We passed a Castle as well on our drive just minutes away from our stop. I was able to catch a glimpse of the name of it, Castle Marim.
Within Algarve the specific town we were at is a beach town called Monte Gordo. The town is right on the water. It reminded me so much of the Florida beach my Grandparents lived on. Even in winter, it was warm enough to lay on the beach in a tank top.
When we got off the bus we had a set time to be back. We started by exploring the little town near the beach. There were some cute shops and restaurants, but nothing that riveting. There weren't that many people around, but a fair amount of older folks going on a walk. Adrian and I stopped in a store to buy a pair of sunglasses because mine broke back in Italy. From there somehow we lost track of the group. So, instead we decided to go down to the water on our own. We ran around for awhile, so happy to finally be on a beach. We jumped through waves, picked up seashells and kept exclaiming over and over again, "Oh my gosh... we are on the beach in Portugal!', "I never want to leave!", "I can't believe this!".
For the next three hours we just chilled on the beach. I loved it. A lot of St. John's students complained that they did not like where we went in Portugal because it was not part of the city. Personally, I enjoyed the day so much. Sometimes it is nice to just relax and enjoy traveling instead of constantly running around. It was such a nice day overall and a great start to the weekend.
Despite being really tired after Portugal Adrian and I decided to bike around Seville. We went to Starbucks and the city center of Seville. I finally got a picture of us on our bikes and the bike stands. Here is a look at what is on every corner in Seville! I also took a picture while on my bike (dangerous I know...sorry mom and dad!) haha so everyone could get an idea of what the bike paths are like here!
For dinner Adrian, Ricardo, Chris and I went to Casa Felix again (Nora's family is here). The same place by campus Adrian and I went to a few days ago and loved. I got the same shrimp dish and a small Enchilada dish Adrian got last time. It was delicious and filling.
After dinner the boys stopped by a local bar called Cancun to have a beer. On the other hand I quite enjoyed people watching. The boys were playing Foosball and the owners kids sat there watching them. I found it SO interesting watching the little kids. The little boy and girl, probably around 3rd and 5th grade, were walking around the bar, hanging out with the people drinking and sitting at the bar. In America the children would not even be allowed inside of the bar. The environment here is just so different. I really felt like this was not an appropriate environment for children. Watching some college students all taking shots and the little kids right next to them is not okay. It is a different world in Europe sometimes and it makes me appreciate the United States so much.
Afterwards we went back to the room and began packing for Madrid. Our bus was to leave at 1am. Before I knew it, it was time to go and we were calling a cab to get to the bus station.
Our bus ride to Madrid was less than desirable. First of all, Adrian and I were put on one bus and Anthony and Ricardo on a different bus. The trip to Madrid was six hours and very uncomfortable. The bus had no bathroom and it smelled very bad. Also, the man behind Adrian, a man probably in his early sixties, was extremely intoxicated. He was falling all over Adrian for three hours straight to the point that the only way Adrian could sit was if he was completely slouched over. The drunk man kept hitting him in his face. It was ridiculous. After a very tumultuous bus ride filled with a swerving bus through the middle of nowhere, a drunk man and a very smelly environment, we finally made it to Madrid...but our chaotic adventure does not stop there! Our bus got in around 7am and we had about three hours of sleep if that. We found Anthony and Ricardo and we went straight to our Hostel in the city center of Madrid.
Our Hostel's name was Hostal Arti II- Turis Madris. The man at the front desk only spoke Spanish so Adrian had to do all the talking. The man was very rude (even I could tell that even though he only spoke Spanish) and told us we could not check in until noon. We had all of our stuff with us and nothing was open at 7am in Madrid. Adrian pleaded with the man to at least let us leave our stuff somewhere safe, eventually he gave in, but told us we had to leave until noon. In hindsight it was probably a good thing. Instead of sleeping for a few hours we were able to do a ton of sightseeing from literally 7am until 5pm. The only break we took was to finally check in and grab lunch. We had a full day and did so much. We were just exhausted.
After our morning sightseeing, which I will touch on in a few... we were FINALLY able to check into our Hostel at 12:30pm. We dragged our bags up a few flights of stairs and opened our room door to find a man asleep in one of our four beds. He popped his head up, looked right at us and went back to sleep. We were rather annoyed.
Adrian stormed down to the front desk and told the man in Spanish there is someone asleep in our room. The man at the front desk came up and kicked him out. He told us to wait a while and eventually we could move in. We were all very annoyed. By 1pm we finally moved in. We dropped our stuff off and went right back out to continue sightseeing. We did not want to waste any of the day.
That morning our first stop was Dunkin Donuts to fuel up on some Coffee. I love being able to taste a little bit of home in Spain. There was not a single Dunkin Donuts in all of Rome! In Spain there is practically a Starbucks on every corner and a Dunkin every other corner.
Madrid reminded me so much of New York City. We all kept commenting it was like we are back at St. John's for the weekend. In fact, Madrid even had a mini Broadway that was playing the Lion King and Grease.
