Madrid

After arriving at Barajas airport without any major complications, a coach took us to the centre of Madrid where we would meet our host families. The families were extremely kind and were willing to meet any of our requests as well as engaging in useful conversations about what we did during the day. The language classes were very helpful in improving our spoken Spanish whilst ironing out any minor mistakes. However they were also entertaining with the teachers willing to engage in more exam specific work while still maintaining an element of fun.

Despite only staying in Madrid for one week, the amount of activities that Mr Sykes and Mrs Robinson managed to cram into our stay meant that we got to experience almost all of Madrid despite the gasps from the local Madrileño when we revealed our schedule. The excursion to Toledo, the former capital of Spain before Madrid was particularly insightful in learning how Christians, Muslims and Jews lived together. The Paseo por Madrid showed us the more modern landmarks of Spain with trips to El Escorial, one of the Spanish royal sites which functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and school. Visits to the Museo del Prado and the Museo Reina Sofia provided a cultural insight with famous paintings such as Las Meninas, The Garden of Earthly Delights and Guernica on display.

Particular highlights have to be the flamenco class which was thoroughly enjoyable despite our lack of skill and rhythm, the bullfight despite the torrential rain, the only day it rained, and the visit to the Bernabeu stadium the day after Mr. Sykes’ coveted Tottenham were slaughtered much like the bulls at Las Ventas bullring. Many thanks to Mr. Sykes and Mrs. Robinson for organising the trip, an enjoyable snapshot of Madrid. Muchas Gracias!