Buenos día clase!
Hope you all are doing well! How are your Spanish classes going? I would love to hear about what you all are learning! Study hard, and when you study abroad someday, it will make your experience all the better. Did you like the vocabulary we talked about last time? Anybody want to try to make some tapas to eat or play fútbol now?
Now to your question, “where do I live?” Remember before how we talked about the Metro? Here is a Metro map to show you where I live!



Your question comes at a perfect time, because this past Wednesday, October 12, was a holiday that gave everyone the day off from work and school. Can you guess what Spain was celebrating?
October 12 is the Fiesta Nacional de España. This day commemorates the anniversary of Cristobal Colon’s (Christopher Columbus) first arrival to the Americas. Also on this day, the Spanish Army holds a big parade and performs a jet air show.


So to celebrate, my friends and I spent the whole day walking around the surrounding barrios, or neighborhoods of where I live. Follow our route on the metro map!
First, we walked to Atocha, which is the art district of Madrid. Here you will find some of the most famous art museums in the world! First, the Museo del Prado, which houses art from the 12th century to the 19th century from Spanish artists like El Greco and Goya. Next we saw Reina Sofía, which is home to more contemporary art from the 20th century. The most famous painting here is called “La Guernica” by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. There was also art by Salvador Dalí, and my favorite, the map collection by Alighiero Boetti.



From Atocha we walked to Banco de España, where we saw the famous fountain called Fuente de Cibles. This fountain is in front of Palacio de Comunicaciones, which is now the Madrid City Hall. This fountain is where the REAL MADRID fútbol team comes to celebrate with all the fans if they win the Spanish or World Cup!

Down the road from this fountain is the Puerta del Acalá, which used to be a main entrance into the city of Madrid in 1769. King Carlos III ordered it to be built so that he could arrive to the city in style!

Next we walked to Plaza de Sol, the most popular plaza in all of Madrid. It gets its’ name because it also used to be a main gate into the city, and the entrance faced the rising sun. There is always something going on in Sol! Here are just a few of the things I saw…



Another important site in Sol is El Oso y El Madroño. This bear climbing a strawberry tree is the symbol of Spain, along with the slogan “De Madrid a cielo“. Can you figure out the meaning of this? Here’s a hint… The people of Madrid are very proud of their wonderful city!

On our walk, we saw lots of kids playing fútbol. Other sports that are popular for girls and boys are basketball, tennis, volleyball, swimming, skiing, and rollerblading!

I’ve got to run now… I’m traveling to Valencia this weekend to see the Mediterranean Sea! Hope you all are enjoying the photos, and please send me more questions!
Un beso,
Tori
Thanks for the beautiful photos! The students here are very excited about the statue street performers. Also they requested pictures of your trip to the Mediterranean Sea. Disfruta,
St. Patrick students and Ms. Martin