Feels like forever since my last post.. (image heavy!)

But it's only been five days! I think it's because we do a lot each day - I barely have any free time! That's not to say it isn't fun, though, because I LOVE Madrid! I could definitely see myself living here some day. It feels so strange to think that I'll be gone in less than five weeks :(

Here's what I've been doing lately...

1. El Real Jardín Botánico (Royal Botanical Garden) in Madrid

On Thursday we took a class field trip to the Prado Museum in Madrid to see some of Francisco de Goya's paintings (unfortunately, no cameras are allowed! But, it was fantastic!). Afterwards, I went with some friends to the El Real Jardín Botánico because we have to do a presentation on it for class. The gardens have been around since the mid 1700's and has about 30,000 flowers/plants and 1500 trees. It was the most beautiful park I've ever been to - I've noticed that Spain is really big on parks, and not just your run-of-the-mill playgrounds, but really gorgeous, specially crafted architectural wonders.

2. Descubrimientos

Another project I'm working on is what's called a descubrimiento (discovery).Our teacher asked us to find a site in Madrid that personifies Madrid of the 1800's up to the 1940's. My roommate Ashley and I decided to go find our places on Saturday since we're required to photograph ourselves inside the place (could be a restaurant, cafe, casino, etc). Ashley had a few places to go - and without a GPS, everything is hard to find! It wound up taking us over an hour to find the last place, and after walking in an hour-long circle, we discovered that it was literally 500 feet from where we had started. Also, it was closed, even though we went during the hours of operation. So, we were not happy. Luckily, an incredibly famous chocolatería (bet you know what that means!) was right next door. I got the chocolate concoction (a milkshake-y dark chocolate base with whipped cream and 3 types of chocolate pearls.. to die for) and Ashley got the kiwi smoothie. Except it was JUST blended kiwi without any of the additives they usually put in, like yogurt and excess sugar. It was truly delicious!

3. Field trip to Córdoba - La Mezquita

This actually happened before #2, but whatever. So, every Friday we take a day trip to another part of Spain. Next weekend we're going to be in Asturias, then we're going to Toledo, then Segovia. Córdoba is known for its beautiful religious architecture: the town has Arab, Jewish, and Christian influences present throughout. Perhaps the most famous image of Córdoba is La Mezquita (the mosque). Architects begun work on La Mezquita around 600 A.D. as a Christian Visigoth church, but it was bought by the founder of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba, a Muslim dynasty which ruled in the area for three centuries, and turned into a mosque. After 1492 it was turned into a church with a gothic cathedral placed in the middle of it:



I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful building - the minute attention to detail was absolutely insane - there were no "plain" areas in the entire interior. Even the columns, floor, and ceiling were adorned with engravings, patterns, and words. It's hard to think that people were able to construct such magnificent things over a thousand years ago.

Arab influence.


Arab columns with Crucifixion in the background.

4. Hanging out in Córdoba

We spent the day walking around the city, which was completely without clouds (this is a trend in Spain, I've noticed) - don't worry, Mom, I managed to escape sunburn! Anyway, one thing that our professor pointed out was the tendency of residencies (homes, universities, restaurants, etc) to have an interior patio area before the main area, like so (this is a restaurant):


I thought that was a nice touch :)

4. Visit to Córdoba - Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos (Castle of the Christian Monarchs)

Located down the street from the mosque, the Alcázar (a type of Spanish castle) was the home of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (you know, the people who funded Columbus' 1492 journey to America). Mostly we hung out in their gardens. Interestingly, the castle has Islamic features although it was built during Christian rule. There is even a section called the "Arab baths."


BEAUTIFUL gardens.


About half our group in front of the gardens. I'm sitting next to our tour guide who was an extremely enthusiastic and interesting, and very sweet lady :)

5. Random pictures!


Some of our group before going to La Puerta del Sol on Friday night after getting back from Córdoba. The Metro is a huge part of our lives - I take it at least once a day!


Textbooks are a must, unfortunately. The light green one, Deseo de ser Punk ("Desire to be punk" - and yes, that's Iggy Pop on the cover) isn't due until the end of the program, but the play (La casa de Bernarda Alba) is due very soon...

OKAY! Enough of a study break. Time to actually work! Hope you enjoyed all the pictures :)