Madrid was an absolute whirlwind of activity — museum visits, delicious restaurants, long walking tours, shopping, a day visit to the nearby medieval city of Toledo — and it ended with a bullfight in the Plaza de Toros. Because we saw so much in such a short time, I’ll let the photos that the students took speak for themselves.
Fun photos from our walking tour around the city center, the Retiro, and our visit to the Reina Sofia:
Sami and Jilly trying some Flamenco outfits on for style in Plaza Mayor.
Fancy hand-painted abanicos (fans) used to cool down during the hot days. I taught some of the students how to open and close them like a local, using just a flick of the wrist.
Plaza Mayor in all its sunny glory.
Martha, Jilly and Lauren in front of the modern art exhibit in the Palacio de Cristal in the Retiro park.
Admiring a contemporary art installation in the Reina Sofia modern art museum.
We enjoyed a lot of yummy food in Madrid: Burrata salad with raspberry vinaigrette; tender seared beef with poached eggs and potatoes; and pasta puttanesca, to name a few.
El Mercado de San Miguel.
A silly photo from the tapas-bar crawl Daniel and I organized for the more gastronomically adventurous students in the group. Here, our tongues were stained black by the squid ink dish we had just tried! Colin, Doug, Jack and Jilly also joined in this food frenzy.
Views from our trip to Toledo:
Wandering through the winding streets, with the cathedral before us.
A group picture of the students in Toledo. We visited a large synagogue (now Jewish history museum) and the Cathedral of Toledo here.
Fun evenings out to experience the Madrid at night with the group:
Las mujeres gathered for a glittery group photo before dinner on Saturday.
Lauren, Mel, Sami, Jen, and Martha posed for a picture in Plaza España, near our hotel, on their way to a tapas dinner on Friday night.
The final frontier for our Madrid adventure: a bullfight!
When in Madrid…act like a toro! Featuring Shelby, Doug, and Jilly.
Nearly the entire group stood in front of the Plaza de Toros after the Sunday evening bullfight. (Jack got too excited about the toreros and wandered out of the frame…) Some of the vegetarians in the group didn’t appreciate the violence, but everyone agreed it was a valuable cultural experience!
The sun setting over the Plaza de Toros on our last night in Madrid. Such a spectacular ending to our sojourn!
Hasta pronto,
Camila y Daniel