I don't think we're in Catalunya anymore...

            This weekend was our big trip with our program to Madrid and Toledo.  In the past I have never really thought of Spain as a big country, but Madrid is surprisingly far away.  To drive there it would take about seven hours.  Luckily, we were flying. Our flight there was delayed an hour and we had no time to relax once we landed.  We immediately got on a bus and headed to Toledo, an hour away from Madrid.  Toledo used to be the capital of Spain back in the time of the Visigoths, before the Muslims conquered Spain.  It was a beautiful town with a lot of old, gorgeous buildings.  It was very interesting to me to learn that Toledo has about the same population as Appleton, but so much more culture.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Appleton and I really do miss it, but this city has a gigantic cathedral that was built one thousand years ago! 

            The first thing we did in Toledo was get lunch at a little restaurant.  So far every meal I’ve had with my program has been amazing and we’ve gotten more food than we know how to handle.  Unfortunately, this was not the case in Toledo. I ended up sitting at a table in the corner and service was horrible for us.  They helped us last and seemed to not really be concerned about getting us what we asked for.  We had to ask for more bread about six times before we were actually brought any.  We probably could have forgiven that if it wasn’t for the fact that when we got our food, grilled fish, it was freezing cold.  It honestly seemed like they had cooked it hours ago, put it in the refrigerator, and then microwaved it slightly before giving it to us.  It was awful.  Parts were warm and then other parts were almost frozen.  Luckily we had a chocolate mousse cake for dessert that was delicious!

            After our disappointing lunch we took a walking tour of the city.  Our tour guide was a cute little old woman who gave us a lot of historical information about the city and the importance of Toledo in Spain’s past.  It was all really interesting and the cathedral we went into was absolutely gorgeous.  It was built in the French style (like Notre Dame) but with a lot of Spanish influences.  I feel like I’ve been in a lot of cathedrals, basilicas, and monasteries since coming to Spain, but this was definitely one of my favorites.  Unfortunately photography was strictly prohibited inside the cathedral so you’ll just have to use your imagination. Or you can plan a trip to Toledo and check it out for yourself!

Our view of Toledo after we got off of the bus.

The outside of the cathedral.

One last look at Toledo as the sun was setting.

     After our tour of the city we had a few minutes to explore for ourselves but then we had to get on the bus back to Madrid.  It always amazes me how different cities can have completely different feels. Madrid and Barcelona feel completely different although I can’t really explain how.  Madrid almost feels more like a big city in the United States.  I think part of it is that Madrid doesn’t feel as old as Barcelona, and rightly so.  While the Romans founded Barcelona, the Moors, hundreds of years later, founded Madrid. 
     On Saturday morning we had to get up early to take a walking tour of Madrid.  We saw a lot of different sites around the center of the city.

This spot is the geographical center of Spain!

This store had thousands and thousands of fans. They were all really pretty, but also expensive.

This chocolateria (a place that sells chocolate con churros) is extremely famous in Spain.  It's open 24 hours and many celebrities go there. They had pictures on the wall of famous people such as Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz!

This restaurant is in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the oldest restaurant. It was Hemmingway's favorite restaurant.

     After our tour we got about two hours for lunch.  We were in a place with a lot of restaurants and shops so we ended up going to "El Museo de Jamon" (The Museum of Ham) and getting some ham sandwiches and walking around for a bit.  As we were walking we suddenly saw a gigantic group of Catalans in the middle of a square! I'm not sure what exactly they were doing (perhaps a rally for independence?), but they were definitely worked up about something!

It was funny to come all the way to Madrid and still see all of the Catalan nationalists here.

     After our lunch we were able to go into the royal palace.  It was absolutely gorgeous inside but photography was strictly prohibited.  The current king of Spain is very down-to-earth and chose to not live in the palace, but it is still used as a place to meet foreign dignitaries.  I was in awe the entire time we were inside. Every new room we went into seemed more and more beautiful and exquisite.

It probably didn't hurt that it was an absolutely beautiful and warm day out.

     On Sunday morning there was an optional trip to La Reina Sofia, the museum of modern art.  Even though it meant getting up earlier, I still chose to go.  I desperately wanted to see Guernica by Picasso.  I know that when my mom was in Spain she had wanted to see it but was unable to, and I couldn't let that happen again to one of the Lemke-Rochon's.  For anyone who is unaware, Guernica was painted by Picasso during World War II.  Hitler was friends with the dictator of Spain at the time, Franco, and he needed a place for his army to practice bombing.  Franco told him that he could bomb the city of Guernica in the Basque Country.  Picasso painted this to show the devastation of the civilians of Guernica.  After he painted it it was kept in the United States. At Picasso's request it was not to be returned to Spain until democracy was restored.  Democracy wasn't restored in Spain until 1975 when Franco died. Guernica returned to Spain in 1981.

Technically we weren't supposed to take pictures within the room that Guernica was held in, but I was able to sneak one so you could see it without tons of people standing in front of it.  I've seen prints of this hundreds of times, but there is nothing quite like standing in front of this gigantic painting and really seeing the horror and devastation up close.

     We had the afternoon completely free to wander around Madrid until we had to meet back at our hotel to go all together to the airport.  No one had gotten much sleep so we didn't do too much except walk around El Retiro Park and go to get some chocolate con churros.  It was a beautiful park and besides being windy, it was really nice outside.

The trees were so strange!

The park had a gigantic lake in the middle of it where you could rent rowboats.

As we were walking out of the park we saw this big house made completely of glass. I still don't know what it was for, but it was pretty cool to look at!

Inside the house there was a big pile of different items made of plastic such as laundry baskets and chairs.  It was very strange.

     It was a whirlwind of a weekend and I was very glad to finally get back to my apartment in Barcelona.  These weekend trips really take a lot out of me as we try and pack so much into so little time.  I was very glad to get to go to Madrid. Originally when I knew I wanted to study abroad in Spain I wanted to go to Madrid.  I wanted to be in a huge city (Madrid has well over twice as many people as Barcelona) and I had heard that Madrid was amazing.  After spending the weekend there, I'm now know that I'm glad I ended up picking Barcelona.  Barcelona seems to be much prettier than Madrid and the neighborhoods in Barcelona seem to be much more diverse.  

     It's also very strange to me that at the end of these trips when I return to Barcelona I actually feel like I'm going home.  A city that was completely foreign to me just a month and a half ago actually feels like home to me now and I feel completely comfortable in it. I usually have a rule for myself that if I've already traveled to someplace, I don't want to go again. I like to experience new places and cultures, but I have a feeling that Barcelona will be a place that I return to many times simply because it has turned into a home-away-from-home for me.