Bullfighting in Spain 

On Thursday March 13^th, our class started out the day by waking up and all eating breakfast. Every morning a big group of us would all sit together. Our hotel was extremely nice, and they provided us with a buffet style breakfast every morning. We all ate fresh sliced fruit as well as some typical Spanish dishes like the tortilla for breakfast every morning. Then, we all met in the lobby to meet for our day. Today was the day we were going to tour Las Ventas, a bullfighting ring in Madrid.  

We were lucky enough to be lead through the museum and stadium by a very knowledgeable tour guide. She explained how old this tradition was, and how while it can be very violent, it is important to Spanish culture. The actual stadium was so much larger than I thought it would be, with at least 1000 seats. Looking at how large the field was, and being able to walk on it, I could see how easily and quickly one could get tired from running. Our tour guide explained to us the process of bullfighting, and how one bullfighter is placed in an arena with a bull. The actual competition works in three phases. The first part focuses on observing how the bull moves, and watching how it responds to the movement of the red cloak. In the part of the bullfight, the matador, or bullfighter, holds out the cloak, and has to quickly change directions and move it in order to mot be hit by the bull. The second part of the bullfight is to weaken the bull. The matador will plant to flags into the bull shoulders. Then finally, the third part of the fight ends with the bulls death. It is done quickly, and then the bull is dragged out. A few students were able to play a simulation game to show this process, acting as a bullfighter in a ring with virtual reality.

We were also able to walk through the museum connected to this building to see old costumes from famous decreased matadors.  

Free time and wandering Madrid 

After this adventure, we were given free time to do whatever we wished until the next planned activity at 8pm. We went to a Portuguese bakery called Manteigaria-Fabrica de Pasteles de Nata. This spot was very near our hotel, and we kept walking by it earlier in the week, so we finally took that opportunity to try it. This bakery’s specialty was Pastel de Nata, a Portuguese egg custard tart.  We all loved trying this dessert, and a few people in my group had already had it before. It was safe to say that the few of us that only bought one pastry went back for more after trying it. After trying that, we just wandered around the city by our hotel. We felt that we had done a lot of exploring to other neighborhoods on different days, like Malasaña and Centro,  so we wanted to make sure we got a good variety of sights.  I absolutely loved having the opportunity to tour Spain in this way, and being able to observe the buildings and architecture was truly a gift. Madrid is such a beautiful city.

Flamenco 

Then finally, after changing at the hotel, we met in the lobby. The weather was pretty nice this day so we were able to walk to the flamenco show, which was about a 15 minute walk away. We were seated at a long table inside a small restaurant. The waiters took our drink order, and I got a Lemon Fanta, which seemed to be s Spanish specific drink I hadn’t previously heard of. Then, the show began. It was so cool! There was a guitarist, 3 female dancers, and one man who was singing. The show was full of claps and stomps on beat, twirling and big sweeping motions of the dancers hands, and an incredible vocalist. The show was completely improvised, each person was making their move based on how the others acted. You could see that the guitarist was watching closely for certain signals that the dancers would make to know how fast to keep the tempo. It was incredible, and our group leader, Frans, said that we were lucky to have gotten to watch that show. It was the best guitarist he’d ever heard, and being a local Spaniard, he’s gotten to see a lot of these shows. I really enjoyed this experience, and it was so awesome to see the passion and whirlwind of colors as the dancers were onstage. The drama and the silence between beats really emphasized each movement.  

Free Time after Show 

After the show, we met to walk back to the hotel as a group. But considering how little time was left, my group of friends and I explored a little before returning. We had to walk through the Plaza Mayor on the way there, so on the way back we paused here for a bit to take in its beauty at night, as well as walk through the building. We got tacos from a restaurant nearby for dinner, which was delicious! Then, we made our way back to the hotel after an incredible day, rich with Spanish culture and history.  

Our last day in Madrid was spent in the Valley of the Fallen, recently renamed Cuelgamuros Valley, in Sierra de Guadarrama. The Valley is one of the most controversial places in Madrid. It was constructed between 1940 and 1959 and commissioned by the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, who was the leader of the Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War, which to this day remains a forbidden topic to teach and discuss to this day thanks to the Pact of Forgetting, which was established in 1977, three years after Francisco Franco’s death, as Spain was transitioning into a democracy.

