Hello my Barcelona Buddies! Its already the overnight trip to Madrid Weekend! The early morning was not as bad as I thought it was, and the train to Madrid was through the hills and farmland of Spain which was breathtaking! I did fall asleep in the hotel as soon as I got there and did not have lots of time for lunch, but it was a great nap. Immediately after starting the tour, I realized just how spacious and grandiose Madrid is. There are many historical buildings that are very regal looking, as it is the capitol of Spain and it is still a partial monarchy. Our tour guide was great! He acknowledged the historical context of Madrid while keeping everything humorous and energetic. Everything was great to see, and there were gold details everywhere that gave the city a very gilded look. We saw Palacio Real, Murallas Musulmanas, Plaza de la Villa, Puerta del Sol and more!
The next day began with a delicious breakfast at the hotel, and then a visit to the Prado Museum! This was by far my favorite visit of the trip and our tour guide did an excellent job at putting early surrealism works into perspective and showing the important details of impressionism and late romanticism. I read a lot about art history in my free time so it was amazing seeing these works up close. My favorite was seeing some of Goya’s black paintings in person, which are some of my favorite works of all time. Sadly we were not allowed to take pictures, but I grabbed a book about Goya that is in Spanish. My love for Goya will force me to learn how to read Spanish better! Overall, Madrid was great, but it still does not beat Barcelona in my book!