Madrid

We left Satuday morning and boarded a really nice charter bus that we would be riding for 5 hours. The first hour and a half of the ride was really long because i couldn´t sleep and people were talking too loud. But then after we stopped at a cafeteria to take a break fomr riding in the bus, the ride went faster and soon we were in Madrid. I thought it was going to be like Granada and not amaze me but I was wrong. Madrid is totally different...grand, tall, and busy. I was just as amazed with Madrid as when I came to Spain.
We first came to the hotel after getting off the bus and was even more amazed at how nice our hotel was (Hotel Moderna). Modern, clean lines, rich colors, and right in Puerta del Sol (one of the livliest, busiest plazas). Then on our way to El Museo del Prado (one of the world´s greatest museums loaded with masterpieces by Diego Velaquez, Francisco de Goya, El Greco, Hieronymus Bosch, and Albrecht Durer). Walking to the Prado and seeing Madrid´s wide open streets with grand towering buildings on the sides is really what amazed me and made me realize that Madrid is not the same. The museum itself was awesome with so much history and so many paintings. Then we walked through Retiro Park with statues, a big pond/small lake, and pretty lanscaping. It was cold but really fun. Then luckily the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia was free on Saturday nights so we walked through a floor or two. The Reina Sofia is a modern are museum that featured Picasso´s epic masterpiece Guernica. It was huge! After the museums we walked around the city and explored a little bit, came back and hung out with some friends in the lounge, laughed and went to bed with the long pillows that cover the width of the bed (best invention that Spain has! lol :) )