A Spanish trifecta: Madrid, Barcelona, and Toledo

Another classy distriKt by Clémence

In this distriKt Clémence crossed the border of her native France to discover the cities of Madrid, Toledo, and Barcelona of next door Spain. What’s the first thing you think of when you think of Spain? Beaches, bullfights, and nightlife may come to mind, but Clémence has an eye toward the artistic in this distriKt.

“Her journey began in Madrid, where she visited the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Spain’s national museum for 20th Century art. The inside of the museum is splendidly modern, a tasteful contemporary design with skylights providing plenty of natural lighting. The actual piece of art in the picture is…well, let’s just say it’s up for interpretation.

After some time at The Sofía, Clémence strolled over to the Buen Retiro Park, Madrid’s largest city park. The most prominent feature of the park (other than the greenery) is a grand marble colonnade that runs along the edge of the parks lake, placed behind a raised equestrian statue of King Alfonso XII, cast in bronze. A great place to be outside, the park has paddleboats for rent and steps leading into the lake to make for a pleasant place to ponder life’s questions. At least until your butt falls asleep from the marble…

In Toledo, Clémence discovered the historic Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, which was completed in 1504 after 27 years of construction. The monastery features an arcade – no, not the gaming type – upstairs and cloisters in the courtyard. Good find, Clémence.

Clémence finished her trip with a stop in Barcelona. While she was there she was welcomed with an unexpected surprise: her mydistriKt International Press Card arrived in the mail! With her newfound status as an international reporter, Clémence proceeded to explore Barcelona. She found some real gems on her outings, finding the most colorful display of fruits and vegetables at the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria. She followed up her market discovery by seeing the Park Guell on Carmel Hill. The two buildings in her picture look like gingerbread houses…is there something else going on here?

See the park, and the rest of Clémence’s trip by visiting her distriKt!”