There were souvenir shops and little Mom and Pop restaurants everywhere. There were also chain restaurants such as Friday's all around too. We made our way to the top sights to see in Madrid. On our way to the Royal Palace we came across the Senate in Madrid. Madrid is the capital of Spain. It was highly guarded with lots of security even so early in the morning.
After the Senate we were off the Royal Palace or Palacio Real. It is the "official" residence for the Spanish Royal Family. It is absolutely breathtaking with an intricate garden in the front of it and a Cathedral in the back of it. It also is the largest Palace in Europe. The front side of the Palace overlooking the Gardens also known as Sabatini Gardens look as such:
The side of the Royal Palace is the famous Plaza de Oriente. Here is located many statutes dedicated to famous Spaniards and a fountain as well. Unfortunately, while we were there at 8am there were still people out drinking from the night before. I felt like it was very disrespectful as these drunk fools threw bottles and stumbled throughout this historic square.
After we walked around to the back side or other front side of the Palace...however you want to look at it. It was fully gated all around. We were some of the only people up at this hour. It was real unique to be able to see this historic sight basically all by ourselves. The front of the Palace is directly across from Cathedral Almudena.
Cathedral Almudena
It was so beautiful out the Cathedral and Palace seemed to be lit up by the sun. I quite enjoyed our private view. From Plaza de Oriente we made our way to the other famous Square Plaza Mayor. On our way we came by a church. Adrian translated the description of the church Temple de Santiago. It was a Cathedral that now substitutes the first church from the 12th Century. It became run down and the architect Juan Antonia Cuervo redid the church to what it is today.
Eventually we reached Plaza Mayor. Adrian learned in his Spain Language and Culture class that Plaza Mayor was a square used to persecute thousands of Christians. In other words, every single day Christians were murdered on that very ground. It is said Plaza Mayor is one of the most famous squares in all of Madrid. At 9am the Plaza was pretty empty. On Sunday when Adrian and I went back around 4pm it was packed.
After Plaza Mayor we ventured around various parts of Madrid. We saw historical buildings such as the Bank of Espana which is the national bank of Spain. As stated earlier Madrid is the Capital of Spain so there are so many government and historic buildings.
We also saw one of my favorite sights in Spain the Communications Palace or Palacio de Comunicaciones. It is the City Hall of Madrid. The structure is magnificent.
We also stopped in some gift shops. It was obvious, like Manhattan in relation to Queens, everything was more expensive as compared to Seville. After checking into our Hostel we went to lunch. We were all craving Friday's so we went there. We were all also very hungry and tired...so we could use the refueling!
After lunch we wanted to go see the most famous museum in Spain and one of the most famous in all of Europe. The Reina Sofia named after Queen Sofia of Spain. It is a museum of art to say the least. On the outside the museum there is a glass elevator we were able to ride in that overlooks the square. Reina Sofia is the national museum of Spain. The building used to be a Hospital.
I did a lot of planning for our Madrid trip to make sure we got to see the things we wanted to see. I learned through that planning the Reina Sofia is free Saturday afternoons, therefore we got in free. We were able to view artwork from both Picasso and Salvador Dali. Another major highlight of my trip. I remember studying both artists intensely in High School. To see there work right up front was astonishing. Especially, Picasso's "Woman in Blue" painting.
The four of us (Anthony, Adrian, Ricardo and myself) had some great conversations about the artwork we were seeing. All of us seemed to struggle with Picasso's work in general. I understand a lot of artwork is abstract and has hidden meaning...but a majority of Picasso's work just seemed like scribbles (sorry for any artists I offend!) We saw approximately thirty of Picasso's works, several of them we were not allowed to take pictures of though. Here are some we were.
On the other hand Salvador Dali's work was more realistic and deep. I really enjoyed seeing his work too.
We saw six rooms filled of artwork from famous artists present and past. I have so many pictures on my camera, but to write a blog about every piece of artwork I saw would be impossible. The two artists that left the greatest impact on me were Picasso and Dali. Even so, these artworks really caught my attention too.
The glass elevator I found very interesting/scary. We rode in it only for two floors, but I have never been inside anything like that before.
I almost forgot to mention one of our first sights at the museum was a carpet. The online class I am taking here is all about the European Union. The carpet was actually an original carpet that represented one of the member-states in the EU. Only approximately nine or so carpets exist, one in which is located in Spain. The carpet reflects all of the original currencies each country used before the Euro. Being able to relate things back to my class is really nice.
After our museum visit we were all officially EXHAUSTED. We were really able to figure out the Madrid Metro system on our short visit which was extremely convenient. Every place we wanted to see I found the metro stop we were to get off on. We were able to get a map from our Hostel which made traveling around Madrid very easy.
Running on three hours of sleep in about forty hours was not pleasant. We all decided it was most definitely time for our Siesta. We all slept from about 5pm until 8pm. We did not want to waste the night so decided we all had to suck it up and go get dinner.
We got ready and went to dinner at a place near the club Pacha in which we chose to go to that night. Pacha is a famous club in NYC that originated in Spain. The restaurant we went to was Caffe Del Arte. It was a hole in the wall but seemed to be packed with locals. I think I was the only one that enjoyed my meal of Nachos. The boys all got sandwiches that were the portion size for a five year old boy. Mine on the other hand could have fed the whole entire table.
