Madrid, the capital of Spain, is also Spain's largest city with a population of over 3 million people. It has a large metro system and is much more cosmopolitan than smaller cities like Salamanca (for example, fewer shops close for siesta in the middle of the day there than in Salamanca). It was not until 1561 that Madrid was named Spain's capital city, as before that the capital was farther south in Toledo.
I took the metro to la Puerta del Sol (pretty much the Times Square of Spain) and met Stacy there. Here is a picture of Sol (the shorthand term for Puerta del Sol):
Stacy and I decided to check out El Rastro: the Sunday fleamarket that several Spanish cities, including Salamanca, have throughout the year. We walked to Calle de Toledo and started exploring the different casetas, or booths. You could buy almost anything there, including...
máscaras extrañas:
and the crotch pants/Hammer pants that are popular in Spain now:
ábanicos:
máscaras extrañas:
and the crotch pants/Hammer pants that are popular in Spain now:
After walking around El Rastro for a while, we got some bocadillos (sandwiches) at a restaurant called DeManteditos. They were cheap, only a little over a Euro each!
We also walked through Madrid's Plaza Mayor (still not as nice as Salamanca's) and had someone take our picture in front of it:
We also walked through Madrid's Plaza Mayor (still not as nice as Salamanca's) and had someone take our picture in front of it:
As with Salamanca, the farther from the Plaza you are, the cheaper things get.
We also checked out the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), Madrid's Cathedral, and the Crypts, but unfortunately they were all closed for siesta.
We also checked out the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), Madrid's Cathedral, and the Crypts, but unfortunately they were all closed for siesta.
El Palacio Real:
La Catedral:
La Cripta:
La Catedral:
La Cripta:
Lastly, after getting some helado, we stopped in the Corte Inglés. The Corte Inglés is a famous Spanish department store chain. You can check it out for yourself by clicking here. It's similar to Macy's, except that it sells EVERYTHING (from groceries to electronics). It's also somewhat expensive. I thought it was interesting what music they happened to be selling in the "international" section...notice anything in the picture below?
After that we went our different ways and I went back to Salamanca. On the bus ride back, we passed several windmills on a hill..you can get the feel of the Spanish countryside of Castilla-León from this picture. It's dry and somewhat hilly. Spain, like the rest of Europe, is also much more conscious about protecting the environment and using clean energy than the United States is in general.
Este fin de semana vamos a Portugal, así tendré muchas más fotos y historias pronto. ¡Ciao!
After that we went our different ways and I went back to Salamanca. On the bus ride back, we passed several windmills on a hill..you can get the feel of the Spanish countryside of Castilla-León from this picture. It's dry and somewhat hilly. Spain, like the rest of Europe, is also much more conscious about protecting the environment and using clean energy than the United States is in general.
Este fin de semana vamos a Portugal, así tendré muchas más fotos y historias pronto. ¡Ciao!
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