Our first fully rested day in Madrid began with a walk through Madrid’s famous Retiro park. Exclusive to the royal family until the end of the 19th century, El Parque del Buen Retiro is the city’s gorgeous green lung, neatly nestled right in its center. As Spring is in full bloom in Madrid, we were able to see the park in nearly full bloom, taking in the scenery as much as the Spanish sun.
Wayland students at Madrid’s gorgeous Parque del Buen Retiro.
Directly beside Retiro lies another one of Madrid’s famous art museums, El Museo del Prado. Home to the paintings of early Spanish masters such as Goya and Velázquez, as well as various other 12–19th century masterpieces, the group was led through the different levels of the museum, exploring the intricacies of themes from the Hapsburgs to the Bourbons and Renaissance to Romanticism.
Wayland students with their Sevillan homestay brothers and sisters.
After the Prado we took Spain’s high-speed AVE train from Madrid to Sevilla. Traveling at a maximum velocity of 300 km/hr (186 mph!!!), we arrived to our host families in the early evening. After saying goodbye to the group, all the students left for their first night of the homestay. The upcoming days here in Sevilla will be action-packed and full of adventure and learning.