Our group met at JFK airport and it was great. After quick introductions, students were ready to jump into a game of Uno while we waited for our flight. It was great hearing where everyone was from and listening to their goals for the trip. Lots of students were looking forward to the home stay in Valencia. Next stop, Madrid!
Our first breakfast in Madrid were churros dipped in chocolate with cafe con leech (coffee with milk). Everyone was excited to get our day started and explore Madrid.
After a long day of walking the city, we stopped for a quick picture. We were definitely ready for dinner. Off to tapas we go.
We made to Toledo, a quick 45 minute bus ride from Madrid. We learned that Toledo was once Spain’s capital city. This is picture was before our walk in the historic part of town:
We saw many shops that had beautiful ceramics and knives. We asked our tour guide why there were so many knife and sword shops. He explained that Toledo is known for creating some of the most beautiful knives in the world, and many are used in popular movies and television shows like Game of Thrones and The Hobbit.
Juanma was the best museum guide for the Prado Museum. He shared wonderful stories and gave us great historical background so that we could understand the art better.
The whole city of Madrid was celebrating Orgullo, Gay Pride. We saw lots of signs and artwork with rainbows.
When we made it to Plaza Mayor, these two characters were intrigued with our group. We posed with them and took lots of fun pictures.
Our time in Madrid was over, and we couldn’t wait until we got to Valencia, where we were going to meet our homestay families. See you soon Valencia!
