Madrid Day 2

 

(El Plaza Mayor)

 

Today was my second day in Madrid. I couldn’t ask for better weather. We began the day with a walking tour (in Spanish) with our guide Sylvia which included seeing cathedrals and noting details of the architecture.  The attention to detail was fascinating. Our first stop was El plaza mayor. This is a big square where there are restaurants and many people come to buy jewelry, hats and art from local vendors.  We then visited our first cathedral, which in Sylvia’s opinion was the ugliest and boring of them all. I found that funny. She said that there are so many others that had more thought put into creating such wonderful works of art.  Then, we got to see a mass in this gorgeous cathedral. The colors were so vibrant and the paintings on the walls were breathtaking. After our walking tour we visited El Museo del Prado. Sylvia walked us through the Spanish paintings of Velasquez and Goya. One of the paintings was really interesting from Velasquez. It was of Philip IV.  He redid the painting in three particular points and you can see where he changed some of the aspects of the art. I thought that was really interesting. I’ve never see than before.

My roommates and I went out for dinner last night. We had dinner at 10:30.  I had a baguette filled with chorizo. It was muy delicioso. Everyone was outside at little cafes. It was so different for me to see people out this late. And this is not just on the weekends. They do this every night of the week. Love the Spaniards. I could get used to this! Tonight is our last night in Madrid. We will have breakfast in the hotel in the morning and then we are off to Toledo where we will stay for the night. I can’t wait. We will have a 3 hour tour filled with lots of walking especially outside. I can work on my tan 🙂

Besos desde España