Half Way Done

May 3

0- June 2, 2022

Wow, I’m halfway done with my study abroad experience. I feel like I almost just started it! Recently the days feel like they go by so fast. Dinner is so much later here so by the time we get home from eating out, it’s already time for bed.

This week we stopped at a botanical garden, royal palace, museums, had tacos, and our group dinner!

The Botanical Garden

On Monday we stopped at the Royal Palace’s botanical garden. I thought it was quite large and interesting that the royal family was that interested in plants! We learned about this plant that actually induced contractions to basically aid in a medicinal abortion. This plant used to be given out to women, but not anymore due to a political controversy. There were many plants imported from other countries to make a very broad selection of plants.

The green house in the Botanical Garden

The Royal Palace

On Tuesday we went to the Royal Palace. Pictures weren’t allowed inside most rooms, but it was very pretty and interesting to see how the royal family used to live. No one lives in the palace anymore, but it is still used to host events and such, which makes the palace more interesting because it’s still used.

The foyer ceiling and view from outside of the royal palace

The Prado Museum

On Wednesday we got to take a look into an art museum. I’ve never been to an art museum so this was a first experience for me. There were quite a few paintings that I remembered learning about in my Spanish class during the spring semester, so it was so cool to see the original paintings right in from of me! I’ve never been a huge fan of looking at art, but when you‘re looking at original historical paintings that capture what life used to look like, your mindset changes. We even saw the Mona Lisa painting that was painted during the same time as the actual Mona Lisa. Another thing I learned at the museum was that the color royal blue paint was a sign of wealth, or a sign of an investment by the painter, as it was an expensive paint color. I wonder if there is any paint now a days that showcase wealth within paintings. These are a few pieces that we saw:

The Decent From The Cross

This is one of the oldest paintings in the museum. What I really liked about this painting was how realistic the tears looked on their faces. Something different about Jesus in this painting is that his face is shaved, which is not how he is usually portrayed.

The Garden of Earthy Delights

I thought this painting really cool because from far away it doesn’t seem like much, but the closer you got, the more you saw. There is so much detail in every part of the painting. It’s suppose to be a mythical portrayal of Earth and Heaven and Hell. On the left it represents Adam and Eve, the middle is fun on Earth, and then the right is in Hell.

The Triumph of Death

This painting scared me a little! It’s about a portrayal that no one can escape death, no matter who you are. It is also saying that you should have fun on Earth, but stay true to the church’s morals, otherwise you’ll end up in Hell. During this time 50% of people didn’t make it past the age of 5, so life itself was a special gift. Group Dinner

On Wednesday night our group dressed up and went to Plaza Mayor for a dinner paid for by ACCENT. We went to Arrabol and ate outside on the patio. It was beautiful out! Eating outside in the summer in Iowa can be so hot and sticky, but in Madrid the weather feels perfect all of the time! It seems like there is hardly any weather fluctuation in Spain.

I love how in Spain you can get many appetizers included with your meal when you get dinner depending on where you go. Everything tastes so good it’s hard to save room for the main course! To start we had bread (which isn’t served with butter here unless you ask for it), Russian salad, which tasted like tuna/chicken salad, croquetas (these were my favorite croquetas I’ve had so far!), and fried eggplant with hummus and honey. For my main course I had secreto iberico which is a style of pork. It wasn’t my favorite meat, but I absolutely love trying new foods, and I was already stuffed from the appetizers! For dessert we had an amazing cheesecake, and I couldn’t help but eat all of it. It was a lovely night, and it felt great to sit, laugh, and talk with the people I’m experiencing this with. I also learned that my Spanish name in my high school class, Monita, means monkey, after I asked Luis if he knew any Monitas. My name was monkey for four years, yikes!

Fried eggplant, Ashleigh and I heading to dinner, and our cheesecake!

The House of Sorolla

On Thursday we visited a famous painter’s house that was donated to the government to be used as a museum. Sorolla was a painter born in Valencia whose parents died when he was very young. As his painting skills grew, he started gaining attention from critics and galleries later on in life. He became very rich, but unfortunately passed away after paralyzed for years.

Some paintings and collections from the house

Madrid Naval Museum

Also on Thursday we visited the Madrid Navy museum. We saw lots of models of boats, compasses, maps, books, and much more that the navy and sailors used. There were many paintings of important people in Spanish history like Queen Isabella! The museum was interesting to see because some of the ships were used to fight in the Spanish-American war.

A painting, ship model, and part of a map of what they used to think the world looked like

Templo de Debod Picnic

Thursday night we went to a supermarket and bought some cheap pastries, crackers, and ham and cheese to have a little picnic and watch the sunset. It was so adorable and fun, and of course so cute for Instagram. I’m absolutely loving my time with the new friends I’ve made on this trip. The little moments with them are making us grow so close together and I’m so happy for that!

Maddie and I are going to make a stop at Kapital Thursday night before we head to Granada for the weekend. I’m so excited for our first overnight trip! Stay tuned!

Adios!

Morgan