tour de españa: madrid

I just spent the last week visiting Madrid and Barcelona, Spain, with mi madre, making up the first part of our 2-week European excursion. My mom had been taking her final 2 classes to finish up her Bachelor’s in Psychology in Granada in the South of Spain. Unfortunately, her 4-week study was not exactly the most enjoyable time she’s ever had. A nazi señora for a host, cold showers limited to 5 minutes, and a lack of proper air flow made for an uncomfortable and stressful experience. Hopefully I can help her to relax and enjoy the joys of Europe [and forget about constant travel frustrations - oh the trains!]

I arrived in Madrid and the taxi dropped me off right smack into a gay pride parade. Hello Madrid! I managed a few snapshots while searching for my mom’s hotel amongst the chaotic crowd. Below is my “favorite”:

*Note: Yes, that is a red feather boa he’s wearing and not much else.

The next night, I joined my mom and her group from LSU for their farewell dinner at a great little tapas restaurant. I loved chatting with Renée, one of the girls in the group who was from Austin. It was fun talking about our favorite things in Austin and reminiscing. Ah, such a great town. Anyway, dinner was delicious and it was nice meeting fellow Louisianians across the pond.

Madrid had its troubles, but one thing we really enjoyed was the Reina Sofia art museum. My favorite part was the digital arts exhibition that was insanely impressive. Creative use of magnets, melted metals, robots, and light displays kept us in a jaw-dropping stupor for a good half-hour. The other highlight of the museum was Picasso’s famed painting, Guernica.

I didn’t get very many photos in Madrid, but hopefully I’ll get a bit more inspiration as our trip continues. Thanks for reading!

Next up: Bike riding in Barcelona

~ by sydneyberry on July 11, 2008.