Madrid, the Capital City
- Sasha Albrecht
- Jan 7, 2016
- 3 min read
I woke up from one dream to another. I was totally disoriented (and probably more than a little jet-lagged) when I sat up and looked around the dark hotel room. I couldn't help but smile --- this was really happening. I couldn't get over how weird this whole thing was. I fell back onto my pillow, checking my phone. It was still too early to get up and start doing anything, so I scrolled through Facebook, responding to the many encouragements and congratulations from my friends and family at home.
Before long, Madi and Grace were both up and getting ready for the day. Having showered the night before, there wasn't much that I needed to do in order to prepare, apart from throw some clothes on before I headed out the door.
By the time we made it down to the hotel lobby, there was already a large group of students from our program waiting around, chatting excitedly about their plans for the evening. It was quickly becoming apparent to me that a lot of the students in our program seemed more excited to party and go to clubs than anything else --- many of them were under the legal drinking age at home, so the idea of going out was still new and exciting to them. At 23, the luxury of going out and drinking had worn off a bit (not that I don't still enjoy it from time-to-time), so I couldn't help but grin listening to them plan their celebrations.
The crowd of people starting moving out onto the street, and we followed suit. We were quickly split into three different groups for the walking tour, and I felt a tinge of disappointed when I tried to follow Madi and Grace, and was redirected to a different group by one of the guides.
"There's too many people in that group, you should join the one across the street."
I nodded, waving goodbye to my two new friends, and hurried across the street with the other group. I quickly came to appreciate how knowledgeable our tour guide was as she walked through the busy Madrid street, pointing out interesting buildings, and giving us a quick history lesson as we went.
Our first destination was the Prado Museum. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take any photos inside, however, that also meant that I could dedicate my attention completely to what our guide was telling us. We got the opportunity to see some incredible artwork, including pieces by some of my favorite artists: El Greco, Goya, Velázquez, and Rembrandt. I was thoroughly impressed by how much the guide knew about each artist and each piece of artwork that she addressed.
From there, we walked to el Palacio Real Madrid, passing through the Plaza Mayor and some other notable streets on the way. This was the first time I'd ever set foot inside such an extravagant building. Once again, I wasn't allowed to take pictures for the majority of the tour, although there were various parts that photography was allowed, so I did capture a few rooms. I couldn't stop staring at the elaborate decorations, trying to imagine what it would've been like living in a palace like that.
After we finished touring the Palace, we were finished with USAC activities and were free to do whatever we liked for the rest of the evening. Grace, Madi, Jess, and took our time walking back to the hotel, stopping for several photos along the way. We stopped at a cafe for lunch before returning to the hotel.
Despite my jet-lag, I fought the urge to take a nap, and instead took a quick shower and started getting ready for the evening. My middle school guitar teacher had, coincidentally, moved to Madrid several years prior to my visit, so I'd previously arranged a meet up that evening.
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