The Civil War in Madrid, Spain, lasted 3 years, from 1936 to 1939; the war resulted in a win for the right-wing Nationalists, which, as stated, was led by Franco. Francisco Franco’s dictatorship lasted 40 years, which ended with his death. The Nationalists consisted of monarchists, conservatives, fascists, and the military; these individuals were supported by the Catholic Church, Adolf Hitler from Germany, Benito Mussolini of Italy, and Antonio de Olivero Salazar of Portugal. The nationalists received arms, soldiers, and funding to continue and prevail during the war. The nationalists strongly opposed the left-wing Republicans, who were composed of socialists, communists, anarchists, and liberals; these individuals were supported by the Soviet Union, Mexico, and international brigades such as those from the US, UK, and France, who provided weapons, arms, advisors, and funding.

The Valley of the Fallen was created as a memorial for those who perished during the Spanish Civil War. Now, many see it as a symbol of the Francoist victory, so it is expected to see Franco supporters visit and do the Nazi salute as an homage/tribute to Franco, which is one of the most significant controversies the Valley faces today. Since many Spaniards view the Valley of the Fallen as a memorial to Franco’s dictatorship rather than reconciliation, many wish for its closure. The Basilica was carved into the mountain, which is astonishing. Political prisoners built the site under forced labor. What makes the Valley of the Fallen such a unique place is that the cross is 150 meters, around five hundred feet tall, making it one of the tallest in the world. Moreover, the Valley of the Fallen is home to the Underground Earth Tide Laboratory, a geophysical research facility, making it one of the deepest underground laboratories in the world, with a depth of 250 meters, around 820 feet below ground. The lab is used to study the earth’s crust deformations caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. Afterward, the data collected is used for earthquake research, underground fluid movements, and even to predict geological changes. The lab was established during the 1950s while the monument was constructed.

Additionally, within the walls of the Valley, the bodies that are buried are of the soldiers who perished during the Civil War without the consent of their families. To make matters worse, these individuals’ bones are scattered and mixed, so no one knows which part belongs to whom or what side. There are 33,800 individuals buried within the walls of the Basilica; many believe this to be false, and the number is expected to be much higher. Furthermore, Franco was buried in the Valley, but in 2019, his remains were exhumed and reburied in his family cemetery, as what is in store for the Valley of the Fallen is expected to become a historical monument focusing on the victims rather than Franco’s followers.

The Valley of the Fallen is breathtaking, with fantastic scenery that brings peace to anyone who dares visit. The history and building of the monument are staggering. Stumping, everyone wondered how a place so lovely could have been constructed in such terrible circumstances. Considering that the monument was built inside the mountains, there were no excavations. It is 820 feet deep and has a cross that is five hundred feet tall. It is a mind-blowing experience that everyone must experience at least once in their lives. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the church.

We hosted our farewell dinner in a restaurant called La Taberna de Peñalver Cava Baja, which makes the best paellas and seafood rice in Madrid, with a 4.8 out of 5 rating from its customers. The servers were excellent, with amazing appetizers, a spectacular variety of seafood, rice, and paellas, and home to the best dessert I have ever tasted. Overall, it was a fantastic experience that will be with me for the rest of my life; the ambiance, the people, the culture, and the food are unforgettable.  

Adiós, Madrid. ¡Hasta luego!

On Wednesday, March 12th, our class started off the day with a lecture about the Spanish Civil War. We learned about the siege of Madrid, as well as the bombings that plagued the city. After finishing up our lecture, we had a few hours of free time. During this time, Tenderness and I decided to check out the Prado Museum. Fortunately, we were able to gain free entry by showing our student cards and IDs.

We started our visit at the El Greco section of the exhibit, which displayed a lot of his earlier, brighter colored religious paintings. For his later works, he made more use of contrast between lighter and darker colors, often leaning toward darker and less saturated paints. As we made our way through the Prado Museum, we eventually found ourselves at the Black Paintings exhibit. These 14 paintings by Francisco Goya have their own room, with the lights dimmed. Each painting is haunting, showcasing his fear of death and insanity. Due to the theme of the paintings, as well as the fact that many of them were scraped off of his wall, details and color saturation were lost. This added a lot to the eerie feeling I got from the paintings. Unfortunately, taking photos was against the rules of the museum, so I was not able to capture any of the paintings or sculptures that I liked. We spent a little more than an hour at the museum, and then headed off to grab some lunch.

