"An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of actual world."
- George Santayana
Today reminded me of one of the big reasons why I wanted to study abroad in Madrid (and Spain, for that matter).
There was a CIEE Excursion that, to be honest, I probably shouldn't have gone to given my current physical condition (I was feeling better this morning since I wasn't really dizzy and nothing really ached, but I had no voz), but I didn't want to miss out on any explorations, as well as the opportunity to take more photos. So I got myself up at 8:30 and went on the day-long adventure.
And I don't regret it for a moment.
We went to El Palacio Real de Aranjuez, explored its jardines (gardens), and traveled to La Casa del Labrador, none of which is used now. From inside to out, El Palacio Real was simply marvelous. Like many other buildings in Madrid and Spain, it was just covered in art, the walls, the ceilings, the floors, the stairs. Seriously, it made me wonder just how long it took to build the whole place (it underwent several renovations, but even then). Statues of people and other things scattered in each sala (room), paintings in frames hanging elegantly on the wall, metal crosses, utensils, paintings on the ceiling. There's no way I can put this into words. This place was just jaw-droppingly pretty, and even if you're not a fan of art or architecture, you have to admire just how much went into this place. Clearly, only the finest (royalty) could live here. The one room that really got me was what I think was a chapel. Honestly, no church I've been to could ever surpass the beauty that was in here. They also had some old clothes (like robes that the king and queen would wear), cars, and fire arms that were used back in the day. I don't think I could praise this place enough for what it had to behold.
We traveled through the fairly small gardens in the back after our tour inside El Palacio Real, and this was gorgeous, too. It had several different trails, multiple flowers, and lots of stone/statued fountains to go around. If you looked out into the gardens from the palace itself, you can see some of the city, and even a slight hint of mountains in the background.
After that, we took a break and hit lunch at the nearby market. I'm not going to give my reasoning, but I ended up getting this large-ass postre (dessert) that was pretty cheap. Just looking at it screamed "Oh my God! Chocolate!" And then tasting it was like, "OHMYGODCHOCOLATE!" Seriously, it tasted like a bloody chocolate truffle, a rich bloody chocolate truffle. I could only eat 3/4 of it before I had to inevitably give up. Eating that much of it was a success for me not only because of how big and rich it was, but also because I usually get sick of the taste of chocolate fairly quickly unless I have milk with it.
After lunch, we made our way through a forest to go to La Casa del Labrador. There was something so natural and beautiful about these woods that just reminded me of some old enchanted fairy tale, or (for other people) Pride & Prejudice. I mean, it was green and rich like a forest, it smelled clear like a forest, it was an actual, cool forest. We were pretty close to El Rio Verde (green river). Like every other place in Spain, there were statues and fountains scattered about, and under the forest shadows mixed with the rays of sun sneeking through the leaves, those were pretty to see. It was one of the better "hike through the woods" I've had in a while to say the least, and I must say, it sparked a few story (more or less, fan fiction) ideas.
We finally arrived at La Casa del Labrador, which looked small on the outside, but the inside was a whole different story. Like El Palacio Real, there were plenty of paintings everywhere, as well as gorgeous art on every spot possible. There were small models of other places, and of course, statues, maybe just as many as Palacio Real. The place smelled old (like an old person's house, ha), and we had to wear these cute little slippers that reminded me of elf shoes so as to not track in the house. It's nice to see them preserve the place. It wasn't as cool as Palacio Real in my opinion, but it was nifty in its own cute, little way, and the walk through the woods to get there was just the cherry on top.
- George Santayana
Today reminded me of one of the big reasons why I wanted to study abroad in Madrid (and Spain, for that matter).
There was a CIEE Excursion that, to be honest, I probably shouldn't have gone to given my current physical condition (I was feeling better this morning since I wasn't really dizzy and nothing really ached, but I had no voz), but I didn't want to miss out on any explorations, as well as the opportunity to take more photos. So I got myself up at 8:30 and went on the day-long adventure.
And I don't regret it for a moment.