One major complaint I have about Spain is the night life. The night life here BEGINS at TWO AM. That is NOT my scene at all. The last thing I want to do is go out at 2am. Even so, it was our one night in Madrid and I sucked it up and went out with the boys. We ended up having a nice time. The club was five stories and Adrian and I basically wandered around from level to level people watching. We left "early" compared to the time the Spaniards leave clubs, but Anthony and Ricardo lived out the whole night/experience. They did not leave the club until nearly 8am!!!!!! I could not ever imagine! They said when they left the club was still PACKED.
The next morning when our alarms went off Adrian and I were up and at em', but the late night boys weren't really having it! Eventually, they got up and we began touring Madrid again. We ended up splitting up because Adrian and I's bus left at 6pm and Ricardo and Anthony could not get on that bus and were taking the 4pm. Adrian and I were dying to go to Temple De Debod an Ancient Egyptian Temple built
2, 200 years ago. It was originally built by the cult of the God's Amun and Isis. It was the only Egyptian Temple built in all of Spain and one of the only Egyptian temples in the world that are not in ruin. Specifically, it is one of the best preserved Egyptian Temples in the world. It was donated to Spain by the Egyptian government in 1968. It was a sign of thanks for Spain's assistance in helping rescue Temples in Nubia. Inside the Temple are many Hieroglyphics and Ancient Egyptian Architectures. Each room in the Temple were dedicated to a different God or used for different rituals. For instance, in one room they used to offer food to the God's in return for protection. In another room, only Priests were allowed to enter and it was the most sacred room. The Temple's themselves were built strictly for the God's.
There were descriptions (Spanish and English) in front of each Hieroglyphic (Ancient Egyptian pictures that tell stories) that explained the pictures. Its funny I remember studying that all in 6th grade.
On the second top level of the Temple was a layout of all of the Ancient Egyptian Temples in Europe. The majority of them were in Egypt, but there was also one in Italy. It was absolutely fascinating.
The inside also had a replica of what the outside of the Temple originally looked like.
The outside of the Temple is gorgeous. It is overlooking water. At the back end of the Temple you can see a view of all of Madrid. In fact, if you look closely you can see the Royal Palace.
While waiting in line to get inside the Temple there were three little Spanish children taking pictures in front of the Temple. They were so cute posing, laughing and making funny faces at the camera. Adrian said the youngest boy caught us laughing at them and in Spanish said "Make a funny face they are watching us!". They were right in the area where the Arches are leading up to the Temple.
On the way to the Temple I forgot to mention we walked through Plaza Espana another famous square in Madrid. It was literally a three minute walk from our Hostel. All of the gorgeous fountains were on and so many vendors and shops were open. The weather was so gorgeous adding to the amazing atmosphere.
After our Temple visit we made our way to the famous bull ring in Spain. The famous bull ring's name is Las Ventas or Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas. We were hoping to go inside and get a tour, but unfortunately the tours were all over for that day. Even so, we got a great view of the ring on the outside, statues around the ring and the famous wall with the bulls on it.
Because our bull ring visit was cut somewhat short Adrian and I weren't sure what to do next. We decided to venture back towards Plaza Mayor where the oldest restaurant in the WORLD is located!!!! The restaurants name is Botin Restaurant. It is in the Guinness Book of World Records and featured on many different TV shows. It was difficult for us to find and we had to ask many people for directions. Eventually we did find it though. We didn't eat there...the cheapest dish was twenty Euro...but we got a nice picture and can say we saw the oldest restaurant in the world!! Built in 1725!
After we got lunch across the street at a much cheaper place!! The name of the restaurant was Traga Tapas. The food was interesting and definitely an experience. I got an egg omelet filled with potato and Adrian got a sandwich. We also got homemade potato salad to split. It was a LOT of food...and very...interesting! The drink in the photo is a drink I have fallen in love with called Aquarius. It is a flavored lemon water. I am going to miss that once I get back to the States!!
While eating our waiter kept warning us to watch for pick-pocketers because we were eating outside. He said the area is notorious for that.
I also saw a really great view of a woman I felt totally was Spain in a nutshell. She was an elderly woman leaning outside of her balcony wearing he apron and dress just simply people watching. It looked like something out of a movie. I was able to get a picture from a distance.
After dinner/lunch we raced to the bus station to catch our bus home. It was a packed weekend in the Capital of Spain and SO worth it. I had such a great time and made memories I will never forget. Such an experience. The bus ride home was less then eventful and in fact was quite enjoyable. Adrian and I had some great conversation and even got to see the sunset behind the mountains!!!
The sunset was a perfect ending to a near perfect weekend. We got back to our Hostel around midnight and passed out right away.
I did a lot today as well (another Flamenco show!)...but I am EXHAUSTED right now and this Blog was rather long!! If you got to this point...as usual... thank you so much for reading!!! I will write tomorrow about my day today and tomorrows day as well. I am going to the beach Cadiz for the day because tomorrow is a Spanish holiday and we have it off!! But for now..I am falling asleep just writing this. Thanks for reading :) Have a great rest of the week!
As always,
XOXO Shann