In the evening, we met up with half of our group for a visit to the Colecciones Reales, which is connected to the Catedral de Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena. The first part of the tour brought us through the old Moorish wall of Madrid, built in the 9th century, which I thought was very impressive. The fact that it was buried under the cathedral until recently is interesting; uncovering such an old piece of history while building a museum is quite the coincidence. The museum had a collection of books dating from the 1400s to the 1800s, which were all impressively well-preserved. I also learned about the history of the Habsburgs from the House of Austria. Interestingly enough, while looking at each of the paintings, I could tell immediately which ones were Habsburgs. The ever-present and protruding chin from the Habsburg bloodline is a surefire way to identify them. It is unsurprising that inbreeding and poor health led to their downfall. I am also a big fan of models and antiques, so being able to look at old tools and decorations was fascinating. The painted Japanese vases featured beautiful brushwork, using a rich gold pigment. Other than the Moorish wall, the item I found the most impressive in this collection is the book of Russian army uniform photographs from 1857, which is bound in malachite. The stunning green stone being used as a book cover is not something I thought it would ever be used for.

After taking some time to admire the view of the city from the overhang next to the cathedral, Tenderness, Jasmine, Joanna and I headed off to the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the world, in order to try suckling pig cooked in a 300 year old oven. This restaurant, Botín, the restaurant in question, appears somewhat normal from the outside. However, upon entering, it was immediately obvious how old the interior is. Our table was on the upper floor, and to be honest, climbing those old wooden stairs was a little scary. After being sat, the four of us read through the menu. Surprisingly, bread was €2 per person, and not €2 for the table! Of course, we still ordered bread anyway. A few minutes after we received our bread, a Tuna group walked into Botín and began to play music! Apparently, Tuna groups are comprised of university students who play traditional instruments. They did a very good job! We were finally able to order our suckling pig, and I was impressed by how tender the pork was despite the skin being so hard and crispy. It was a struggle to cut into the skin, but the actual meat would just fall apart. While the meat was very tasty, I thought the skin is what really made the dish. It was crispy and full of flavor, which reminded me a bit of peking duck. Was it worth €32? I’m not sure. I like to think that I was paying for the experience and the bragging rights.

This day was full of exploring new places and things, which is the essence of going to a country you’ve never visited before. It is extremely important to try new things when traveling, even if you don’t think you will enjoy it. I have found myself pleasantly surprised more than once in this regard; apparently, I like cantaloupe in Spain, even though I don’t like it in the United States! I also learned that I hate anchovies (sorry). Spain has left such a mark on my life that I want to return even more so every time I come back home. Spain is a place where old things mesh with new things in every corner, as the people move and grow with each passing day. I have come to deeply cherish the Spanish lifestyle, and I hope to travel even further in my next trip.

Tuesday morning was already our fourth day in Madrid, and it felt like the trip was flying by already. I was up and at em’ bright and early, and headed downstairs to grab some breakfast before the day started with a lecture at 9:45. We met up in the lobby and walked a few minutes over together to the meeting place at Spaces – Las Cortes, a shared office workspace right by El Palacio de Las Cortes. This was the first of two lectures that would take place both Tuesday and Wednesday. Both lectures focused on the history of Madrid, with this one focusing on Spain’s history further in the past, discussing the Reconquista of Spain by the Spanish Christian Kingdoms from the Muslim Moorish Kingdoms. We learned how Madrid became Spain’s capital city, taking the title from Toledo, where we’d visited just the day before, through a decree by King Philip III, after his father had moved the royal court from Toledo to Spain a generation prior.

After the lecture a few others and I had to go grab our metro cards. These cards, so generously covered by API, were different than the regular multicards usually obtained from the machines on the Metro, and offered unlimited subway rides for the whole month, even if we were only there for a week. Not knowing that these cards would be provided, had bought a 10-ride pass the night we arrived, but the 7 remaining rides I had on that one came in handy when classmates inevitably lost their own cards. There was a photo portion for the card, which took me by surprise. You may be able to see that much in my expression in the photo (you’re welcome to see that below). But, now all of us were set up to ride the metro for the rest of the week!

Next we went scavenger hunting. A group of us set out to cross some items off of our scavenger hunt list, and my brand shiny new metro card was put to use. We headed out from Estacion Sevilla on the 2 line (though I preferred to call it the red line) before switching to the 5 (the green line) headed towards our destination, El Mercado de la Paz. I don’t know if we hit the lunch rush or what, but the place was remarkably busy for a Tuesday. A couple members of our group got some empanadas from a booth, and we looked for some Manchego from a stand, but to no avail. We decided to try and make it over to Parque el Retiro before we had to reconvene with the whole class later that day. Though cloudy, the park was still beautiful. The ornate fountains and stunning architecture and landscaping were really fascinating to see.

