As soon as I got off the plane the culture shock hit me. I've never been out of the country before, let alone traveled anywhere by myself, and this was the first time I had ever been somewhere where I didn't speak the same language as the majority.
Somehow, I managed to find a bus from the airport to the train station, and once I got to the train station I put all 3 of my suitcases into a big locker and went to explore the city of Madrid. The flight wasn't really conducive to getting a full nights sleep so finding a cup of coffee was high on my priority list.
After I enjoyed a strong cup of cafe con leche and a croissant, I went to see what was around. I quickly figured out that almost all of the museums in Madrid are closed on Mondays, so, I went to the only museum that was open: the Reina Sofia Museum.
In case anyone was wondering, the Reina Sofia Museum is a relatively new museum that was founded in 1992 and is named after Queen Sofia of Spain, according to the lovely, super short, Wikipedia article. A lot of the art exhibited were works by Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. One of Picasso's most famous paintings, Guernica, finally found a permanent home at this museum after being banned from the entire country of Spain during Franco's Era from 1939-1975.One of the most humbling exhibitions at the museum was a room full of 150 front page newspapers articles from around the world the day after September 11Th happened. Maybe it was because I'm an American but it also made me realize how much of an impact this event in American history had on the rest of the world.
After I left the museum, I decided to go explore the rest of the city and after walking through the streets for a while, I ended up on the other side of the city near Palacio Real. This is the official residence of King Juan Carlos, the king of Spain, but he lives on the outskirts of Madrid, and only uses the palace for state ceremonies. I didn't actually go inside, but I think it would be worth seeing during my next visit to Madrid.
After about 7 or 8 hours in Madrid I headed back to the train station to catch my train to Valencia and get some much needed sleep.
Both of the main sights I saw that day were super touristy, but I consider my first day in Spain a success.
Both of the main sights I saw that day were super touristy, but I consider my first day in Spain a success.
I enjoyed reading about your first day in Spain and look forward to reading about the rest of your visit. I'd love to see more pictures if you have them.
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