Hola a Todo el Mundo!

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!

I live in Empajadores, in the South of Madrid!
This is my room! When we open the window, we can always hear people singing and talking at the restuarant beneath our apartment flat.
This is the rooftop of a nearby building where I go to do homework and read. Lots of buildings in Spain use their roofs for gardens, or places to enjoy the beautiful weather.

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.

A huge monumento of Cristobal Colon!
This was just one of the many tanks that paraded through the streets of Madrid on Fiesta Nacional de España.

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.

La Guernica, a very famous painting by Spainsh artist Pablo Picasso.
This is a painting by Spanish artist, Salvador Dalí. This one is my favorite, and is called "Girl in the Window". What do you think she is thinking about?
Hello y'all! I wanted to point out my hometown in this work 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!

This is the Fuente de Cibeles, and has Cybele, the Greek goddess of fertility and nature holding a sceptre and a key while being pulled by two lions on a chariot.

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!

This famous gate to the city was also used to move livestock in and out of Madrid! I wonder how King Carlos III felt about that?

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…

Selling libros in the street!
Musicians in the street provided great music for long walk!
There are lots of street performers in Sol, and these men are pretending to be statues!

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!

"De Madrid al cielo!"

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!

Kids your age will play soccer anywhere!

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

One thought

  1. 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

    Reply

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