Today, we wrapped up our exploration of Madrid with food, sightseeing, and (of course) a lot more walking. Everyone is still doing great, and (for the first time ever) no one got anything stolen on the Madrid Metro! We can’t wait to begin our travels to Toledo tomorrow morning!
We had a Spanish breakfast this morning at our hotel, complete with tostadas, cold meats, and cheeses.Our first tour stop of the day was the San Jeronimo church, constructed back in the early 1500s.From there, we took a walk through the Retiro Park gardens.Some of us got cozy on the row-boats.Others floated along leisurely in the amazing Madrid summer weather.We took a stroll through the historic Bourbon district of Madrid, including the Alcala Gate, which used to be part of one of the walls that protected Madrid.We made it to the Plaza de Cibeles, which used to be a palace, then the main post office of Spain, and is now the Madrid Town Hall.Our last tour stop for the day was the Prado Museum, which does not allow pictures of the paintings. However, our students recognized many of the pieces of artwork from Spanish courses and art classes at RCS!We had a “Tapas Tour” for lunch, where we tried foods like tortilla de patatas (potato omelette), montaditos (finger sandwiches), gazpacho (cold vegetable soup), ensaladilla (potato salad with tuna), croquetas (fried dumplings), and parrillada (grilled meat).After lunch, we used our free-time for a Profe-led tour in Spanglish. We started at the Bear and Cherry Tree statue, which is the symbol of Madrid, and continued to the shopping district and Gran Via, Spain’s version of Broadway in New York City.We also stopped by the Sabatini Gardens next to the Royal Palace.The 2,200-year-old Templo de Debod was a gift from Egypt to Spain, transported piece-by-piece in the 20th century.We finished our excellent day overlooking the biggest park in Madrid, Campo del Moro, which features views of the Cathedral in the background.
RCS in Spain 2019 