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

A day in the park

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend in Retiro park! I also visited the Santa Barbara church and the adjoining building where the Supreme Court is held.

Some whale bones on display as a statue at the park



Some really funky upside-down trees!



Santa Barbara church

Tribunal Supremo

Prado Museum

On Friday, I went with my art class to the Prado Museum to view the paintings that we have been studying. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so I took quite a few on the outside and of the gardens. We only covered a couple rooms in the whole museum, but we are going back 4 more times for the class. I think it would take hours to cover the entire museum though, but there are a lot of great paintings and sculptures!

The entrance of the Prado

This is just one section of the building, it is very large!

I couldn't pass up taking a picture of these cute kids on a field trip all holding onto eachother's shirts!

A very pretty church across the street

Museo Cerralbo

A couple days ago, we visited this mansion/museum called Museo Cerralbo. It was built in the 1800s for a wealthy man who collected all sorts of treasures...paintings, sculptures, weapons, armour, jewelry, furniture, etc. He had collected over 50,000 objects!! From the outside it looked like a regular apartment, but on the inside it was quite a palace!



The ballroom





A neat glass chandelier



El Escorial trip

Yesterday, I went on an excursion with my study abroad program to El Escorial. It is a large monastery north of Madrid that was built in the 1500s, and it was the largest building in the world at the time. Inside, there is a palace, museum, basilica, library, and pantheon where all of the Royalty of Spain have been buried. We were not supposed to take pictures at all, but we were able to sneak a few.
On the same trip, we visited the Valle de los Caidos. This is a large Catholic basilica where the tallest memorial cross in the world is held. It was situated in the mountains so we were surrounded by snow. Almost felt like home!

The center courtyard of El Escorial

Walking into the beautiful basilica

One of the most important historic libraries in the world

The entrance into the Pantheon where the Kings and Queens of Spain are buried

Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen)

Surrounded by snowy mountains