The Royal Treatment

As everyone is finishing their final projects and studying for finals, including me, the day trip to the Palacio Real of Madrid was perfectly timed for a diversion. This past Friday, after presenting a movie about Celiac Disease at the first annual SUMC Film Festival headed by Dr. de la Fuente Marcos, i headed down to the center of the city, grabbed a coffee at Starbucks with my cheque gourmet, and met the small group in front of the Opera House that faces the Palace. Our guide was Prof. Angel whose hysterical side-notes to Spanish history made the impressive state rooms and furniture alive. He was an absolute encyclopedia, knowing almost everything about every room we saw in the palace. When we finished, he took us across the courtyard and through a small door to the royal armory. The armory was fantastic, with full suits of armor set-up, and a pleasure for even those of us who did not like jousting and war memorabilia. Every kind of armor was there from almost every era of Spanish royalty, everything from horse and dog armor, to armor for children. When the tour finished i crossed the courtyard to see the royal pharmacy. Great blue and white porcelain jars contained the herbs used for the royal family, some still with the original herbs inside. I spent the rest of the day doing the end of my Christmas shopping, later heading to El Corte Ingles Castellan for Mazapan de Soto and Turron for Christmas and some gluten free cookies for me.

The Blitz...

This last week and a half has been great, but at the same time I have 2 1/2 weeks of class left, with my finals shortly after. I have been preparing for finals and semester projects for the last few weeks, but now it´s crunch time. This last week my mom and aunt came to Madrid to see me. It was awesome having family in Madrid and going to their apartment every night to unwind, chat, and have dinner together. During their stay, we were able to see so much together- the main museums, Retiro Park, and even have dinner with my host family. Thursday morning, i went to a government building with the school to have my appointment for my residence visa. The appointment went smoothly after i had to leave to get better pictures with more white space from a booth down the street. The legal work done, I was able to go back to my mom and aunt´s apartment to spend the day with them.  Back in September, we had planned to spend a day in Segovia, but when we arrived at the train station to get our tickets, all of the trains were full until three hours later. We quickly changed our plans and hopped on a train for El Escorial, an enormous palace/monastery, about 1 1/2 hours from Madrid on the Cercanias commuter train. El Escorial was amazing, nestled in the mountains and filled with hundreds of rooms. We spent the entire afternoon there, amazed by the Basilica, royal crypt, and library, grabbed some food from a local market and hopped on the bus that drives passengers from the train station up the strenuous hill to the bus station within walking distance to El Escorial. We were planning on buying our tickets and having a late lunch on the platform while waiting for the next train, when we couldn´t understand the time tables and went to the attendant to ask for the next train to Madrid. He looks at us and taps on the glass that separates us, there was hung a paper stating that the next train to Madrid left at 5:15, we immediately looked at our watches- it was exactly 5:15. In a rush of English, Spanish, and exaggerated hand gestures, we asked if we could make the train and he immediately printed 3 tickets for us. We quickly exchanged the euros, ran through the turnstiles, up the stairs, and onto the platform where the train was blowing its warning whistle. My aunt and i were about to hop onto the train, when we turned to find that my mother was not with us. The stairs down to the station were empty, and the seconds we waited passed slowly, the whistle blew again and i quickly ran down the stairs to find that she had only just got through the turnstile, her ticket having been demagnetized. We quickly threw ourselves onto the train, just as the door closed, and the train started on the trek back to Madrid. We snacked on the train, arriving in Atocha that night. We quickly made our way to the Starbucks by the Reina Sofia, and made plans to go shopping and to see Retiro Park. The next day, i easily signed up for classes via MY SUFFOLK and spent the last day with my family shopping and chatting. The weekend was spent getting ready for final projects and finals...

Busy, Busy, Busy...My Family in Madrid

This past weekend went by quickly, but quite enjoyably. My mother and aunt came to Madrid to see me for a week and so, early Friday morning, i woke up, checked that their plane had landed and then headed off on the pink line to get them. It was wonderful to see them both again, though they were exhausted from their flight. We took the metro down to where they were staying and finally they were able to relax...until i got them out into the city for a walking tour. We later went to the market to pick up some essentials and snacks and came back the apartment to have a light dinner before they both went to bed. The next morning we headed out to see the National Library, Plaza de Colon, and the newly opened Archaeology Museum. We passed by the Madrid´s famous Alcala gate where MTV´s European Music Awards concerts were taking place, and ended up across from the Neptune fountain at Starbucks. I later brought them to the Thyssen-Bornemiszma museum and that night we took a walk around the Plaza Mayor, and crowded Sol, to see the city lit up at night. On Sunday, we headed out early to see the Rastro Market before the crowds became unbearable. The timing was perfect as we arrived at La Latina metro stop at 915, walked down the main street browsing, and then, around 945 walked back up the hill, knowing exactly what we wanted to purchase, and where the best prices were. We reached the top of the hill right when the market began to get too crowded, and, after the last few purchases, went back to the apartment. Sunday afternoon, as the clouds began to roll in, we went to the Sorolla Museum, which i have spoken of before, and spent the rest of the afternoon at El Corte Ingles Castellana. Last night we spent out, the wind becoming much cooler, browsing through shops around the Barrio de las Letras. I wholeheartedly recommend experiencing a new culture with friends or family...wandering alone may be enjoyable, but it is always better when there is someone to share  it with.