A little over a week ago, my program brought us on a weekend trip to Toledo and Madrid. Both are very old and traditional cities in Central Spain, rich with Spanish pride. Toledo has been a religious hub over the centuries for Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike and the remnants of the warring religions now stand in peace together throughout the town. Though it was rainy, we ate a great lunch and then headed out on a tour and made the best of it. Our tour guide, Javier, learned English from an Irish man and made for a very entertaining tour. He ended up guiding our tour of Madrid the next day too.

Madrid is different from Barcelona is just about every way; the two cities represent two contrasting cultures of Spain: Madrid prides itself on strong conservative, traditional social and political ideologies, while Barcelona abides by a liberal, progressive way of life in an economically prosperous and Catalan region.

The contrast between the two cities was very apparent; those we met at bars, on the street, and even our tour guide gave numerous, not-so-subtle jabs at Barcelona and the Catalan way of life. Just as my Catalan professors direct towards those in Madrid! Nothing compares in the U.S. to the hundreds of years of war, social, political, and economic conflict between the two regions. Very interesting! Madrid is a beautiful city and is home to the Spanish royal family and Real Madrid (FC Barca’s number one rival and one of the best futbol teams in the world). But I’ll be honest- I was happy to arrive back to Barcelona 🙂

Posing in front of the Palacio. This is the symbolic home of the Spanish Royal Family.

Cool food market

Biggest skillet of paella I’ve ever seen!

The Spanish love their cured jamon (ham)

Javier, our guide, took us into a convent cloister. The nuns sell little cookies to the public but don’t show their face.
The money/cookie transaction took place in this lazy-susan thing. Awesome tour surprise.

Javier, our awesome tour guide for the weekend!

There was a huge protest during our trip. Thousands of unemployed, unhappy, and fed up citizens of Madrid
protested the streets and occupied the main plazas throughout the city.  Police were everywhere!

Near the famous Prada Art Musuem

Parque de Retiro (Park of Retirement)- absolutely beautiful. Reminded me of Alice in Wonderland!

Antes de morir (Before I die..) street/community art in Madrid. Very Inspiring.