The time was now to meet up with the whole class for Professor Z’s heralded walking tour of Madrid. Starting from El Puerta del Sol, we made our way from Kilometre Zero, the very geographical center of Spain, up towards Gran Via, learning fun facts about the iconic Tio Pepe sign and Madrid’s experience with the world’s oldest profession. Some lessons in history were present as well. As we made our way through Gran Via, Professor Z pointed out bullet holes in the buildings from the Nationalist’s siege of Madrid during the Civil War. Parts of the tour would give us a visual aid for the lecture we went on to have on Wednesday morning. As the sun sank lower in the sky, we walked through Malasaña, a really beautiful neighborhood filled with thrift stores, coffee shops, and bars. Definitely my kinda place. We made our way towards El Plaza de España and saw the monument to Miguel de Cervantes and Don Quijote de la Mancha. Though I never read the book in high school like some others, I’ve actually picked it up since getting home after being inspired by this trip (though admittedly I’m pretty wrapped up reading Game of Thrones currently so its slow progress). From La Plaza de España we made our way just a few blocks northeast towards el Parque de la Montaña, to see one of the very few memorials dedicated to the Spanish Civil War. The monument contains no plaque and paints no narrative one direction or the other. We ended the tour at the Templo of Debod, which I learned is only one of several Egyptian temples outside of Egypt. Funnily enough, on the plane ride home I watched Ocean’s 8, which features a scene with one of the other temples located in New York’s very own Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is something I would not have taken note of before. Our group disbanded while the sunset overlooking the Royal Palace and el Casa de Campo faded to blue. The walking tour was actually one of my favorite activities from the trip. Nothing is better, in my opinion, than physically being someplace while you are learning about it. You get to see and learn so many minute details that you would have no other way of knowing about, and it gives you a whole different perspective on the history. I hope to revisit Madrid in the near future and I hope to explore every neighborhood in as much detail as we did Malasaña. Who knows, maybe the last two rides remaining on my metro card will even still be valid!

Editor’s Note: I invite you to view the blog posts by Cam and Michael, who both also wrote about this day, to see some better pictures of where we went. I didn’t take many documentarian photographs, however, you are welcome to view some videos I took (see above) to see some snippets from this day of the trip.

This day was our third day of the trip, Monday, March 10th. After getting somewhat accustomed to what our next week was going to feel like in the beautiful city of Madrid, we hopped on a bus at around 9:30 in the morning and took about an hour ride to Toledo, a place that seemed like it was taken straight out of a storybook. On the drive in, it was very interesting to see the change of scenery from the big city of Madrid to a more rural area of Spain. The first time we stepped out of the bus, we were on this road just outside Toledo, giving us an excellent view. The architecture was astonishing and the view looked like something that you see in movies. The weather on this day was very kind to us, and the partly cloudy skies allowed us to experience all that Toledo had to offer.

Stop 1: The Monastery of San Juan de Los Reyes

After arriving at Toledo and meeting up with our amazing tour guide for the day, our first stop was the Monastery of San Juan de Los Reyes. Every inch of this intricate piece of architecture is covered with details. From the outside, stone carvings, symbols, and statues adorn the entrance of the Monastery. One of the most interesting features to me was the heads of many of the statues because they were a different color than the rest of the body. Our tour guide told us that this was because when Napoleon and his troops controlled Toledo in the early 1800s, they destroyed the statues. Once they left Toledo, the statues were restored, however, a different material was used, causing the color difference.

The inside of the Monastery was even more striking than the outside. The walls are littered from floor to ceiling with different carvings and inscriptions. One of my favorite parts from inside was the artwork that stood behind the altar in the main chapel. There is also a small garden that sits in the center of the Monastery, adding to the peaceful ambiance of the building.

The City of Toledo and Stop 2: The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo

After leaving the Monastery of San Juan de Los Reyes, we took about a fifteen-minute walk throughout the city towards our next destination. As we walked the narrow streets of Toledo, our tour guide made sure to point out a lot of different restaurants and shops that we could check out later in the day. The main thing that she told us about was a pastry called marzipan. Marzipan is made from ground almonds and sugar and is one of Toledo’s most famous pastries. The dessert is traditionally made into a crescent shape, but there are lots of other different forms of marzipan too. We got the chance to try some marizpan, and I really enjoyed the sweetness of the pastry.

