Mo' Madrid

Finding time to update the blog is getting harder and harder: there's so much to see and do in Spain! So, a week behind, but here's some photos from last weekend, which I spent exploring Madrid. I'm writing this having just gotten back from a tour of the south of Spain so those pictures and video will be on the way soon plus an update from my first soccer game in Spain. But first things first, here's more of Madrid:


You never know what you'll encounter on an afternoon walk around Madrid. Perhaps a strangely decorated building...

Or a woman walking her pet pig...

Or a little taste of home. (And, no I didn't eat there. For as good as Spanish food is, they're not quite as apt at imitating American food.

La Plaza de Las Ventas de Los Toros. Madrid's famous bullfighting ring and the most important one in all of Spain. Not sure how I feel about the sport in general (seems a bit brutal) but I'd like to go to one bullfight later this semester.

Bullfighting isn't in season again until late March so now the World Circus is in town.

Madrid's Plaza de España. Not nearly as impressive as Sevilla's version but a nice little place nonetheless.

The center of Plaza de España: a statue of Don Quixote and his faithful companion, Sancho Panza.

Miguel de Cervantes keeps a watchful eye on his famous characters below.

El Templo de Debod, an Egyptian temple in Madrid. I wanted to send this picture to my Mom with the message: "Hey ma, guess where I went for the weekend? Thought I'd get a first-hand look at the protests!" Don't think she would have been amused.

Apparently the temple was built in the 2nd century B.C. in Southern Egypt. Egypt shipped the temple in pieces and reconstructed it in Madrid in 1968 as a thank you to a Spanish archaeological team that helped preserve other Egyptian temples near the Nile.

Man these people love their ham. They even have museums for it.

The inside of the "museum." And yes, those are pigs hanging from the walls. Very common decoration in Spain. We still have the "Christmas" pig sitting on the counter here at our house.

La Plaza Mayor, the center of Old Madrid.

A beautiful place and the site of many important events in Spain's history, including executions during the Spanish Inquisition.

Didn't know Spiderman smoked. Or had a beer-belly.

Maybe he spent too much time at our next stop, El Mercado de San Miguel. A very cool but very expensive market near Plaza Mayor.

Spanish olives are delicious in Spain. Makes sense, eh?

I'm telling you, these people love their ham.

Sweet tooth?


Oh wait, more ham.

And more sweets.

Seafood.

I find it hard to identify a lot of foods in English so sometimes I don't even try in Spanish.

Fresh fish. Sometimes, they just cook them like this too. The other day, the señor cut the head of the fish off at the table and had me feel inside the mouth of the beast to show me it had teeth. Very appetizing.

That's all for now. Cordoba and Granada pictures will be on the way this week. Until later, hasta luego.