I went to Madrid for a week!
This is my friend Vladimir who lives in Molina. He was going to Madrid so I decided to join him!
We took the bus at 2:30 am on Sunday night and arrived in Madrid at 8:00 am on Monday Morning.
There is a big park in the center of the city that we went and walked around
Madrid was VERY cold - compared to Murica!
But it was still a beautiful day!
(Myrna I took this photo for you!
because I feel like this is a statue of a giant honey-badger!
and I know how much you love them! )
we also met up with another friend
I liked this church a lot! the stained glass was so pretty
We rode the subway around the city.
Remember how I got mud all over my shoes?
I used the escalator to brush off most of the mud that was still stuck to my shoes
haha- its worked pretty well
I washed them later on.. they will forever be tinted pink from that red clay mud!
haha
The buildings here are very beautiful and unique
One of my favorite things to find while I am traveling and discovering new cities is local art and galleries. As Vali and I were walking around I stumbled upon this place:
look at the artist work station!?
Oh this makes me want to paint so badly!
SO MUCH PAINT on that paint pallet!
This building was so pretty- and as we were standing there the clouds were moving and it made it appear as though the building was swaying!
It was a very real and strange sense of vertigo!
Which is funny cause vertigo is usually associated with looking down from a great height
this time it was from looking up!
Both Valdi and I were laughing at the sensation of the building swaying like that.
I loved this beautiful cathedral!
Inside:
the ceiling:
This is the Royal Palace of Madrid
(unfortunately we got there too late to be able to get tickets to go inside)
And THIS beautiful place is the main reason that we came to Madrid!
To go to the Temple!
Something that is really cool here is they have a hostel at the temple for members who need a place to stay while they come to serve at the temple! It is much cheaper than staying at a hotel.
this is the dining area:
kitchen and cooking area:
my bedroom:
yep! 5 beds! for my first 3 days it was just one other woman and me.
Then we got 3 more roommates.
The bed that is on the floor actually folds down from a cabinet on the side.
It is a really clever way to fit as many people as possible!
It is exciting that the rooms are all full here!
Because everyone that stays here is serving in the temple!
There is even a little kitchenet in the room
You know when you find one of "your people"...
do you know what I mean by that?
It is someone who just gets you and you get them!
You connect, and can talk for hours, and just genuinely enjoy one another.
Well I found one of my people in Madrid!
This is Sam!
He currently lives in Madrid.
Sam and I were efy counselors together back in the day.
But we never had time to spend together cause we were not co-counselors,
but knew one another -ish.
I am so glad that we had this opportunity to re-connect!
Yay for facebook for helping me stay connected with people!
Sam took me around to some cool places:
Templo de Debod
Why is this Egyptian temple in Madrid you may ask...well here is my little summary:
In 1960 they were building a dam in Abu Simbel - which posed a threat to a bunch of monuments and archeological sites. So Spain helped a lot in the process of saving the monuments and preserving the areas historical legacy. As a sign of gratitude for the help that Spain provided in saving their temples and monuments the Egyptian state donated the temple of Debod to Spain in 1968.
(there is more interesting info on Wikipedia if you want to know more)
It was a really cool thing to see! And I am amazed that something like this from Egypt can be shipped and re-build here in Spain for me to see!
I loved the carvings inside on the walls! Sam and I talked about how cool it would be to see it back in the day when it was in use and it was probably decorated and there were flowers and incense and the priests would use it to worship.
There was a room that we entered that was essentially their holy-of-holies. That only the highest priests could enter. Such a fascinating thing! Now that I think about it I hope that if those priest are looking down or watching over their temple they are happy that people are learning about and appreciating their history - rather than being horrified at the irreverence of anyone and everyone entering into their most sacred space.
I'm going to be positive and hope for the former rather than the later ;)
Palacio de Cibeles
We went up on the roof top of a building (I don't remember the name)
that has a pretty great view of the city
and we were there right in time for sunset!
Instead of taking the elevator down we went down the stairs
and snooped around the cool building a little bit
We went to the Prado National Museum and saw some fantastic art!
Some that I even recognized that I had studied in my art history class back at BYU.
It is always such a cool experience to see those kinds of works in person!
We walked around the city
I love how they light up the Palacio de Cibeles at night!
Thanks for an amazing time Sam!
More Photos from me wandering around Madrid:
Royal Palace of Madrid
behind the Royal Palace there are some beautiful gardens:
I thought to myself - this would be a fun place to play hide and go seek!
then I saw this girl... I am pretty sure she stole my idea!
I was happy about that - and jealous at the same time that I didn't have friends with me to play with! haha
I have seen quite a few mounted police as I have been wandering around Madrid!
There are worse jobs in the world:
This is the "Times Square" of Madrid.
Right in the City center
Complete with street performers, people selling fake designer bags,
and people dressed up in costumes of cartoon characters - to get people to take photos
with them and give them tips.
My last day in Madrid I went to the temple again in the morning before I had to go and catch my bus back to Murica.
Such a beautiful place!
I actually got to go to the temple 4 out of the 5 days I was here in Madrid!
(The one day I didn't go is for another blog post! Be excited about that! its coming up next!)
The bus ride home:
I took this photo in the bathroom of the bus station.. because it made me laugh
Dang it!
Fine! I wont smoke in this public bathroom...
but where am I supposed to wash my feet?!
The bus ride is about 5 hours.
Not my favorite form of transportation - but its fine.
at a 1/2 way point the bus stopped so we could have a break.
I came out of the bathroom and my friend Vali was so excited and said,
"Kristy! you HAVE to come here! I have something for you to try!"
He introduced me to this deliciousness:
Oh Spain! you have the BEST pastries!
They were a flaky layered pastry with creme, chocolate or white chocolate filling.
The chocolate ones were my favorite!
OH-MY-YUM!!!
This is the kind of thing that I wish I could bring home to share with my family!
And THIS is why I go running everyday!
We had a good trip to Madrid! I am glad that I got to go!
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