Gabriela Garcia is a student at the University of Georgia and an ISA Photo Blogger. She is currently interning abroad with ISA in Madrid, Spain.
When it comes to Madrid, there is never a boring moment. After being here for 10 weeks, I have learned a lot about the culture and myself.
I had studied in Sevilla, Spain with my university and had fallen in love with Spain so much I decided to stay this semester. However, it would be with the different experience of working instead of studying.
Independently roaming the streets of Madrid without my university peers by my side, I saw Spain through quite different lenses. Since I was no longer with a group of people I was comfortable with, I was able to spend more time with the locals and explore at my own agenda. What I found was that there was so much more to Spain than I previously had thought when I first came over the summer.
The culture was more easygoing and the locals were always ready to interact with new people. Just a simple, “good morning” from stranger, or someone opening the door saying, “hello, have a good day” was an indicator of how warm the Spanish were. They didn´t live to work, they worked to live.
As I communicated through drinks and tapas at restaurants with the locals, I told them about my adventures in Spain. I had made a list of the essentials for anyone who wants to visit Madrid.
The list is as follows:
Shop or simply walk the street of Gran Via, take a stroll in El Parque de Retiro, visit El Prado Museum, go to Plaza Major and eat a Bocadillo de Calamares. Go to San Gines, for the best chocolate con churros in Madrid.
Go to El Rastro on Sunday for some flea market finds and then go to La Latina, for some awesome drinks and tapas. Visit La Terraza del Circulo de Bellas Artes and enjoy the view of the amazing city of Madrid.
The world awaits…discover it.