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Walking Along, Singing a Song

Dear Reader,


Welcome to Madrid! Here is a short update on what we have been doing the past few days here in Spain. Yesterday was exhausting because we took a trip to Madrid. Everyone in our group lives in a little suburb outside Madrid called Alcala de Henares. After our first day of classes yesterday, a few of us decided to take the time to start on homework for what may be the most amazing class ever: Madrid Walks. This class is great because all we have to do is walk around Madrid.

That's it.

Ok, we have to write about what we saw and did on our walks afterward, but who doesn't want to brag about walking around one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in Spain? Our director made some simple instructions that lead us on different routes to see museums, tourist attractions and historic sites. Yesterday we took a walk down the Paseo del Prado. 

We started at the old train station in Madrid, which houses a large garden with small ponds around it. The ponds were filled with dozens of turtles, all different sizes. It took us awhile to find where we were supposed to go, but luckily we were not in any hurry whatsoever. It was absolutely breathtaking to watch people zoom by on their way to different destinations in Spain. 


On our way up El Paseo del Prado, we saw amazing differences from most cities mixed in with the comforts of home (i.e. McDonald's and Burger King). We entered one building that looks like it is suspended in the air because of it's design. We also found this guy in the picture above. We aren't sure if he is Don Quixote or Cervantes, but he was funny. 



We ended our first Madrid walk with one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. It is La Iglesia de los Jeronimos. From the outside it is a spectacle that can be seen for miles. This is one of several pictures that I took of it (I didn't notice that James was in the middle until I uploaded it). I don't know much about the history of the church, only that it is centuries old. However, we walked inside, there was definitely an aura of the spirit there. Not only did we feel it as we entered, I noticed that everyone who came inside suddenly became much more reverent. It was enormous, with several out-coves with large paintings of Christ and his apostles. It is definitely worth the time to see it while in Madrid. 


Despite being a long walk, we enjoyed every minute of it. We even met a guy on the train going back to Alcala that asked if we were German...well, not exactly. Viva España!

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Location: Madrid, Spain

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