If Museums Allowed Flash

Okay, so I went to Madrid this weekend! I had a really good time, but I was a stereotypical American, being that I had no idea where I was the whole entire time. The only time I actually had to use a map was when my friend Meta and I were walking back from shopping (yes I was shopping,) in the pouring ran, and had to look at a subway map to figure out where we were (I also stole a paper place mat, that had a map of Madrid, from a restaurant, but never looked at it, because that would be kind of odd to look at such a thing in public.) 

Parque de Retiro: Somewhat reminded me of Central Park, especially this scene.

Thursday, everyone arrived from all corners of Madrid: Zaragoza, Murcia, Huelva, and, of course, Sevilla! In the afternoon we walked around and the went shopping near the Plaza de Espana. That evening, while everyone was doing schenanigans, my friend Lizzie and I went exploring around our hostel, which I really enjoyed, because I felt like I was getting away from all of the main, tourist infested streets (acting like a Lonely Planet hipster traveler.)
Friday morning we went to the Prado, which was awesome! Oh, if any exchange students affiliated with InterHispania are reading this, I would like to clarify why I was carrying around a notebook and taking notes. I want to remember things, and since museums don't allow photography, why not take notes on all of the interesting facts and things that you see? I'm also a very serious person (sometimes) and really like to learn, so there you have it!
Anyway, I felt like I was reliving my AP European History class! First, we saw the portrait of the infamous, Bloody Mary, probably one of the more unattractive monarchs I've seen, but not as bad as Maria Luisa. Then there was El jardin de las delicias, by Bosch. And who got the question right about which panel represented Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell (but not correct in Spanish.) This chick!

In addition we saw Rubens, Velazquez's Las Meninas (of course), and Goya's realistic portraits of the Royal Family and 3 de mayo. At the Reina Sofia we saw Dali and Picasso's famous Guernica, which is HUGE, as well as some very eccentric, and haunting, silent movies.

Saturday we went to the Palacio Real, which is essentially the Spanish version of Versailles (mas o menos.) Because I took notes I can tell you all of the interesting facts about the palace. Here it goes!

•  It was built in the 18th century by Henry V
•  It is of Bourbon, Neoclassical, and Baroque styles 
• Has over 2,000 rooms
•  The walls in the ballroom are all covered with tapestries that have scenes from the Bible (or used for parties) because Queen Maria Mercedes died on the floor
• El Salon Trono, or throne room in English, has all of the Spanish colonies painted on the ceiling (actually not that interesting) 
• The Queen and King lived in separate quarters: the queen's to the left of the throne room, the king's to the right
• It is one of the most original palaces in all of Europe 

 

                           
After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, which was fun, except for the fact that Meta and I got totally soaked coming back from the hostel (and a little lost.) But, that evening was especially fun, because while everyone else was doing who knows what, Lizzie, Meta, and I went to see La Gran Budapest Hotel. I've only seen one other Wes Anderson movie, being Moonrise Kingdom, and was kind of of ¨weirded out" by it. I love La Gran Budapest Hotel, maybe because I couldn't understand enough of the dubbed Spanish to make a solid judgement, but I felt like because of my lack of understanding I could really enjoy the cinematography, which I don't think I really have ever done before.

All in all, I would really like to go back to Madrid. Although I was there for four days, I want to get an even better understanding of this grand city!

(PS- I have realized that of my 15 other blogs, that they are mostly about trips that I have taken. If it's all right with you, readers, I think I want to start writing a little bit about ordinary things: my walk to school, the little community I have formed, etc. I just don't want my blog to become another piece of spam mail.)

Paris

Alright, so i better write about my latest trip, to Paris, before things start rolling this weekend (which they already have!) So for those that didn't know before, I went to Paris last weekend with my grade. I left my house at 4 in the morning, on Friday, to go to the airport (CRAZY!) Before I start reiterating our itinerary, I'd just like to mention all of the quirky things that I encountered, while in France. First of all, we took the train from our hotel to Disney. When we arrived, we gave  teachers 12 euros, but were given it back because the pollution was so condensed when we arrived,  which made public transportation free! This reminded me a little bit of Mexico City, in the way that the city has a lottery for who can't drive on certain days, in order to contain polluting emissions. Also, all of the McDonalds had these optional touch screens that you could order from. I don't know if this is an urban phenomenon that I have missed out on , but I thought it was pretty cool. Anyway, we spent Friday sighting seeing, while sleep deprived, but hey it's Paris! We saw the Eiffel Tower, Monmatre (which is GORGEOUS!), Notre Dame, and walked through the Latin Quarter (it's where the universities are, and is called that because Latin has been spoken at those institutes for hundreds of years.)

 

Saturday and Sunday we went to Disney, which was fun, but I think I can wait another ten years before I go to another Disney Park (maybe Tokyo next time?) Being someone that doesn't really like roller coasters, I just reminded myself that they are only five minutes (at most) and the probability of my skull being cracked is extremely low. I actually had a really good time! I loved Space Mountain, the Finding Nemo ride (which was supposed to be like you wear riding the back of one of the turtles), and the Rock N' Roller. They all had really cool visual affects, but it was just really annoying to stand in line for hours on end (whatever!)

