Madrid, España: El Tercer Día

To start the day off, students were introduced to their local guide of the day, Elena. With a full schedule of events and numerous stops to make, the students began their tour with Las Ventas, the third largest bullring in the world. During the visit, Elena briefly introduced the students into the bullfighting world and the matador lifestyle. The students were amazed to discover that one matador outfit takes about three months to make (all by hand) and the beginning cost starts at three thousands euros (which is approximately $3416.86 American).

Next stop on the Madrid tour was el Museo Nacional del Prado (Prado Museum). This museo consisted of art pieces on various floors, but the students focused on El Greco, Velasquez, Goya, and Murillo. Some of these painters were royal painters and depicted the royal family, while others were well before their time in technique and style, causing them to be banned by the royal family. Within each painters gallery, they each depicted themselves within their most famous work, staring at the spectator of the painting. At the end, students were introduced to the "Mona Lisa de España", which was compared to the original one and was a unknown by the students.

A small group of students ventured off to view the most infamous painting by Picasso, "Guernica" depicting the effects of war upon civilians at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Besides Picasso's works of art, students were able to view cultural, everyday art in multiple medias from locals within the country.

For dinner students had a traditional tapas tasting, which was an offering of multiple selections for everyone to share. Gloría, their local guide gave a mini historía lesson into the meaning and tradition of tapas, which were used in ancient times to cover the drinks and prevent insects from entering. The tapas for the night included tortilla Española, eggplant, roasted peppers with shrimp, and pork with fries (originally identified by students as mystery meat) just to name a few.