Picasos, Armadas, and Clubs

Friday rolled around and we got some free time between class and museum time. Instead of taking the popular route to the shops, I chose to go on an adventure to el Museo Naval by myself. The Prado is five minute walk from our hotel and a few meters more takes you here:

Anyone who knows me even the slightest bit can imagine my state of mind while taking these photos. This place is heaven. I have never seen so many models of square riggers in one place before. There were paintings of naval battles, fully rigged and armed three-decker First Rates, sextants, surgeon's chests, officer's uniforms, weather- and battle-worn flags and pendants, naval insignia, maps (including the oldest map to include the Americas--see the third picture), portraits of admirals, replications of captain's cabins, guns, swords, brass 9-pounders, naval treaties, ah it goes on an on!! I ran into Marissa and Charlotte from my group at the museum and they just laughed when they saw my face. I was not to be disturbed while in my natural habitat.

As I said: my heaven.

Our group then went to el Museo Reina Sofia and saw all the cool modern art. Usually there is a full exhibit of Dali but it is on exhibit in Barcelona right now and there are only two left in the museum. Seriously sad we didn't get to see them but look at some of the things that are there:

They let us take pictures of everything except the rooms close to Picasso's Guernica. In those rooms were all the political paintings about war, fascism, communism, and death. I have always been fascinated by the Guernica but the real thing is a whole new thing entirely. It's absolutely heartbreaking. I think these rooms were my favorite of all the paintings we've seen this week, and that's saying something.

Of course, it being Friday night in Madrid, we had to go to a club. The thing is, Spaniards follow different schedules than us Americans. They have an early breakfast, a HUGE lunch at 2pm, dinner at 9pm, and then party until 6am. The clubs don't open until 11 and literally no one is there before 1am. One of the largest clubs in Europe is a block from out hotel so we decided to check it out. We got there at about 2am. I got home at 5. We woke up at 7 and drove to a full day of museums in Toledo. Yeah. Spaniards don't sleep. I guess we don't either. Experiences! Yay!

The Prado and Royal Palace. NBD

After class on Thursday, we went to the Prado.

Some highlights: Borges' el Bosco (This thing is WAY better in person), Alberto Durero's Adam and Eve and his self portrait, Leone y Pompeo Leoni's Charles V and the Fury, José de Ribera, El Greco, Diego Velasquez's Las Meninas, and so many more! Our tour guide, Caesar (pronounced thehsar) is great and he's setting us up for more discussion in our art history class later on when we are settled in Sevilla.

We went from the Prado to the Royal Palace and the basilica.

I have been all over France and seen how the nobility lived but I have never seen such extravagance as palace. There are over 2,000 rooms and every one is gilded and adorned with the most expensive and excessive art and materials. I wish I could have taken pictures of the inside but you will just have to do some research if you're curious. I recommend it. The palace was closed the day before because the king was there entertaining or something. Pretty cool we just missed the king of Spain.

Take a look at the view from the palace:

We stopped by the main plaza here in Madrid and went to the oldest churros con chocolate place in the city. The plaza is awesome!

We got back to the hotel at almost 8pm from our full day of museums and were so worn out we didn't even leave the hotel for dinner. As our tour guide, Caesar, says, "The life of a tourist is a hard one" and it is so true. My life is just SO hard right now :D

Just a Typical Wednesday

We had a rather full day on Wednesday. First, we went to Segovia, a cute little town about 90km northwest of Madrid. And here was the first time my mind was blown:

Yes, that is the Roman aqueduct built in the 2nd century under Vespian. It's one of the best preserved aqueducts on the Iberian peninsula. And next to it, just to provide a good ol' Roman legend, a statue of Romulus and Remus suckling a she-wolf (These two brothers were the founders of Rome and decedents of Aeneas. Romulus killed his brother, Remus, and became the first king of Rome centuries before the Republic was founded).

From there we visited the cathedral:

Then to the monastery that was once an artillery academy and now a museum:

They had all these great old cannons from late medieval times and tons of armor and weapons including some really ornate crossbows. Haley was happy.

This room was called the galleon because the ceiling looked the like hull of a galleon. The ceilings in this place were the most ornate parts of every room.

