Vale, Vale, Vale: Madrid, los primeros días

As I write this, I am laying in the grass in Parque de Buen Retiro and listening to Band of Horses on my iPod. Could it get any better?

This question has been on my mind since I arrived in Madrid and each time, the answer is "yes." Each day I spend in the city only makes me more excited to greet the sun the next day. Granted right now, the only class I am taking is an orientation course designed to help us get adjusted to madrileño culture and which require no outside work. But, I am actually anticipating the start of courses, believe it or not, as this extra time during the afternoon often finds me spending away my money. Seeing as it has only been a week since my arrival to Madrid, I have been giving myself a break on the money front and concentrating on having fun more than anything else.

Now, in the fun department, Madrid has much to offer. I live less than ten blocks from the biggest and most beautiful park in the city, the aforementioned Parque de Buen Retiro (it's like the Central Park of Madrid). Just taking a walk through the park and listening to the sounds of children playing, people laughing and the wind rustling through the wide variety of trees, can make my day. I have taken to running in the park when I get the chance as I seem to run farther and faster than I normally would when facing the prospect of getting outrun by people twice my age. The park houses many monuments and the Reina Sofia art museum. There is also a large pond/small lake in which los madrileños while away the hours lazily rowing boats and canoes.

Una chiquita en el Parque.

A monument overlooking the rowing lake.

Another monument in el Parque.

I arrived on Monday, September 7, and have already ventured outside the city to visit the town of Segovia. There are many reasons to visit Segovia, but we concentrated on a Catholic cathedral built by the Knights Templar during the 12th century, Castillo Alcazar de Segovia and an ancient roman aqueduct built durind the 1st century.

I most enjoyed our visit to Castillo Alcazar de Segovia, which is an impressive castle that was home to many Spanish kings and queens, including Queen Isabel and King Fernando. It is also the castle upon which Walt Disney based the castles in the first Disney animated films, eventually inspiring the famous Walt Disney castle in the company's symbol.

Me, posing with a (tiny) suit of armor in Castillo Alcazar.

Castillo Alcazar de Segovia

The 1st century Roman aqueduct in Segovia.

I often find myself comparing this trip to the one I took earlier this summer to Buenos Aires, Argentina (the trip which inspired the name of this blog). Though I know I shouldn't, the cities are so similar, both architecturally and in the character of the people. One similarity they do not share, however, is affordability. While much of this is due to our favorable exchange rate with the Argentine peso and our unfavorable exchange rate with the euro, not all of it is. Going to dinner in a nice restaurant in Buenos Aires would cost roughly $15 USD, wine included. Going to dinner at a comparable restaurant in Madrid would cost more than $40, wine not included. So, needless to say, I haven't yet had dinner at a nice restaurant.

Also, I notice the urgency with which I explored Buenos Aires is absent in my approach to Madrid. I only had seven weeks with which to work in Argentina in comparison to almost four months in Madrid. Thus, I felt like every minute was precious in Buenos Aires, while I can easily spend the day inside my room here in Madrid and not think anything of it.

As I said before, I am ready to establish a rhythm in Madrid so I don't have to find as many ways to fill my time. I have an interview for an internship tomorrow afternoon, which could potentially help in the "filling my time" department (I'll let you all know about the outcome of the interview soon!).

For now, I am still riding an arrival high and looking forward to what I may find around the next corner of this beautiful city. If only I could get my internal clock adjusted to sleeping seven hours ahead, then everything would be perfect.

Brady