Monday we took a boat tour on the Seine, which I enjoyed a lot, and then we went to the Arc de Triomphe and walked on the Champs Elysees.

Now, interesting things about the Champs Elysees! Being the overly observant person that I am, I found it to be extremely odd how, considering that the Champs Elysees has some of the most expensive real estate in the world, that I could find a Gap, Subway, and Abercrombie, all on the same block. The Spanish kids were all really excited, but all I could think was, ¨Wow! These are the economic powerhouses of the world!¨ Also , the Abercrombie was one of the most horrifying Abercrombies I have ever been to! First of all, I didn't know it was an Abercrombie! I thought we were walking into a little garden, but then I was greeted by a very fit, shirtless black man. Just a little awkward. Then, the inside, being like all Abercrombies, was just like walking into a club, but with gaudy French artwork to distract you from looking at the clothes. I HATE AMERICAN MAINSTREAM CLOTHING STORES!!!!!!!!!! (Except Patagonia, if that counts as mainstream.)
Afterwards we went to the Opera Garnel, which was so beautiful, but I was so exhausted and cranky, that I felt like I couldn't fully appreciate it! I feel like I need to come back to Paris again, without a large group of kids, and do whatever I want! But, before I go to Paris, again, I need to thoroughly explore Spain.

CARNAVAL!!!!!!

Let me just say that carnaval WAS THE BOMB!!!! (I don't think I've been to such a colorful party since the flamenco themed birthday party for my first grade teacher.)While in Spain, I have had one priority, and that is to make things happen! My first weekend here in Spain, I was watching Canal Sur, with my host mother, when a clip of the Cadiz Carnaval popped up. There was something so alluring about it, that I said to myself, "I want to go to that!" So I did! I have had a lot of anxiety, until recently, asking my host mother to do things, but I didn't want this opportunity to pass, so I kept on mentioning it.

  I ended up taking the train, with Margarita, my host mother, and her friend Conchi. It was nice to see the towns between Sevilla and Cadiz, but once we got closer and closer to Cadiz, more and more people came on with flamboyant costumes.
I had a few underestimations about the carnaval. People said that there were going to be a lot of people in Cadiz, but being from Vermont, the biggest crowd I've ever been in was at the Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes concert at Shelburne Museum. There were moments when I was standing in an alleyway with no free space and was being moved by people pushing in the crowd! Also, I thought that wearing a costume was an option. Some people just put on a wig or funny hat, but I did look very boring next to the tribe of Native American women!
So when we got off the train, we were a little flustered because we didn't have a map, so we took a picture of the map of Cadiz that showed where all of the rest stops were. We took a random left and saw swarms of people! Originally, I thought the performances were at specific locations, but everywhere we went, there was music! In front of the city hall, we watched our first group, which was a group of men dressed up as doctors.  They sang about the Royal Hospital, but I wasn't able to understand everything, but it was still really funny with all of their expressions. All of the coros at Carnival wear ridiculous outfits, most of the time they are accompanied by music. The biggest carnival in Spain is in Cadiz, and the city prepares all year for it. The carnival in Cadiz starts the Thursday before Shrove Day, and ends the following Saturday. The first weekend is for the adult choruses, while the following for the infantils (child prodigies! Overrated!) A little before carnival starts there is a competition between all of the coros, and the final is the first Friday of carnaval. I actually heard some of it on the local radio station, and absolutely loved it when they sang songs from Les Miserables in Spanish. It's so hard to describe what the choruses sound like, but they're almost like a capella groups accompanied by guitars with a huge Spanish flare. Here's the link to a video of one of the finalists of this years competition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M8swD-IdzQ
Culturally, carnaval is something that I have never experienced! Being cold, Puritan influenced New England, the mostly lively shing-dig I've ever been to was Burlington Marathon after party. Lets just state the major differences! People were walking around drinking liter bottles of Cruzcampo beer, in the early afternoon! I'm pretty sure they weren't sharing! (People we getting very drunk at 4 in the afternoon, so I would not want to stick around after dark.) There were vendors everywhere selling seafood, hot sandwiches, sweets, kazoos, etc. Although there were a lot of food vendors, the majority of the people brought their own lunches, big sandwiches wrapped in aluminum foil. My mother packed us a lunch, and I felt terrible because I ate two whole sandwiches by myself! Whatever, I go to the gym!
At the end we got to see a little bit of the parade at the end of the day, which was cool because there was actually a lot of South American dance troops. When I think of Spain, I don't think of Chinese people owning stores (yes stores, not restaurants) or immigrants from Bolivia and Paraguay, but my host sister, Claudia, told me a saying that (I can't remember it in Spanish) that People love all the "colors" in Spain. I felt like carnaval was a very colorful event, that painted a memory that I will keep forever!

 Here are some pictures of the a few of los coros.