A trip to Madrid

After a few weeks settling into the U.K. I had the opportunity to travel to visit Katherine in Madrid! Keep in mind, I had never been to Europe before, so I was a little nervous about traveling to a country that speaks little English (and I know almost no Spanish). This is where it comes in handy to have a girlfriend that is fluent in Spanish.

Katherine lives near a great area of Madrid right by one of the biggest and most beautiful parks in the city, so that was our first destination on Friday.

Parque del Retiro - Rose Gardens

Retiro Park

Katherine and I in front of a sculpture by the Estanque lake in the Retiro

After walking around the Retiro we ended up at the center lake, called Estanque, where we rented a row boat for an hour around the lake.

Rowing on the Estanque in the Retiro

Katherine rowing on the Estanque in the Retiro

Once we finished rowing we moved on to one of the most famous places in Madrid, Plaza Mayor, where we had a late afternoon lunch. We spent the evening having dinner with other teachers in Katherine's program before heading back to Plaza Mayor under the moon-light for a relaxing evening.

Plaza Mayor

On Saturday, we went to the Royal Palace of Madrid, one of the largest palaces in the world! While we didn't tour the palace on this trip (maybe some other time), we were able to enjoy great views from the garden.

Katherine and I in front of the Royal Palace of Madrid

After the palace trip we went to one of the largest parks in Madrid, Casa de Campo, where we walked around to a small hill to get a great view of Madrid.

View of Madrid from Casa de Campo park

On way back from Casa de Campo

On Saturday evening we went to the Prado Museum, which is right near the center of Madrid. On Sunday we went to the Reine Sofia museum, which focused a little more on modern art.

Outside of the Reine Sofia museum with Atocha station in the background.

Overall a fantastic weekend and an amazing tour of Madrid for such a short time period. I may have even learned a few Spanish phrases during the weekend, but for that I definitely have to thank my tour guide, Katherine!