Capricho Park

Capricho park, just north of the city and unknown to many, is considered to be one of the most beautiful parks in Madrid. This park dates back to 1784 when the Duke of Osuna, from one of the most illustrious and powerful of the city’s families, acquired the land for the specific purpose of giving expression to the family’s visionary and artistic values as well as to give the family a place to escape city life. Here are some pictures from today in Capricho park...

Here are two pictures from Retiro Park yesterday...

Crystal Palace

A laundry basket sculpture inside the glass palace

Weekend of celebration

My friend, Ari, who is currently studying abroad in Scotland, came to visit me for the weekend. It was really fun to show her around Madrid, and to celebrate my birthday and St. Patrick's Day with her. We went to the Reina Sofia Museum and took some more pictures of Picasso's paintings. We also visited the Archaeology Museum and the Royal Palace. The weather almost reached into the 70s, so we were able to stroll around the parks, take a boat ride, and see many sights.

Celebrating St. Pattie's Day in an Irish Pub

This stone, Km 0, in Plaza del Sol marks the exact center of Spain!

Some nose-picking of Picasso's painting

This man just blew us away!! The guy on the left is a statue, but the guy squatting on the right is a real man, and he opened his eyes every time someone would put some change into his bucket. We could not figure out how in the world he was able to squat in that position without moving an inch, but we think he was sitting on a carved out piece of stone and then plastered himself around it or something. Amazing!

I had to sneak this picture inside the Royal Palace because photography was not allowed!

Weekend in Paris!!

I arrived in Paris early Wednesday morning for a long weekend trip! The plane ride there only cost 8 Euro, so it was too good to pass up!! The hotel was in a perfect location, just two blocks away from the Louvre Museum. The day we arrived, we toured the Louvre gardens and Notre Dame. The Ash Wednesday mass was going on inside Notre Dame which was really neat to watch! On Thursday, we walked to the Eiffel Tower and toured the Orsay Museum, and at night we took a river boat cruise on the Seine River! On Friday, we spent most of the day touring the Louvre Museum and walking around to the many palaces and the Arc de Triomphe. I also enjoyed lots of good French crepes and wine. On Saturday, we visited a neat basilica and walked by Moulin Rouge on the way to the airport. It was definitely a fun trip and I think I liked Paris a bit more than Madrid. There were more trees and grass there, with lots of open spaces, whereas Madrid feels pretty crammed with all the one-way streets. Enjoy the pictures!

Carnival Madrid

There were all kinds of activities going on this weekend for Carnival Madrid, a festival leading up to Ash Wednesday. I went to a parade last night at dusk, and even most people watching the parade were all dressed up in costumes and masks. On Wednesday, they will have the "Burial of the Sardine," which is a tradition where a bunch of men dressed in black coats and hats proceed through the streets with a coffin containing an effigy of a dead sardine. The Burial of the Sardine "ridicules the ecclesiastical tradition of burying the fat to mark the beginning of Lenten fasting."

I also attended mass today at the Santa Barbara church. Everything was pretty much the same as a typical Catholic mass, except spoken and sung in Spanish. It was a great experience, and it was really neat to see the church all lit up!

A street theater play marking the beginning of the festivities

The parade



Plaza de Cibeles



Santa Barbara church all lit up

Xanadu Mall

Yesterday, I took a bus trip to one of the largest malls in Europe on the outskirts of Marid, called Xanadu. It houses one of the very few indoor ski hills in the world!
Also happening this weekend is Carnival Madrid, a tradition of festivals and parades leading up to Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of Lent. I will post some of those pictures in a couple of days, too!

The indoor ski hill

A neat mini-golf arena

My favorite store! They even had a Hollister in the mall