Otoño

Just a few weeks ago, when it was hot and sunny and I was constantly sweating on my way to classes, I was eager for the fall weather to come.  Boots and a light jacket sounded so good when I was running out of shorts and t-shirts to wear.  But now, fall is here, and per usual, I'm wishing it was still summer weather.  Fall in Madrid is "rain season." I put that in quotes because it doesn't rain half as much as it does in Chicago; what it does mean though is that most days are gray and cold, with the occasional light rain. It's been gloomy and wet for a few days now, but I have these to remind me of few days were I was loving fall:

 Lucy and Alex.

 Candid

Me and Alex.

Although the sun hasn't really been out since that day, we definitely took advantage of the beautiful weather by going to 2 museums.  First stop was the Naval Museum.

Inside there were hundreds of artifacts from historical expeditions, paintings of kings and captains and battles on the ocean, and models of the ships that once sailed.   The best part about this museum was seeing the things we were learning about in class.

This painting, for example, may have once just looked like a cliche painting of Christopher Colombus encountering the Native Americans, an event which might have been followed by a Thanksgiving dinner of sorts.  But after learning about Colombus' expeditions and the historical facts of his interactions with the natives, this painting really comes to life.  This painting is more than just a guess of what might have happened; it is likely that is an accurate depiction of the differences in dress, language, weapons, and intentions.  Thinking about this painting, and others in the museum, as accurate testaments to specific times in the past makes our world seem so vast and so full of history. 

There was also a lot about the battles that took place on the oceans, including paintings of what they may have looked like.  It's crazy to think about what it would be like to to try survive in the middle of the ocean, on a wooden ship, as you're being bombarded with cannonballs.  Seems so Pirates of the Carribean-esque.

After a few too many model ships and glass cases filled with swords, we decided to go to a girlier exhibition, the Yves Saint Laurent fashion exhibit. It reminded me a lot of the Alexander McQueen exhibit in New York, but to a lesser scale.  We learned all about the mastermind behind Yves Saint Laurent's fashion line and saw samples of some amazing pieces of clothing.  On the bottom floor, on every wall there were sketches of different clothes ideas along with pieces of textured and colored fabric that could go along with the piece.  The sketches spanned from the 60's to the 90's so it was really cool to see the evolution of his work and how it compared to the fashion trends of the time. I snuck a few pictures in the museum so here they are:

 At the time it was created, this collection was referred to as "the ugliest clothes in Paris" from a designer with the "worst fashion sense"

 Asian influences.

 Pretty jacket

Moroccan influence

We topped off the day with an amazing dinner at a Mexican restaurant, La Mordida.  We've decided that Spain has mastered Mexican food more than any other cuisine.  Now we're on the hunt for more Mexican!!

Me and Alex at La Mordida.

In other news, I just finished midterms and pretty soon I'll officially be on fall break.  Nathaniel is coming to visit tomorrow!! Then off to Florence....

Sorolla

Online reviews say Museo Sorolla is one of the best art museums in the city; I've read several times that it's a hidden gem.  Hidden, that's for sure.  Google Maps says it's a five minute walk from my house but I had never laid eyes on the museum, even when I walk ten minutes in each direction.  Every time I get off the Metro, I follow the exit signs to "Museo Sorolla" (since it's also the direction of my house), but still, never see this mysterious structure. After many failed attempts to find it on my own, our teacher told us she wanted to take our class on a mini field trip to see Sorolla's works of art.  Finally, I got to see it!  No maps needed!

