My first trip was to Madrid. Hannah and I spend the first day going to see the Royal Palace of Madrid and El Prado. The Royal Palace is stunning. There are lavish rooms, the greatest of which is the throne room. The Palace also had an amazing pharmacy on the grounds. The pharmacy contained hundreds of jars with traditional remedies for seemingly any cure. The Palace also had one of the greatest armories I have ever seen. This armory had battle armor most notably from Charles V, or Charles I of Spain, and Philip II. There were swords from the japanese army at the time, shields and helmets from the Turks they overcame in the Battle of Lepanto, and even guns from the Americas. We then went to El Prado, which I think is the greatest portrait museum in the world. The Prado is home to famous works of Goya, Velasquez, Titian, Greco etc. It was an incredible experience to say the least. I also ate at a a very typical Spanish restaurant. It is actually more tipical of "el campo" or the country side. Hannah ordered chicken on a skewer haha. I was more daring and had the elbow or shoulder of a pig. I am not quite sure. Disclaimer: Hannah is a pretty daring eater most of the time and in this case I don't blame her for getting the chicken haha. The studio apartment we had was amazing. It was right in the heart of one of the city's busiest squares. Overall it was a great trip.
My next trip was to Venice: Venice is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Our hotel room was supposedly flooded the first day so we actually got to stay in a nicer hotel for the first night. Later the next day we had to move our original hotel. We had an amazing dinner at this places called the "Zucca" or pumpkin in Italian. Absolutely fantastic I highly recommend it for anyone that goes to Venice. Everything in Venice is ridiculously expensive however. Also, there are a bunch of hidden fees such as a table charge or a bread charge. We went to the Doge's Palace, which was incredible. It was enormous and was very exciting historically. We also saw the Rialto Bridge and took a gondola ride. Finally, we got to witness the beginning of carnaval. They brought out a fountain and when Venetians called for the opening of carnaval the fountain spewed red wine. They passed out the red wine to everybody in San Marco square free of charge. Venice was gorgeous and extremely interestingly historically.
My latest trip was to Sevilla and Cadiz. Hannah, our friend Genna, and I went to visit one of my best friends from GWU. We got to Sevilla and had drinks on a roof top with some local Sevillians and American students. We later went out to the bars and had a good night. The next day we woke up and went to the famous cathedral in Sevilla. This cathedral is supposedly the 2nd largest in the World and contains the remains of Christopher Colombus. Later that day we went to the Alcazar and had a wonderful time exploring the palace and its gardens. Sevilla overall is much like the vision we have of Spain. It is a city with a large church, a bull fighting rink, narrow streets, flamenco dancing, and tipical Spanish cuisine. It is a wonderful city and I am glad I visited. On the second night of our trip the four of us embarked for carnaval in Cadiz. The four of us for 19 euros a piece booked a trip with discoversevilla. They bussed us to and from Cadiz. Carnaval was one of the greatest experiences of my life. It is a combination of Mardi Gras and Halloween basically. In fact Mardi Gras was based off of Carnaval. Everyone gets completely dressed up, I was dressed as the Pope, and parties on the streets to the early hours of the morning. Incredible.
My next trip was to Venice: Venice is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Our hotel room was supposedly flooded the first day so we actually got to stay in a nicer hotel for the first night. Later the next day we had to move our original hotel. We had an amazing dinner at this places called the "Zucca" or pumpkin in Italian. Absolutely fantastic I highly recommend it for anyone that goes to Venice. Everything in Venice is ridiculously expensive however. Also, there are a bunch of hidden fees such as a table charge or a bread charge. We went to the Doge's Palace, which was incredible. It was enormous and was very exciting historically. We also saw the Rialto Bridge and took a gondola ride. Finally, we got to witness the beginning of carnaval. They brought out a fountain and when Venetians called for the opening of carnaval the fountain spewed red wine. They passed out the red wine to everybody in San Marco square free of charge. Venice was gorgeous and extremely interestingly historically.
My latest trip was to Sevilla and Cadiz. Hannah, our friend Genna, and I went to visit one of my best friends from GWU. We got to Sevilla and had drinks on a roof top with some local Sevillians and American students. We later went out to the bars and had a good night. The next day we woke up and went to the famous cathedral in Sevilla. This cathedral is supposedly the 2nd largest in the World and contains the remains of Christopher Colombus. Later that day we went to the Alcazar and had a wonderful time exploring the palace and its gardens. Sevilla overall is much like the vision we have of Spain. It is a city with a large church, a bull fighting rink, narrow streets, flamenco dancing, and tipical Spanish cuisine. It is a wonderful city and I am glad I visited. On the second night of our trip the four of us embarked for carnaval in Cadiz. The four of us for 19 euros a piece booked a trip with discoversevilla. They bussed us to and from Cadiz. Carnaval was one of the greatest experiences of my life. It is a combination of Mardi Gras and Halloween basically. In fact Mardi Gras was based off of Carnaval. Everyone gets completely dressed up, I was dressed as the Pope, and parties on the streets to the early hours of the morning. Incredible.
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