attend at some point!
 |
| The Gate of Europe |
Here are two other things I more or less stumbled upon while making my way through the city:
|
|
Plaza de Toros, Madrid's bullfighting ring
|
|
|
An overpass of a big highway near my school
|
As the weather has been in the sixties for the past couple of weeks, I've also made a number of trips to the river, where there is yet another nice park with lots of places to sit and read, ride bikes, go for a jog, etc. I often forget that Madrid has a river, because, unlike many other rivers of Europe, it does not flow through the heart of the city and is in a kind of out-of-the-way place. However, it is a very nice area - the wide open spaces and the fact that it's a bit of a hike from my house make it a great place to "escape" - you feel like you've left the city, but you're really only a 15-minute train ride from home!
The Manzanares River
 |
| Madrid Río, a park by the river |
And finally, here are two pictures of amazing sunsets I've seen to finish off this blog post!
No comments:
Post a Comment