Day SIX: Madrid

 Hola from Espana!

We started off the next day of the trip by grabbing a quick breakfast at the Paris hotel before walking to the airport terminal. We took an early flight from the Paris Orly Airport and arrived in Madrid before noon. Flying into the area, we could see the extensive Spanish countryside covered with farms, plains, and small villages. Right away upon landing, our bus was ready to take us into the city center of Madrid.

The bus dropped us off near the Plaza del Sol, the main city plaza. It was surrounded by picturesque historical buildings, including a large sign advertising Tio Pepe. In the center of the square were several major landmarks. There was a statue of a bear and a tree, the symbol of Madrid. Further along was a fountain topped by an imposing statue of King Carlos III, the Spanish king who aided the Americans against the British during the Revolutionary War. From here, we had free time for an hour and a half for lunch or shopping.

For lunch, our group headed to a local restaurant called La Carmela and had the chance to try some local delicacies. Some of our favorites were the seafood paella (with whole shrimps, eyes and all, much to Garrett's dismay), lamb, and steak. After our lunch, we reunited with Fran and the others at the Plaza del Sol for more fun.

Fran took us from the statue of the king to the Plaza Mayor, a medieval square used for many events over the centuries. The plaza was built by the Hapsburg Dynasty, the royal family of Spain until the War of Spanish Succession. One side of the square was used for the executions of commoners, who were hung and left to rot for days as a way to scare the public into obeying royal protocol. On the other side, nobles would be executed if they disobeyed the law in the much more humane way of a quick decapitation. In the center of the square was a statue of King Carlos II, the last king of the Hapsburg Dynasty. Majorly inbred, the king was infertile and could not produce an heir. With a hunchback, a short leg, a double chin, and only one testicle (according to the legend of Fran), the king did not have an heir, causing a war for succession across Europe. Finally, the Bourbon Dynasty took over the Spanish crown, where they still rule the kingdom to this day under the reign of King Felipe VI.

Fran then took us to the most famous chocolate shop in Spain, the Chocolateria San Gines. Already full from lunch (lunch portions are large here in Spain because lunch rather than dinner is the main meal of the day), we managed to make room for a delightful mid-afternoon dessert. We were each given a teacup filled to the brim with thick molten chocolate and were served a massive platter of churros (long donuts traditional to Spain) to dip in. Fran made it a challenge to see who could eat their entire bowl of chocolate, which proved to be more of a struggle than we thought because of how rich the chocolate was. Overall, it was a delicious meal, though.

From there, we were allowed to have a few hours of free time. My group took the opportunity to go shopping through the streets of Madrid. We went to a fancy department store called El Corte Ingles. There was a supermarket in the basement where we purchased some much-needed water and seven floors of shops that were much more affordable than Harrod's in England. We also checked out some book stores and souvenir shops where we purchased some local souvenirs such as ceramic animals and figurines of famous places in the city.

For dinner, Fran took us to a restaurant to feast on soup and bread, pork, and cake. We then took a final walk through the city on our way to the bus, passing by the royal palace, which we'll tour tomorrow, on our way to the underground parking lot. From there, we drove to the hotel outside the city.

Fue un dia muy largo, pero muy divertido. Fue una introducción muy buena para explorar el país de Espana y la ciudad de Madrid. Adios por ahora!

Sincerely,

Alex, Jace, Garrett, Nate, Gabriel, Sean, and Darius.