April 27-29: Madrid

This was my last trip while being abroad. Of course, I couldn't study in Spain and not visit the capital of Spain. We visited almost every single site that you could associate with Madrid in three full days and even had time for siestas!

We arrived Friday morning at 7 am and walked to our hostel to drop off our bags. Afterwards, we went to a very cute coffee shop to warm up and take a break before we starting site seeing. We went to Park Retiro, my favorite site in Madrid. We walked through the whole park and visited other sites like the Crystal Palace. After the park, we went back to the hostel to check in and freshen up. We spent Friday visiting lots of plazas, chocolate shops, and of course, eating churros at San Gines. 

Saturday was full of more adventures! We visited the Botanical Gardens, even though there were not as many flowers as we thought would be there. Afterwards, we walked to the Real Palace. This palace is so beautiful and elegant. After the Real Palace, we went to the Temple of Debod-a reconstructed Egyptian temple, the Cathedral,  La Latina-a latinx neighborhood, and back to hostel. We took a siesta and at night, we went for dinner and met up with my friend's friend. 

Sunday was another adventure in itself. The weather in the morning was cold and rainy but by the afternoon, it was sunny and windy. We went to an outdoor flea market named El Rastro and to museums: Prado and Reina Sofia. I saw La Guernica and Las Meninas in person! The whole time I was standing in front of both pieces of art, I could not believe that this was real. It was a dream come true. 


With that, my final adventure in Spain came to end. Even though I did not travel to Paris, Prague, Italy, and other European sites, I am not sad. I was able to visit so many sites in Spain and learn about the different cultures and accents within Spain. All of my trips in Spain allowed be to become open and get the cultural experiences I wanted to experience in the past three and a half months.