Beginning my journey

Hello again or shall I say hola! I'm in Madrid, Spain where there are a lot of big, beautiful buildings (such as the one below). This building is The Prado Museum, which has a lot of famous works of art by artists like Picasso and Miro.  

             
Image from: http://www.bestourism.com/img/items/big/430/Museo-del-Prado-in-Madrid-Spain_


 Spain's culture and many of these big building are a direct result of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.  His dictator lasted from 1936-1975, which resulted in him preserving Spanish culture, limiting outside influences on the culture.  The unique culture of Spain is what makes it such an amazing place to visit.

General-view_1825.jpghttp://desmotivaciones.es/demots/201101/francisco_franco_1.jpg

 

While I am looking at this map I can see that Spain is located next to France, Portugal, and Africa. Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe.  Spain's natural borders are the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Pyranees.  Spain also shares borders with Portugal.
Spain's natural resources are coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land.  When looking out the window from the train I was travelling on, there were a lot of olive trees planted in perfect rows.  Fantastic olives at every restaurant I went to!  Madrid is Spain's capital city and is right in the middle of the country at 40 degrees 25'00.09"North and 3 degrees 42' 01.24"West.


 For the past couple of days Madrid seems to be having some nice weather. Right now it is summer here so the temperature hovers in the 80's. I have heard that the winter weather is cold, and the fall mild, similar to New England. 


Since Easter is near, everyone here is preparing for the Holy week, Semana Santa, which they celebrate during the ten days leading up to Easter. Below are some of the interesting scenes to the religious parades that go on during Semana Santa. 

http://capegazette.villagesoup.com/column/columnpost/it-s-easter-weekend-here-and-semana-santa-in-spain/805003

At first when I  saw these men in hoods parading down the street, I was shocked because in the United States these men look like they're from the Klu Klux Klan, but in Spain, these men are part of holy procession which recognizes their faith.

http://semanasanta2012.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/semana-santa-2012-españa.jpg

One thing that I noticed in Madrid is that it's a party city.  People really know how to have a good time.  There’s flamenco music and dancing in the streets at almost any time of the year.

Now that I am leaving I have a much better understanding of how important religion can be in some cultures. I really like how the Spanish people know how to have fun and enjoy life, but also follow their faith.