Acqueducts, tapas and impressionism

Spring has sprung in Madrid! I am writing this post from my bedroom with a warm breeze blowing through the balcony and the background music of the accordion player in the Palace gardens. ¡Que bonito! 

 
After a not-so-Irish St Patty's day in Madrid, I headed to Segovia for the day to see the acqueduct! It is amazing to think that these have existed for over 2000 years, you don't see that kind of sturdy construction these days. I was able to see the murrallas, or city walls, that were also constructed by the Romans. For lunch we ordered cochinillo, which is roast suckling pig. I tried cochinillo with my parents last week and loved it. Then I found out Segovia is known for their cochinillo so I had to try it again.

Saturday morning the sun was out and we were ready to see some more of Madrid! The day began at El Tigre for lunch. This is a tapas bar that I have been hearing about since I arrived but for some reason have not been to. Man was I missing out! Every drink you order comes with a tapa, which isn't out of the ordinary for most restaurants in Madrid. However these tapas were enormes (enormous) and deliciosas. We went for lunch and couldn't even finish all the food they brought us. The bar was packed and we were shoulder to shoulder with other Madrilenos the whole time. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring parks and seeing the lake. We ended the evening by watching the sunset in Parque del Oeste.

Children in the Sea, Sorolla

I have a language exchange partner named Alberto who is from Cadiz. He studies law in Madrid and we meet every week to speak Spanish and English together. This week we met to go see the Museo Sorolla which is Joaquin Sorolla's house filled with his works. Sorolla is from Valencia and his paintings depict scenes from many Spanish cities. His house was beautiful and built in typical Andalucian style with a patio in the middle. The walls of the rooms were covered in his paintings which made for an interesting mix of Sorolla's daily life and his career. This was one of my favorite art museums so far because I love the colors and light Sorolla uses in his work. My favorite paintings were the beach landscapes. When my parents and I went to the Prado my mom loved his paintings. Next time she comes to Madrid we can go to Museo Sorolla and see more!

Tonight I am off to see a bull fight. I am sort of nervous because I feel like I am off to the slaughterhouse but I am excited to see another Spanish tradition at the same time. Although I am a little worried about my roommate Liz who hates the idea of dead animals...this could get interesting.

Check out the pictures from my week with my parents! And if you want to see all of the places I have been so far click show recent on the map in the right hand sidebar.

¡Hasta la próxima!

El acueducto de Segovia es una de las cosas más impresionantes que he visto en España. Es increíble que fue construido hace 2000 años. Es más difícil ver la influencia del imperio romana en la vida y cultura de España hoy pero hay mucha evidencia física. En Segovia por ejemplo, la muralla que rodea la ciudad. Podía ver los sillares, o piedras grandes, que conforman las paredes. He estudiado los sillares y la construcción de las murallas en mi clase de español y por eso es más interesante ver. Sin conocimiento de las murallas romanas y la construcción de ellas es probable que las paredes parecieran como piedras grandes y nada más. También puedo compartir mi conocimiento con mis amigos y ellos piensan que soy muy inteligente.