Next, we arrived at our second stop of the guided tour which was the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo. This structure was the most astonishing work of architecture that I have ever seen. The towers of the Cathedral stood so tall that you could see them overtop of all of the other buildings in the area as we were walking in. The structure was so massive that I found myself in awe, finding new details everywhere that I looked. My favorite detail from the outside, though it was hard to choose one, was the depiction of the Last Supper near the top of the Cathedral.

The inside of the Cathedral was even more impressive than the outside. As we roamed through the main chapel, the massive golden altarpiece was the first thing that caught my eye, glowing under the light that poured through the colorful stained-glass windows. The walls were covered in detailed carvings and paintings, and even when I thought that I couldn’t be impressed even more, I was proven wrong. Even the ceiling was covered in so many beautiful carvings and works of art that it made me want to keep looking up to take it all in. Our tour guide explained to us how natural light was extremely important at the time that the Cathedral was built. With the lack of electrical lighting, the positioning of many windows, such as the large stained-glass windows surrounding the main chapel, and other places that allowed light to enter the Cathedral were very important. To conclude our tour of the Cathedral of Saint Mary, we took a walk through the Sacristy of the Cathedral, an art gallery showcasing many works of art by different artists. The ceiling was painted by Luca Giordano, and it was by far the best part of the room due to its large scale and intricate details.

Back in Madrid to End The Day

After having a couple of hours of free time to explore the city of Toledo a bit more, we made our way back to Madrid to finish the day off. A couple of the guys and I wound up at a restaurant called Vinitus that was only about a ten-minute walk from the hotel that we were staying at. We got a variety of tapas that we shared between the four of us, and my favorite was the jamón.

This day in Toledo was one of the best experiences that I had during my time in Spain. From exploring the stunning cathedrals to wandering through the old stone streets, every part of the city had a story to tell. The mix of cultures, the stunning architecture, and the incredible views made it one of my favorite places that we went to throughout the whole trip. The culture and history was so rich in Toledo that a day almost didn’t feel like enough time to explore everything that it had to offer, but through our guided tour and the free time that we had after, I feel as if the time in Toledo enriched my experience abroad and is a day that I will never forget.

On March 8th, I finally arrived at the Madrid-Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain. I was so excited when I realized I was finally in Madrid after waiting months for the trip. I was with 3 other students from the study abroad program during this flight, which I was very grateful for, considering we were together throughout the whole flight helping each other get to Madrid. As we continued to be together, we shared our excitement about what we would do there and built a bond from the conversation. In the airport, as we were checking in, the process went really fast and was organized. We got through everything quickly, and then we arrived at the main entrance to meet Fran, our guide for the study abroad. I was relieved because we arrived safely in Spain, and now it was time to start our journey in Madrid. 

  We all arrived on the bus, and Fran started telling us the plan for the first day, which included settling in, exploring the city, and orientation. It was a very rainy day, which I expected considering we arrived in Spain during a week when it was planned to rain a lot. When we finally got to the hotel called “ Hotel Regina,” I was amazed by the beautiful architecture of the building around us. The front desk staff was very kind and respectful. As we waited for our keycard to be ready,  I was able to meet my study abroad group, and we decided to go eat at this restaurant called “Honest Greens,” and I ended up getting a breakfast burrito. This was a perfect time for everyone to get to know each other, which was really nice. However, I couldn’t stay long because a few of us needed to head back to get our MetroCards, and I was one of them. After the group met up, we walked to the metro station, where we had to get our picture and give them information, and once that was completed, I officially got my MetroCard. Once we finished, our keycards were ready, and I headed to my hotel room. And when I entered, I was overjoyed and thrilled at how beautiful the room was. After resting, we all had to attend orientation, and Fran gave us an insight into what the week was going to look like and what’s expected of us. When orientation ended, I headed back to my hotel and later went on my first outing with friends to this restaurant called “Le Club Sushita.” This was our first dinner, and we found this place unexpectedly as we were exploring the city, which made it more fun. It was overall an elegant and luxurious restaurant. The layout was incredibly different from the usual restaurants I attended. One of the dishes I decided to order was this ramen bowl. I really enjoyed it because it’s a favorite order of mine, and I usually get this dish in America, but in Spain, it had a different, unique flavor of combinations. Furthermore, we enjoyed the night, ending off with prawns and a dessert. It was an amazing place to start off with.  