The museum, which is actually the painter Joaquin Sorolla's old house, is tucked away behind a gate and many trees (I'm trying to justify why I haven't been able to find it).  When you walk through the gate, you are led down a path in a beautiful garden that surrounds the house, equipped with fountains and flowers and statues.  Upon entering the museum, I struggled to believe that this painter once lived there. It's an enormous, lavish home with two-story tall ceilings and skylights that allow the natural light to stream in.  Many of the rooms, like the dining room, foyer, and art studio, have been preserved since the 1800s, so you really get a sense of what it may have been like to live in such a mansion.  Every wall in the house/museum is filled with Sorolla's incredible paintings.  One room features many of his beach scenes, another his garden paintings, another his portraits, and finally an exhibition of his paintings from an extensive trip to Granada.  His primary medium is oil paint, which he layers on with thick, heavy strokes, and one painting is larger than the next.  I can't believe I hadn't learned much of Sorolla in school or even art class because I find his work to be breathtaking.  The way he captures light, air, and movement in his paintings are incredible.  I was also so impressed by the way he communicated the movement of water and how light and objects reflect on the water.  From personal experience, I think painting water is one of the hardest things to do, so I was especially taken aback by how beautifully and effortlessly he painted it.  For reference, here are some Sorolla paintings that were on display in the museum.  Keep in mind that in real life they're huge...

I think it's safe to say now that Sorolla is one of my favorite artists.  Alex wants to see the museum too, so I think I'm going to go with her to see all the paintings again. Can't wait to go back!

Where I've been in the last week..

Sorry it's been so long! Here's what I've been up to:

Trip to Toledo 

I went on a day trip to Toledo that was organized by our BU Program.  It's amazing how in just an hour, you can go from the heart of the city of Madrid to a historic small town in the mountains.

 On our way into the city, we stopped on the hillside for a picturesque view.  This pic is of Marni, Nate, me, and Rex in front of the view.

 Toledo!

 If I remember correctly, that big building was once a military base.  I could be making that up though.

 Marni, Me, Danielle, and Alex

 First stop: a tour of the churches in Toledo.  This is a picture of la Iglesia de San Roman. This church is unique because you can see the fusion of Muslim and Christian influence from the 13th century.  The Muslim architectural influences are apparent in the key hole shaped arches and geometrical designs within the church, and the Christian style is evident in the paintings of religious figures on the walls. 

 Next stop was La Catedral, and enormous Catholic church in the heart of Toledo.  

 This church was built in 1226 and represents the gothic style of architecture at the time.  There are, however, also Muslim stylistic influences like many buildings in Toledo.  

Another religious building next to the Cathedral.

 Marni, Danielle, Alex, and me in front of another beautiful view.

 After lunch we took a tour of the only two synagogues in Toledo.  It was funny to see the stark contrast between the elaborate, ornate, enormous churches and the more modest, smaller synagogues.  There use to be 12 synagogues in Toledo but of course during the Inquisition they were destroyed or converted into other religious buildings.  The remaining two were also converted into churches during this time, but are now restored as temples/museums.  

 This is the second synagogue we visited that was created in the Islamic style.  The keyhole arches and the pillars are typical of Islamic mosques, but it was actually used as a synagogue years ago.  Our guide reminded us that unlike other religions, Judaism doesn't have too many strict rules about where Jews can observe and practice.  The primary regulations are that men and women can be separate, there is an enclosed roof, and a place for the Torah, eternal light, etc. Because of this, Jews were able to practice their religion even in mosque-looking buildings.  

You can't see it here, but there are also paintings of angels and some crosses hanging in this building from when it was temporarily converted into a Catholic church.  A lot of religions under one roof.  It just shows how much history there is Toledo and how the city, like many other Spanish cities, was essentially shaped by religion.

Human Bodies Exhibit

Yes, it's pretty much exactly the same as the Human Bodies exhibit in the states, but Alex had never seen it before so we took a short trip to see the preserved, sliced up bodies.  And I snuck some pics.

Bear skeleton, not human don't worry.

Chapandaz

A couple friends that studied in Madrid in past years recommended a bar called Chapandaz so we decided to try it out.  It was so cool because when you walk in, you feel like you're in a cave. Stalactite hangs from the ceilings and rough rock covers the walls.  

 Drinks even came out of the stalactite that hung over the bar!! So cool, but kinda gross?

