Retiro Park, the Thyssen, and Some Amazing Sculptures

I think hands are so beautiful. I love how each person's hands are so distinct to them and I think they are so expressive and give a sense of personality. I like the way knuckles look and when tendons and veins show through. I also adore leaves and think they have some of the same characteristics with the added benefit of nearly unlimited colors. Anywho, Ashley was kind enough to be my hand model in Retiro Park, the largest most beautiful natural piece of Madrid. We retired there for a bit after spending the day in Museums.

Here Chelsey and I decided to get a little creative. Who really knows?

Ashley caught me in a moment of leafy sunny happiness :)


Here we are outside of the Thyssen Museum. If you ever go to Madrid and can only see one museum, go to this one. It was phenomenal and took my breath away multiple time. It houses one of the most famous Rembrandt self-portraits and I literally gasped when I saw it and had to sit down and stare for a while. I may have even drooled.

Did Katy photo-bomb this picture by jumping in and taking a picture of us without my knowing? Yes. I love my roomie, she keeps life interesting and add tremendously to the excitement of my photos.

We are now leaving the Thyssen to visit the Real Academia de los Bellas Artes. This was a lovely small museum that had some great pieces and some not so great pieces. Anyway, my favorites were a few of the sculptures. Be warned there is some nudity coming up, so this is officially rated PG.

Sorolla and Other Randon Awesomeness

Here I am in the Sorolla Museum with my twin! Who knew!

Sorolla was an Impressionist Painter who happened to live in Madrid, so being the art fanatic that I am, I was excited to see his house/museum. I decided that for the most part his paintings are like eye-candy; there are beautiful to look at, but don't necessarily have a lot of substance. It was a wonderful place to go learn and see someone who painted the lovely moments in life.

I love this tile! Apparently I share a passion Sorolla had for the beautiful architecture and design of Andalusia. He wanted his home to be a piece of the Alhambra and there are tiles and fountains everywhere. I would live there if I could or make a replica of it. Goodness this country is gorgeous!

Piece of Randomness #1

We went to a free concert in Madrid! The best part was that it was for the Neon Trees - a band that started in Provo and is mostly Mormon. The world is the size of a thimble sometimes. Anyway, it was a blast and we had fun waiting outside, getting pictures taken in front of the splash board, and rocking out. It was a great first real concert experience for me. I even touched the lead singer's hand when he reached into the crowd. Success.

Random Awesomeness #2

When we were waiting for the train to Madrid one day I decided to take some pictures. This drew the attention of our lovely Gypsy friend. He wanted to be in the pictures with us and let us listen to his Gypsy music. He especially like Chelsey with her fair skin and exotic red hair. We all got a good laugh and enjoyed talking and dancing with him a bit while keeping very good track of our belongings. Just another taste of life in Spain

This is how Michelle felt about it :)

A Taste of Home

So, here's the thing: I love to make pie. Here is Spain all of the food has been delicious but I have been craving baking pie so I finally figured out how to make it happen and introduced apple pie to my host family. It took a lot of ingenuity without most of the normal supplies (like rolling pins, pie pans, and plastic wrap) but never fear it was a success! I miss cooking :)

Holy Toledo!

So, we went to Toledo for a day because it turns out it is only about an hour away from where we live. Anyway, you better believe we took advantage of the opportunity to say, "Holy Toledo!" as much as possible. This angry little sunflower greeted me when I reached the top of the gigantic outdoor escalator that takes you up to the city and I couldn't pass him up.

This is the main Toledo Cathedral. Toledo is actually pretty small and the entire old city is literally on a hill. On that hill there are multiple mosques, synagogues, cathedrals, and other chapels. There was a time when Toledo was the national example for harmony between religions. Perhaps that is where the expression came from.

Whoops! Another sneaky shot of Michelle and her cuteness.

More cool stuff about Toledo: It is famous for Housing El Greco's Masterpiece "The funerary service of Saint Orgaz" which we saw and it was amazing! I have seen several of his paintings here and there is a reason that is considered his masterpiece. It was phenomenal to see it in person. Toledo is also famous for Marzipan which we tried and it was delicious. We also saw a giant replica of the Cathedral facade made entirely of Marzipan. They are also famous for making swords and armor and all that jazz and for this beautiful jewelry. Basically anything cool with metalwork happens here. It was a blast to check everything out, but sadly I couldn't fit a sword in my backpack, so I had to go without.

Ok, so this isn't in Toledo, but here are my feet on the church building floor. We have class there every Monday as well, so I figured I shouldn't leave it out.

I just can't get enough! (Granada)

So Granada pretty much changed my life. I will always want to go back to Andalusia and drink in all the amazingness of that city. Here are some more good moments. Above in the chapel where Ferdinand and Isabel are buried along with most of there children. It is a sweet chunk of history.

...And this is the Chinese restaurant where we randomly decided to eat dinner. Was is delicious? Check. Was it cheap? Check. Did in include three courses and dessert? Check. All requirements met.

This is one of the lamps that line streets. I love it and took far too many pictures of them. To me it looks like one of those little 3-D puzzles you have to figure out how to separate and put back together.

Moorish/Arab Markets! So I probably could have spent all of my money in this place. I love this stuff! Erin is obligingly holding up a sweet pair of Alladin pants that I regretfully did not purchase. But everything smelled like amazing incense and was covered in beautiful designs and colors. Gah! I love it!

Granada was also the site of probably the best graffiti I have seen. Check this out:

If you can't read that it says "Nuestros Suenos" or Our Dreams. I kind of want to paint my house this way.

This one says "Art for Everyone!" I couldn't agree more.

Ok, so as you probably know by now I fail at posting things in order. We are headed back into the Alhambra for a bit to see more of that magical place.

This pond is at the top of a hill overlooking the city and comes from the Spring that is the source for all the water in the Alhambra. Water was so significant for these people and I love the way they always remember water as their source of life and give it important symbolism.

Alice in Wonderland anyone?

This is a plaque on one of the walls that translated means, "He went to Granada for silence and time, but Granada gave him harmony and eternity."

Here's the group! I spend everyday with these people and it has been great.

Below, Paul (our director's husband) decided to pose for me without knowing it :)

Amazing ancient floor. Lesson: Always look down.

This is the ceiling, what!? ALWAYS look up.