One of the buildings that I enjoyed admiring while we were exploring the city at night was called “Cibeles Fountain.” This building was so classic and stunning, glancing at it at night. The purple colors lit up, which made it more noticeable to admire from afar.  I ended up doing my research on the influence behind the fountain, and I found that it was an 18th-century neoclassical fountain that depicted goddess Cybele on a chariot pulled by 2 lions. It is such a beautiful piece of art to look at, and it was not just this building that caught my attention, but overall, all of the buildings in Madrid were beautifully built out and had pieces of classical art. I noticed that Spanish monuments reflect the diverse history of blending Roman and Christian architectural styles. Spain’s monuments are beautiful because it has much creative mastery and depth of history with artistic monuments. In addition to being aesthetically beautiful, Spain’s rich culture has made me admire the country even more than before. As I continued to learn more about the culture, I began to grow more admiration and appreciation for how hard they worked to make these beautiful monuments. My favorite part of Spain was definitely experiencing the artwork and architecture. They are so unique and different from monuments and art in America.

“Cibeles Fountain.”

Tuesday, March 11th, 2025

From Franco to Democracy –Madrid’s Role in Modern Spain

We met up in the hotel lobby at 9:45 where as a group we would head over to the Spaces Las Cortes to attend one of our two lectures about the history of both Spain and Madrid from the time of the Reconquista up to the Modern Day Spain. Here we learned about how Madrid became the new capital of Spain during the Reign of Phillip II and how after other lands around Madrid would be “absorbed” into Madrid creating the large area we know today and how this led to Madrid being one of the largest cities in Europe. After we learned about the land of Spain during the Spanish Civil War and which areas were Republican and which were Nationalist and how Francisco Franco came to power holding it until his death in 1975. We also learned how after the death of Franco Madrid would have Political and Social reforms to benefit the future of Spain such as the Constitution of 1978 and the “Movida Madrileña” cultural movement.

Intermission

After the lecture we split off into our own groups across Madrid experiencing the culture of the city while also knocking off items needed for our scavenger hunt assignment. Here during the intermission period, I would start off with taking the railway to a different part of town where with the group that I was with would walk around the City checking out different places such as a cafe or a sweet shop. The group would make our way to Mercado de la Paz which is a well known market in Madrid where I got to experience my first market in Madrid and thought it was cool of how each section was its own unique store, we would later on make our way to the Parque de El Retiro where would walk past the Puerta de Alcalá which is the former Northern Entrance to Madrid and I also saw the Monument to Alfonso XII which I thought was pretty cool, we would end our intermission period going to an Udon noodle shop.

Civil War Walking Tour around Madrid Prof. Zabalbeascoa and Prof. Fran

We Reconvened at 5 PM at the Hotel where we would start are walking tour of Madrid talking about the history of both Spain and Madrid while also talking about talking about key areas of Madrid during the Civil War and how Madrid was sieged by the Nationalists for 2 years. We started our walking tour off the city center learning about the iconic Tio Pepe sign and heading over to the exact middle of Madrid as seen in the first picture. We would continue our tour learning about the Siege of Madrid we learned the story of Manuela Malasańa Oñoro who was a young seamstress who was murdered by Napoleon’s soldiers which outraged the people of Spain and Oñoro would be remembered by the community with her own neighborhood in Madrid. Our tour also saw us learn the story of Don Quixote which is one of the most iconic works of literature of all time, and shortly after we would see one of the few monuments to the Spanish Civil War. We would finish our walking by seeing the Egyptian Temple the Temple of Debod which was an ancient Egyptian temple gifted to the country of Spain.

