El Palacio Real de Madrid

Although I have only been here for a week, I have already enjoyed many adventures just exploring the city. And because I am home sick for the day, I am going to explain them so that I can live vicariously through my own past adventures for the day. I am always trying to learn new things, so now that I am in an entirely new city in an entirely different country, I am constantly walking down new streets and looking into different stores just to get my bearings on everything so that I can live smoothly in the months to come. That, and I'm just excited to see new things, even if I am walking around alone because everyone else is sleeping or doesn't feel like walking several miles wondering.

One of the first really breathtaking places I saw with API was El Palacio Real de Madrid (the Royal Palace of Madrid). Technically, Spain is a constitutional monarchy, however, the monarch holds no executive role other than appointing officials, requiring reports of official activities and representing Spain at formal and ceremonial occasions. The king is also the commander and chief of the Spanish Armed Forces. Currently, the King is Juan Carlos I, and the palace in Madrid is no longer inhabited by the royal family. What I've found interesting about European culture is that they are willing to pay so much tax money towards a family that is merely representing them as a country, but otherwise merely a figurehead. This is the same as the government in England. I will admit that our own politicians in the states receive high salaries themselves, however.

The Royal Palace

Gardens outside the palace

Upon entering the Royal Palace, I was absolutely breath taken. In the United States you can visit old colonial homes that are very ornate and gorgeous, but nothing compares to buildings that are many times older that are ornate in absolutely every way, like the palace in Madrid. Unfortunately, you are not supposed to technically take pictures inside of the palace, so I have attached some that I found online to highlight how incredible the architecture, furniture, all of it truly is. There were no guides available the day that we went, and so we got to be tourists that listened into phone-looking contraptions to hear an audio-guide of the palace.

                         Throne room

                                                                                                          

Facing the royal palace is the Almudena Cathedral of Madrid. It is not the most impressive cathedral in Spain, or so I have been told, merely because it is fairly recent and was made to model the style of the palace.

                            Almudena Cathedral

                  Main alter

                                                                                                                Cathedral at night

Spain is so beautiful that it can also be distracting. One night, upon returning home, my roommate Patty and I could not open the door to the apartment. We both tried the key so many ways. So defeated, we had to ask the security gaurd outside to come with us to the 11th floor to open our lock for us, which ended up being incredibly easy. They do not have special locks here. They are apparently the same.