Exploring Madrid

Sometimes I forget how beautiful my new home is. I always want to travel elsewhere, such as around Spain or throughout Europe. However, I want to go back and know that I explored my city as well. Madrid is the capital of Spain. Many tourist come here on vacation. There are so many shops and bars, foods to eat, places to see.I will suggest a few things to do:
Before I came to Spain, my mom bought me a Madrid travel guide. So far it has been very useful!
Madrid’s top tourist attractions include: Plaza Mayor, Parque del Retiro, Palacio Real, and many museums, such as Reina Sofía, the Museo del Prado and the Museo Arqueológico Nacional

Plaza Mayor: Much happened here in the past including bullfights and executions

Plaza Mayor: Much happened here in the past including bullfights and executions

Parque del Retiro: a beautiful park in Madrid which used to be the playground for the Royal Family

Parque del Retiro: a beautiful park in Madrid which used to be the playground for the Royal Family

Royal Palace

Royal Palace

Flamenco Show: A must see!

Traditional Spanish Dancers

Traditional Spanish Dancers

Shops in Spain in Puerta del Sol
At the Puerta del Sol Metro you can find many shops, bars, and restaurants along the main streets.
El Corte Ingles- a huge department store that I have found all around Spain.
A few popular of the other popular clothing stores in Spain include Mango, Zara, Springfield and Primark- just last weekend a new and huge Primark opened up in Gran Via!

El Rastro

An open air flea market

An open air flea market

Open every Sunday located along Plaza de Cascorro and Ribera de Curtidores, between Calle Embajadores and the Ronda de Toledo.

Night Life
There is a huge nightlife in Madrid, whether it be to go out clubbing or simply just drinking and eating tapas with some friends. A few clubs to check out include Moondance, Joy and Kapital.
Kapital is a seven story dance club. Each floor plays a different style of music. It reminded me of Webster Hall in New York City, only a lot larger.
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Some typical Spanish tapas that I have tried:

This was a little different. Pork skewers with jelly, peanut butter and pine nuts.

This was a little different. Pork skewers with jelly, peanut butter and pine nuts.

Spanish Olives with Vino Blanco

Spanish Olives with Vino Blanco

Tortilla Española--similar to a fritatta

Tortilla Española–similar to a fritatta

Cinema
Would you like to see a movie in Madrid? Well, you have two options. You could see the original movie or the movie dubbed in Spanish.The other day I saw Regresión (Regression), with Emma Watson, dubbed in Spanish. It was really interesting to see an american movie dubbed in Spanish. Also it only cost 7 euros per ticket. What is cool is that it won’t be out in cinemas in America until February 2016.

There are still so many things I plan to do. I would really like to go to Las Bellas Artes, which is a rooftop bar where you can see a good view of the city and see the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium where Real Madrid plays. I would like to come back home to New York and feel like I really saw everything that Madrid has to offer.

Adíos 🙂

Tiffany will be studying Business and Spanish at Universidad Carlos III in Madrid, Spain. She hopes to improve her Spanish skills during her time abroad, meet new friends, try a lot of new and exotic foods, travel, and experience different cultures while taking many photos along the way.

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