Reflection

During the time in Madrid so far the people of Spain and API have made my time during Madrid a blast due to the welcoming of the Spanish people and our group leaders Fran and Angeles, this has allowed us to experience the culture of Spain while also learning about it’s history and how it developed its culture. I also enjoyed having walked around Madrid a couple of times and seeing different areas have its influence somewhere in Madrid such as statues to Greek Gods such as Poseidon or Helios and others such as Heracles, I also saw a bit of influence from Rome from the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus, to the iconic SPQR of the Roman Empire. Also learning about how Madrid wasn’t always the Capital of Spain becoming it in 1561 but instead Toledo used to hold that honor, and during our tour of Toledo seeing a place with such a rich history all the way from Medieval times and how you can see glimpses of it today, I was also amazed by the churches and cathedrals of Toledo as stepping into something that was built a long time ago still be in good condition is amazing. During are walking tour it was kinda crazy how one place can hold so much history from a long period of time such as Madrid after it became the capital in 1561 to modern day and how it has gone through many experiences such as being invaded by Napoleon to the Siege of Madrid. Overall all the experiences I have had in Madrid has led to this trip being a fun experience while learning about another country’s culture and history and thanks to API for setting this the activities that we have done allowing this trip to be possible.

Wednesday was a calm day as we got closer to the end of the trip and departure. On Wednesday we began the day with a lecture on the Spanish Civil War. This lecture was given by the same local professor that the class had on Tuesday. As mentioned, this lecture focused on the civil war’s effect on Spanish society and Madrid’s role in resisting fascist forces. As discussed by the professor, over time since King Philip II moved the capital of Spain from Toledo to Madrid to be more central to the nation to make running the nation easier, Madrid has become an important economic and political metropolis. As the center of the government, it made Madrid an important city to take if he wanted to take over the government; this led him to station his troops around the city known as Casa de Campo and besiege the city. Before being captured, Madrid was a center for the Second Republic of Spain, so many of the republic’s combatants from labor unions went to the edge of the city to prevent Franco’s forces as a last bastion for the republic and their political beliefs. Madrid under siege was plagued by many of the same problems other cities under siege have faced: starvation, bombing, and infighting, and it was one of the longer sieges in European history. Despite the siege, Madrid still served to be a hub for journalism covering the Spanish Civil War and literature, even though the horrors mentioned in “I’ll Explain Some Things” by Pablo Neruda were commonplace within the city. Listening to this lecture changed my perspective of walking in the city of Madrid because in one lifetime on a street I casually walked, people fought for their political ideals and for their country or were dying of starvation due to the siege. To me it was a little jarring to look at a building and be able to see where they patched all the bullet holes because as an American there are not a lot of physical markers of modern war, and Spaniards today see it every day and know little about it.

Later in the day we visited and received a guided tour of the Colecciones Reales, which is a relatively new museum in Madrid that collected the possessions of Spanish royals before the 2nd Republic and Franco’s dictatorship, primarily focusing on the Spanish branch of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty and the Bourbon dynasty, which is the current ruling family. We were guided through art owned and supported by the royal family, beginning with the official formation of the kingdom of Spain with the combination of the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile by the Catholic Monarchs King Philip II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile. We saw art owned by their son-in-law King Philip I, who started the Spanish Habsburg line, and King Charles II, who ended it. Lastly, we saw art owned through the Spanish War of Succession passed over to the Bourbons, Napoleon, and the First Republic of Spain. The art in this collection was a lot smaller than what I’ve seen in other museums in Madrid, but the guide explained how the monarchy had a tradition of selling items owned by the previous ruler to settle unpaid debts, leading to a lack of items still left in the family’s possession before it became property of the country of Spain. Of what was preserved in the possession of the royal family, there were a lot of huge, intricate tapestries, which were quite opulent. Along with those, there were two huge carriages and books collected that helped to illustrate the culture of the time. Another cool thing about this museum is that when they were building it, they uncovered the remains of the wall that surrounded the original Moor Citadel, which the Royal Palace is also built upon.

Lastly, as part of the study abroad curriculum, we had to visit a spot mentioned by Hemingway when he was in Spain. To complete this criterion, we visited Sobrino de Botin, which, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the oldest continually running restaurant in the world. Botin is famous for Suckling Pig, which is served from the same brick oven even after 300 years. While we were eating, students of engineering came into the restaurant and sang some traditional Spanish song while playing lute. These musicians are called Las Tunas in Spain and often play for money in restaurants and bars while representing their colleges and forming community. I couldn’t help but give them my 3 US dollars and my only 5 Euro bill, especially after seeing the medieval outfits they were in.

Overall, this day affected my perception of how to really take in and experience Spanish culture. You can listen to lectures and walk through museums all day, but I feel as if the best place to really absorb culture and understand it is to be where the people are and learn firsthand in person. Being in Madrid so far helped me understand European culture in a way I couldn’t see before; it’s kind of cool to see how the way their society works can be completely different or the exact same.