Before coming to Spain, I was completely excited, especially after taking Spanish Gastronomy with Prof. Paniagua-Tejo. After taking her class I had such high expectations of the food, the people, the scenery and the monuments, and I can truly say that these expectations have been met. Despite the negative attributes about a city, and the heat here in Madrid, I have had a great experience so far.
The various cultural activities which I have been on have been great. So far, we have visited the Egyptian Temple of Debod, which is gorgeous especially at sunset, the Royal Palace of Spain, which was extravagant and a bit overwhelming. It was definitely a sight to see! We have also visited other cities in Spain including Segovia and Candelario. Both of these cities were beautiful, and in my opinion much nicer than Madrid, due to the marvelous scenery and great weather.
Although, I enjoyed all of these activities, the most remarkable one for me was the tour of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Now, I am not into football at all, and to be quite honest I only went because my dad begged me to, but I am glad that I went. It was amazing to see the history of Real Madrid C. F., and to see all of their awards and trophies. While walking through the stadium I was constantly in awe. It was truly sensational, to be in the stadium, and even the locker room where Cristiano Ronaldo has played and been. It was truly amazing! What made the experience even greater was the fact that Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions League a couple days later. There was a huge celebration at the Plaza of Cibeles, and although I did not get to see or meet Ronaldo, which was very depressing, I definitely enjoyed my night there. It was incredible to experience the comradery and the excitement among the thousands of people gathered at the plaza. I literally felt as though I was a part of it all, but yet I still know absolutely nothing about football, which is very sad.