We went to El Palacio Real de Aranjuez, explored its jardines (gardens), and traveled to La Casa del Labrador, none of which is used now. From inside to out, El Palacio Real was simply marvelous. Like many other buildings in Madrid and Spain, it was just covered in art, the walls, the ceilings, the floors, the stairs. Seriously, it made me wonder just how long it took to build the whole place (it underwent several renovations, but even then). Statues of people and other things scattered in each sala (room), paintings in frames hanging elegantly on the wall, metal crosses, utensils, paintings on the ceiling. There's no way I can put this into words. This place was just jaw-droppingly pretty, and even if you're not a fan of art or architecture, you have to admire just how much went into this place. Clearly, only the finest (royalty) could live here. The one room that really got me was what I think was a chapel. Honestly, no church I've been to could ever surpass the beauty that was in here. They also had some old clothes (like robes that the king and queen would wear), cars, and fire arms that were used back in the day. I don't think I could praise this place enough for what it had to behold.
We traveled through the fairly small gardens in the back after our tour inside El Palacio Real, and this was gorgeous, too. It had several different trails, multiple flowers, and lots of stone/statued fountains to go around. If you looked out into the gardens from the palace itself, you can see some of the city, and even a slight hint of mountains in the background.
After that, we took a break and hit lunch at the nearby market. I'm not going to give my reasoning, but I ended up getting this large-ass postre (dessert) that was pretty cheap. Just looking at it screamed "Oh my God! Chocolate!" And then tasting it was like, "OHMYGODCHOCOLATE!" Seriously, it tasted like a bloody chocolate truffle, a rich bloody chocolate truffle. I could only eat 3/4 of it before I had to inevitably give up. Eating that much of it was a success for me not only because of how big and rich it was, but also because I usually get sick of the taste of chocolate fairly quickly unless I have milk with it.
After lunch, we made our way through a forest to go to La Casa del Labrador. There was something so natural and beautiful about these woods that just reminded me of some old enchanted fairy tale, or (for other people) Pride & Prejudice. I mean, it was green and rich like a forest, it smelled clear like a forest, it was an actual, cool forest. We were pretty close to El Rio Verde (green river). Like every other place in Spain, there were statues and fountains scattered about, and under the forest shadows mixed with the rays of sun sneeking through the leaves, those were pretty to see. It was one of the better "hike through the woods" I've had in a while to say the least, and I must say, it sparked a few story (more or less, fan fiction) ideas.
We finally arrived at La Casa del Labrador, which looked small on the outside, but the inside was a whole different story. Like El Palacio Real, there were plenty of paintings everywhere, as well as gorgeous art on every spot possible. There were small models of other places, and of course, statues, maybe just as many as Palacio Real. The place smelled old (like an old person's house, ha), and we had to wear these cute little slippers that reminded me of elf shoes so as to not track in the house. It's nice to see them preserve the place. It wasn't as cool as Palacio Real in my opinion, but it was nifty in its own cute, little way, and the walk through the woods to get there was just the cherry on top.
As stated already, it's difficult to describe these places with words.
So you're probably waiting for pictures of these places, huh? Well unfortunately, photography of the insides of the buildings was prohibited, which I think is ridiculous. You simply can't show us something drop-dead gorgeous and expect us not to take a picture of it (especially in the age of technology); it's like putting a cookie in front of a five-year old boy and expecting him not to eat it.
Robby and a few others were able to sneak a few photos of inside of Palacio Real, a couple which I stole and have posted below. Even the pictures hardly capture its hermosa, though, but at least you get an idea. Actually, the couple of people that got caught with pictures really got scolded; poor Nan got yelled at by the Security guard, then watched the entire times as she made here way down the royal marble stairs (which, by the way, were a lot like the "Beauty and the Beast" stairs).
Put simply, Madrid is wonderfully artistic, and that was a big reason as to why I wanted to study here, because I wanted to see its art with my own eyes. You can look at all this from magazines or postcards, but it does not compare to experiencing in real life; "pictures fade away, but memory's forever."
Classes start tomorrow...or today, technically. Yikes! Wish me luck!
Oh yeah, given that piece of information, you're going to have to forgive me when my updates on the blog (and maybe even Facebook) become less freqent and even shorter entries. Once school is in full swing, I'm going to become very busy with classes and maybe other activities, so vamos a ver (we'll see) how much time I'm going to have after that. I promise that I'll update when I can.
Hasta luego.
~ LSquared
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