After that, we had a great lunch in Segovia that featured a baby pig cut up with a ceramic plate... It's supposed to be a very old tradition but it was just kind of scary and not a little unsettling.

Then we went on to Valle de los Caídos or the Valley of the Fallen. The world's largest cross and its connected basilica and monastery are monuments to the million people killed over the four year civil war in Spain. The church's maker, Francisco Franko, and the founder of Spanish fascism, Jose Antonio, are buried right by the main alter. I have never encountered a more sinister church. It's an underground and there are frescoes of the rapture and Armageddon guarded by hooded monks. You can feel the presence of the dictators and the 50,000 soldiers buried there and it leaves a heavy impression of death that I still haven't been able to shake.

 

Then on to the Monesterio del Escordial. This place was amazing.

There were so many incredible things here but this is already way to long so I'll just tell you about one. I stood in the Pantheon of Kings, a little room beneath the monastery whose walls are lined with the tombs of all the Spanish kings and queens from the Hapsburg and Bourbon dynasties until the present. It will take me years to fully process that fact.

I have seen so many incredible relics of history that my brain can't take in the magnitude of what I'm seeing. I think I picked the right trip.

Día numero uno en Madrid

¡Estamos en Madrid!

Our flight was an hour delayed but was an hour quicker than we all thought. We left Dallas Fort Worth at about 7pm and got to the airport in Madrid by about 10:30 am which is just plain confusing because the flight was only 8.5 hours. According to time changes, we had been traveling for a full 26 hours but for us it was only about 14 hours... Whah...? My brain has yet to figure it out.

The airport in Madrid is super cool with this weird roof that is shaped a bit like a mustache.

Of course, we had to get a beer in the airport just because we could. It technically was only 11 am but it was more like 1am for us Portlanders.

We're staying at this gorgeous hotel pretty close to the city center. I'm rooming with a girl named Gabriella for the next week and we've been talking too much to get much sleep. All of us are beyond excited.

After la cena we walked around the adorable cobblestone streets and found a bar that had a live jazz band that played a cool fusion of jazz and flamenco. It was a pretty great start to nightlife in Spain. Btw, I love my group so far. This is going to be fun.

That's all for now! We're going to a museum this afternoon and I'll take tons of pictures. Feel free to comment or send me emails! I'd love to hear from you.

On My Way

Well here I am in Dallas Fort Worth about 1/3 of the way to Sevilla. I ran into Nick from my program in PDX and we're now hanging out waiting for our flight to Madrid in a few hours. It's so weird to have all my material possessions for the next four months packed into two small bags.

Crazy...

I found out the address to my host family in Sevilla! I'll be living here:

Calle San Jacinto 66, 1º B

41010 SEVILLA 95-433-2529

It's 1.2 km away from school so I can easily walk there. I won't get there until the 28th though so I can't tell you anything about my family.

Here goes nothing! I do have a 9.5 hour flight ahead of my after a long layover but I'm officially on my way to Spain!

A quick, abbreviated tribute to this semester...

- My amazing a cappella group, Section Line Drive, rocked out! Here's us performing Postcards From Italy by Beirut with solos by Shohei Kobayahsi and me. I love these folks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUwDWCHxqMw  

- I reached record nerd levels by writing my 56-page research paper about a 14-gun brig-sloop in 1800. Frigates!  

- I got a tattoo! I've been planning it for years so don't worry, it was premeditated. Even my mother may start to like it :)

 

- The glorious Janel put up living with me again:

- Goodbyes to friends I won't see for months/a year were hard but super sweet. Literally. These goodbyes involved a gingerbread house dedicated to two of us folks going abroad this spring:

- Got to begin the new year with one of the best friends/people I know: Juliana:

Just the cliff notes because so much awesomeness happened this semester. Seriously, good times man. Good times.

Welcome!

Hi everyone!
Welcome to my new blog! I wanted to create a space to document my experiences in España for my friends and family. My goal is to post pictures, videos, and updates of what I'm up to in the beautiful city of Sevilla. I have an interesting four months ahead of me full of excitement and exploration but I am going to miss my wonderful life in Portland. This is my own way of trying to counteract my homesickness for Lewis and Clark and my friends by scrapbooking my life abroad.
I hope you like it!
-Haley