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.