Palacio Real y Más

Saturday was a big day! As a group we went on a walking tour of Old Madrid with one of our professors. The professor that was with us knew everything and anything you could possibly want to know about the history of Madrid. He didn't stop talking about things for two hours straight. The first thing that we saw was the Teatro Real which is a really fancy theater that cost a lot to get into. We walked over to the Palacio Real which is the official residence of the royals. However, the royals don't actually live there. The Palacio Real is mostly used for ceremonies and other things. It is absolutely beautiful and huge! I hope to go inside of it sometime this semester because it is full of historical artifacts. Next to the Palacio is the Catedral de la Alumdena. This cathedral was build over the time period of XIX and XX. It was consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1993. It is so beautiful that every time I see it I'm still amazed by it!

This area is a really big tourist area and there are a lot of different strange attractions. There are people in suits that hide their heads. This way the look like the are headless but can still walk. There are also people playing music. Sometimes they would play American music and it would seem so out of place because we were in such a beautiful place and there was an American oldies rock song being sung in the background.

We walked through a ton of the old streets and learned about what period of time they were build and how we could tell just by looking at it. I honestly walked around in a daze because I couldn't believe how gorgeous the buildings are. They are pieces of art!

One of the last places that we went during the walking tour was though Plaza Mayor. This is a huge square that has buildings on every side and is in the middle of the city. In the middle of the plaza is a statue of Felipe III on a horse. There are a lot of horse statues here!

Caroyln and I went back to the same church for Sunday mass. This time there was singing however it was a lot more formal that what I am used to. This mass was longer because it was Sunday mass so it was harder to pay attention since the priest talks so fast. I did catch on to some of the things there were saying though, which I think is really good for 2 times at mass!

That night we all went out for Sangria for one of our group member's birthday. It was so much fun, even thought the Spaniards still look at us really weirdly! The group is like a huge family already and we get along so well!

In front of Palacio Real!

The Marquette group in Plaza Mayor!

Beautiful buildings!