Prado Museum, Shoes, Casa de Lopez

We went ot the Prado Museum today in Madrid. Let me just say, that place is absolutely massive! We spent probably 3 hours exploring all the different rooms and hallways. Everywhere you turn there's another painting. Right now they have an exhibit by Velazquez. I actually really like his paintings and style--a lot better than Picasso. It absolutely astounded me how big some of these paintings were. Floor to ceiling, as wide as the wall. How would you even begin to paint that?! So we explored for a long while, and then, I hate to say it, I got tired/antsy and wanted to leave. I love art, and I love museums, but I can only take so much. I'm going to go back numerous times so I can enjoy it more fully. Afterall, it's one of the best museums in the world and it's only 30 minutes and 3 Euros away!

We ate lunch in a park and it was the most beautiful day! I ended out taking off my coat and carrying it, I couldn't stand to leave it on with such gorgeous weather! But, this park was absolutely massive! I imagine it to be something along the lines of Central Park in New York City (I can't really say, I've never been there!). But this park was amazing. We had so much fun just exploring and seeing what was around the next bend. You really can't see it very well, but behind my head is a beautiful walkway. Unfortunately we couldn't take all the time we wanted. We needed to do a walk around Madrid for one of our classes. I think I'll make this park a regular stop on our frequent trips into Madrid.

Random note: I am so proud of us for being able to navigate our way around Madrid--both with walking and using the subways!

So, I'm doing a fun kind of journaling project while I'm here. I'm documenting my European journey on a pair of shoes I have. By the time I'm done, they'll be completely covered and extremely colorful. I'm actually extremely excited about it, and have been talking about it for months. I'm just glad I finally get to start working on it! But I've got the crest of the city, my bus pass, passport, storks (they're the city's bird--it's illegal to harm or touch them), and a bunch more. As you look at these, keep in mind I have limited artistic talent, and they're sketches--on shoes.

And I realized that I haven't given y'all a tour of my new home. So, i'll run through it briefly. This is my house. Our window is the second floor right.

This is my room.

This is my bed.

This is the kitchen, and

this is the living room. The kitchen table is on the left wall, and a piano is behind you on the right. The right wall is completely filled with bookshelves--and books.

And that is the end of our tour. I hope you thoroughly enjoyed it. Please come back and see us again soon! (sorry the formatting got so weird when I posted it!)