I loved Madrid. We stayed with some Spanish friends and saw a lot of the city by car. There are beautiful parks, museums, monuments and girls. We took a day trip to El Escorial, a small town outside the city with a huge monastery and beautiful views. I really like the Spanish countryside; I wish I could get away from the city more often to enjoy it.
Is that not postcard quality?
Even though Madrid is the largest city in Spain, and very international, it felt much more “Spanish” than Barcelona. The architecture, people, food, and language. Barcelona is a great city but doesn’t really have that "Spanish" feel, probably because it’s Catalan (a territory that wishes it was independent from Spain). Barcelona is a very international city, not only with tourists, but with people moving here to live and work. It’s touted as “the place to live in Europe”. Because of this, it feels more European than it does Spanish.
I had a chance to practice a lot of Spanish while in Madrid because less people there knew English. Madrid felt more like a livable city to me, whereas Barcelona as a place to visit for the summer, which is what I'm doing. I hear Madrid gets really hot in the summer because it's wedged between mountains with no air. I enjoy the breeze of Barcelona. I’d like to visit Madrid again if I have time, and I can’t wait to see southern Spain.
Parc Retiro with 2 huge lakes in it! Picturesque.
From shortest to tallest: Christian (Dutch/Hungarian/Jewish), Derek (Blatently American), Jordi (Dutch), Jésus (AKA Chuchi, Spanish, and a great host).
Another one of these?? Didn't see that one coming.
*To see an absurdly large view of any of these pictures, just click one*
2 comments:
Greatness! I did Madrid once. And the southern coast is definitely something to experience. Go see a grotesque bullfight one time, too. Madrid's is huge, every Sunday afternoon. Cool park-with-lakes-inside-it!
We were headed to see a grotesque bullfight, but it was out-of-budget for that trip. Many of the Spaniards I've chatted with are surprisingly opposed to the inhumane killing of bulls. I could stomach it once for the experience.
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