The other 'theme' of the bar is that they give you these huge fishbowl drinks.  For 40 euro, you can get one this size that is enough for about 7 people.  We got one that was a strange mix of milk, cinnamon, and different liqueurs. It was good at first, tasted like a pina colada, but after about 5 sips I was full and starting to get grossed out that we were all sharing one drink....

Visitors! 

Our friends Acker, Alki, and Eric, who are studying in Tel Aviv, came to Madrid for a couple days to visit! Madrid was their last stop on their road trip around Spain.  Yes, they rented a car and drove from city to city--sounds crazy, but they made it and said they had an amazing time.    

We took them to El Retiro, of course, and it was another beautiful fall day. 

Exploring El Retiro.

For dinner we decided to cook and have a little dinner party for all of our friends.  Lucy's host mom was out of town for the week, so we were able to use her (tiny) kitchen to prepare food.  We made pasta bolognese, chicken marinated in this amazing sauce we made, and salad.  So much fun!!

 Chopping something.

 We put Riv in charge of clean up.

 Dinner prep.

Pouring the homemade vinaigrette onto our colorful salads. 

 Me, Acker, Alki, and Danielle

No School Tomorrow!!

Happy Columbus Day!!! 

Take a Hike

76 degrees, sunny, no clouds, and a cool breeze.  Most perfect weather for a hike.  So a friend and I signed up to go with a group on a hike in La Pedriza, a national park just an hour north of Madrid.  We met up with a group of about 25 people; 14 of us were students on the BU program, and the other 11 were American students, Spaniards, or international students.  Our leader, Bo, is from the U.S. and is getting his masters in Spanish in Madrid.  Before the hike began, he managed to plug his book that he wrote about hiking, which describes his adventures and explains how to navigate certain mountains. He said the mountain we were climbing was particularly poorly marked and each year people get lost and die up there, so he brought his book along to help guide us.

The hike started off easy. We walked through a little town and then on a well defined path for about an hour.  Just as we were all wondering if the hike would be this easy, we were faced with unmarked paths and incredibly steep inclines.  Soon enough, it went from a "medium hike" (as we were told) to a pretty difficult one.  Oh, and Bo, our guide and author of the book we were relying on, got us lost several times, and we had to backtrack to find the right path.  Not the best way to promote his book.

Needless to say, it was an absolutely beautiful hike.  We walked through pine forests, rocky areas, across little streams, and through some brush.  Even though it was difficult, everyone was having a great time and I met some really interesting people. One German boy I spoke with was getting his PhD in Madrid and eventually wants to do research at Stanford.  He loves jazz and loves to cook Italian food (and he asked my friend Danielle out on a date, so they're going to a jazz club tonight haha!!) Another guy from Madrid was a computer programmer, and another kid went to Penn and is now teaching English in Madrid before he goes to med school. And then there was Chandra, the most annoying person in the world and basically not fun to have on a hike.  He was abrasive and loud and constantly made rude, unnecessary comments.  I guess he has been on a couple hikes with Bo before, and when Chandra got lost (I feel like it's always the annoying kid who gets lost in these types of situations) Bo took the opportunity to express to the group how much he couldn't stand him. Haha! So I just kept my distance from Chandra and tried to ignore it when he would take pictures of me and Danielle with his personal camera.

After a 4 hour ascent up the mountain, we stopped for lunch (amazing PB&J sandwiches) at the "peak" with the "amazing view."  Bo had actually led us to the wrong peak (the book failed us again), and the view was blocked by a giant rock.  So even though that was a little disappointing, we saw some unbelievable sights on the way up:

 There were a couple houses on the mountain that we saw in the first hour of the hike.

 Civilization.

Pretty view.

 Me and Danielle. 

Again.

Water!!

 Another great view.

 I wanted to get up there, but it was really too high.

 So we went on the mini rock.

 Pretty scenery.

Hikers

At the top!!

Clocktower in the town with storks nests on top! Never seen a stork's nest before.

We were promised a 4 hour hike, but we got a 7.5 hour one.  It was tough and by the end my legs felt like jello, but I'm so glad I went.  So great to be in nature again!  City life is hard...