• Christopher Wendel
  • Christopher Wendel

Paris to Madrid

A 10-day adventure by Christopher Read more
  • Park Güell

    July 11 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Park Güel is designed by Gaudi. We saw 2 buildings that were also made by Gaudi. It's huge. One of the things Gaudi is known for is having no straight lines. The lizard is probably the most recognizable part of the park.Read more

  • Catalonian Paella

    July 11 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    Paella is a traditional Spanish dish made with rice and seafood. In the Catalonian version, noodles are used instead of the rice. It typically serves multiple people. This is one of the ones that we'll be eating!Read more

  • Flamenco Dancing

    July 11 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Flamenco is a traditional Spanish dance. There are 4 parts: a singer, a dancer, a guitar player, and a percussion instrument. Our tour director explained that 80% of the show is improvised and thst everybody follows the singer'sRead more

  • Paradox Museum and Bike Ride

    July 12 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    This morning, we needed to split our group in half. Half went on a bike tour, and the other half went to the Paradox Museum.
    The bike tour went around the city and then down to the beach.
    The Paradox Museum was full of things that don't look as they really are. They also had rooms that, when looked at from a specific angle, look really neat.Read more

  • Beach

    July 12 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    We had time for a quick trip to the beach. But it's not the Atlantic Ocean that we are used to. It's the Mediterranean Sea! There are lots of waves today, too!

  • Sagrada Famìlia

    July 12 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    The Sagrada Famìlia started being built by Gaudí in 1882. It is still not finished. It relies completely on private donations. No governments or church organizations are allowed to donate. It is beautiful! There is a lot of emphasis on nature and color. Hopefully, it will be finished in the 2030s. It just became an official Basilica this year as well, thanks to the pope! Next to it, he built a school because he acknowledged the importance of education and how it can never be taken away from you.Read more

  • Prado Museum

    July 13 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    Probably the most famous artist at the Prado is Goya. There were many other artists there, though. Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to take pictures.

  • Puerta del Sol

    July 13 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    This is the Puerta del Sol andnis one of of the two main squares in Madrid. Charles III of Spain (not England) has a statue here, as well as a bear eating from a berry tree.

  • Kilometer Zero

    July 13 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    In the Puerta del Sol, there is a 0km marker which is the location that all of km markers on the roads are based off of. If you step on it with 1 foot, you'll come back. If you step on it with both feet, you'll come back and never leave.Read more

  • Food Tour

    July 14 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    First stop - Cured Ham, Manchego Cheese, and Crackers that looked like a boomerang. This was is in a market.
    Second stop - "Nun Cookies". It is a pastry business run by cloistered nuns. There is a lazy-susan that has dividers, so you and the nuns never have direct contact.
    Third stop - Various tapas including things like ham & cheeese, quail eggs, hamburger, and cod to name a few.
    Read more

  • Sword Making

    July 14 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    In Toledo, we went to a place that specializes in making all types of blades (swords, knives, ect). We got to see a short demonstration on how the metal gets worked and how the detailing gets done. Then time to shop. They even gave us a discount!Read more

  • Miracle Door

    July 14 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    I'm not sure if there is an official name for this door. However, supposedly, if you put your hand on it, it will grant you a wish/miracle.
    I'll let you know if it works!

  • Cathedral of Madrid

    July 14 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    This is the Cathedral of Madrid. It is directly behind the Royal Palace. It's where the King and Queen were married. There isn't much of a distance between the two, but apparently it was raining hard on their wedding day, so they had to use a car.Read more

  • Royal Palace

    July 14 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Yes, Spain is a monarchy. They have a King, who married a woman (making her Queen). Outside the there have only been 2 reigning Queens in Spain's history. They had statues of the monarchs made and put outside the palace.Read more

  • Cathedral of Toledo

    July 14 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 97 °F

    This is the Cathedral of Toledo. It is over 500 years old! There was supposed to be a right tower, but it collapsed due to an underground water source they didn't know about.

  • Jewish Quarter

    July 14 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 99 °F

    There is a Jewish neighborhood in Toledo. There are 3 plaques in the ground at the entrance (in Hebrew, Spanish, and English). They also have little blue square tiles on the sides/corners of streets to show you that you're still in that neighborhood.Read more

  • Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle

    July 14 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 99 °F

    This church is special because it has a painting by 'El Greco' meaning 'the Greek' (due to his nationality). The painting was finished in 1588 and has been cleaned but never restored. That is very rare for a painting to be that old and not need restoration. El Greco not only painted his wife and son into the painting, but he painted himself into it as well.Read more

  • Sinagoga de Santa María La Blanca

    July 14 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 99 °F

    Sinagoga de Santa María La Blanca is the 2nd oldest standing synagogue in Europe. After being a synagogue, it was turned into church. It was then turned into a military building.