The Spanish 4th of July & My Weekend in Madrid

First off, I’m alive. I haven’t written in about a week and I’m sorry but in this post, you’re in for some cute little anecdotes! Except about the bull fight - that’s not cute.

July 4

Rewind your mental calendar back one week to July 4th. Even though we’re in Spain, all of us on the program felt extreme pride and patriotism and indulged the Spanish in being obnoxiously loud Americans. We wore red, white, and blue, and my roommates played more country music than usual within the apartment. That night, I planned a BYOB picnic dinner - bring your own blanket/bocadillo (Spanish for sandwich) - in Retiro. There were about 7 of us and it was really nice. A couple guys brought a frisbee and a soccer ball and we hung there until the park closed. After the picnic, we all went out to a club called Joy where a guy on the trip had the opportunity to DJ a portion of the night. He was advertised on the fliers as an American DJ from Florida. It was a very American evening!

July 6 & 7

Last weekend, I took a break from exploring other cities and took time to know Madrid more. I had a full day planned and made a Google Doc of where we’re going and what metro stop it’s at. Our first stop was Monasterio de la Encarnación. It’s a royal monastery and is still used by the nuns of the Augustine order. We took a 45 minute tour of the monastery and it is beautiful! I much preferred visiting this one monastery over the variety of churches. I felt that the churches, though beautiful in their own way, focused more on grandeur than being a place of worship. It was simply ornate; the walls aren’t over crowded with relics though the engravings on the walls are intricate. You can easily see the walls and they’re not buried under art pieces. We were’t allowed to take pictures inside but should you visit Madrid, I would definitely put this on your list! There is a story that says there is St. Pantaleón’s dried blood in a glass globe, and every year on July 27 - St. Pantaleón’s Day - (unfortunately the day I leave Spain) it is said to liquefy. I can’t wrap my head around this so I asked the tour guide if she had seen it, and she responded no but her friends have. 

After the monastery, we walked to Real Academia de Bellas Artes, the Royal Academy of Fine Art. The museum is free for students and we’re definitely taking advantage of that. We were in the museum for about an hour. Unfortunately, a portion of it was closed off for restoration and improvements. We did go into Gabinete Goya, the room where Goya’s etchings are displayed. The plates are a decent size, maybe just a little larger than a 5x7 index card. This one piece by Luis Feito López caught my eye:

From the museum, we hopped on the metro to grab lunch at Mercado de San Antón in the neighborhood Chueca. It’s much smaller in size compared to the markets in Barcelona, and built more up than Mercado de San Miguel. It’s 3 floors with a variety of vendors selling pre-made meals. This is more of a lunch stop than a market, though there were vendors selling meat. Nick and Kevin met up with me and David at the market. Kelsey, Alyssa, and Katie had gone home to study for the UF course exams. This is the market seen from the second floor:

Next on my list was Plaza de la Cibeles and Palacio de Linares. The plaza is a traffic circle with a fountain and statue of La Cibeles, the fertility goddess. Nick, Kevin, David, and I went into the former post office building situated around the roundabout. It’s now mostly a government building, but there are some cafés and quiet lounge places inside. The palace was closed when we tried to go. It was converted into a museum and now shows Latin American art.

By this time, it was about 5 in the afternoon. We were all hot and exhausted. The temperatures lately have been hovering around 100 degrees and there’s no air conditioning, therefore there’s no escape. I’m really happy I packed light dresses and clothing. 100 degrees in Madrid is really different than 100 degrees in Miami. In Miami, we’re by the water and there’s a breeze. Here, we’re in the middle of the country and breezes aren’t too common. The peak of the day is between 3 and 5, and now I completely understand why the Spanish have siestas. The heat is unbearable at times! We decided to go home for a break. For dinner, Alyssa, Kelsey, and I met up at El Tigre, a typical tapas restaurant. For 6 euros, you get a huge drink and tapas dishes that don’t stop coming. It’s very filling and delicious. We began dinner with 3 drinks and 2 tapas plates between the 3 of us and by the time we left, we had received 4 dishes and Alyssa had the idea to bring it back to my apartment so the guys could munch on it. 

Saturday was exhausting and we called it a night. Sunday, we went to the flea market, El Rastro. I had been dying to go since I found out about it and it was a highlight for me this weekend! The market is only on Sundays from about 9 to maybe 3. Alyssa, Kelsey, Jacob (Kelsey’s new roommate), and I got there at 9:30 while some vendors were still setting up so we used that time to explore the various streets the market covers. You can find anything from pocket knives, to cookware, to dresses, to gas masks at El Rastro. We spent a solid 3 and a half hours there and I picked up some souvenirs and presents. El Rastro is a flea market but it’s not full of cheap chachkis. Looking past the strange, you can find some pretty good things!

That night we went to a bull fight. I didn’t want this post to be too long so I made a new one, scroll up!