Madrid

Come visit Madrid!

Madrid is the capitol and largest city in spain. It is home to the spanish royalty. There are tons of activites and attractions in Madrid. here are a few examples of hotels in madrid.
Mayorazgo Hotel ****
The 4 Star Mayorazgo Hotel is well located and close to the sights and attractions in Madrid city. Situated on a quiet street, this hotel is good value for money. It runs for about $86 per night
Melia Madrid Princesa Hotel *****
The 5 Star Melia Madrid Princesa Hotel is located in the heart of Madrid city overlooking the Palacio De Liria and close to all the sights and attractions, shops, restaurants, and nightlife. This hotel has a gym, swimming pool, and the highest of services, including a Royal Service Floor which has several superior suites.

NH Eurobuilding Hotel *****
The 5 Star NH Eurobuilding Hotel is located in Madrid city center in the modern district close to the Palacio de Congresos. This large modern hotel has many facilities including a gym, swimming pool, air-con, and concierge service.

One of the shopping malls in Madrid is the Arturo Soria Plaza. It has Good shops, activities, exhibitions and fashion shows. There are also restaurants with a varied gastronomic offer and an area where the little ones can play and enjoy themselves. Madrid is one of the major cultural centres of the world. they have lots of fasinating museums.

THE PRADO MUSEUM:

From its privileged location surrounded by trees and some of Madrid´s greatest monuments, it is one of the most visited attractions in the capital. The museum is home to the most important Spanish painting collection in the world.

TEATRO REAL When Queen Isabel II founded the theatre she intended to turn it into one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world. Since reopening in 1997, it has welcomed to its vast stage both its own productions and artists from around the globe. A must visit for lovers of opera.

Madrid enjoys one of the most extensive areas of parks, gardens and "green zones" of all European cities. It possesses a total of 33 million square metres of parkland, distributed throughout more than 40 parks within the urban limits, the most important of which are mentioned below.

There are lots of nature experinces in Madrid also. Faunia is a huge nature park, containing thousands of different species of animals from all over the world. There are both indoor and outdoor areas, which are very pretty. The whole family will love it at Faunia, as will couples, the young and the old.
Faunia is a biodiversity theme park that is made up of 8 of the worlds eco-systems and 3,500 animals.

Of the many centers connected to nature in Spain, the most classic are the zoos, which allow children to see animals without leaving the city. The Zoo Aquarium in Madrid, one of the most important in the world, contains a dolphin tank, aquarium, a large aviary and a zoo with more than 500 species of animals. The Barcelona Zoo is still among the best in Europe.

With a wealth of Sporting history in the city Madrid sport gives you the opportunity to see some of the best in European and indeed World sport superstars. Do not think Madrids sport scene is dominated by football. Every autumn there is the Madrid Master tennis tournament and in September the Red Bull X-fighters come to town! there is also sking, golf, motocross, tennis, and basketall.

Semana Santa

The holy week in Spanish countries is called Semana Santa. Semana Santa is the week leading up to Easter or in Spanish la Pascua. On Semana Santa Spaniards get God out of the grave on Palm Sunday, parade Him round the streets of their towns and cities for five days and bury Him again on Good Friday. Easter is one of the most important holy days for Spanish people. The week before Easter involves solemn processions, prayer, masses and other preparation for Jesus’ rebirth. Customs in the United States include Mexicans’ cascarones, the Mexican version of an Easter egg or eggshells, filled with confetti. They are for being cracked on someone’s head as a little surprise. In Spain they are mainly catholic so the celebration is mainly religious. they do not go Easter egg hunting or anything like that. Here in southern Spain and especially along the Costa Del Sol, each town or village has its own holy processions held on a daily basis, from Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday usually in the late afternoon or evening.
The processions are based around the huge effigy of the Holy Virgin and other religious scenes which are paraded through the streets on top of heavy floats which are carried by men from the village or town. It usually takes around 100 or so men to carry the virgin and it is a carefully and well practiced event. These men who carry the weight of the wooden floats are called “costaleros”. They are expected the carry these “thrones” with great solemnity and grace. They each use a small cushion, called a “coastal” to protect themselves from the wood rubbing against their skin during these long processions. there are several groups of marchers and one of those groups is made up of men dressed in long white cloaks with pointed white hoods. these are meant to depict the Nazarenes (people from Nazareth) and are portrayals of holy marches from Spain’s long and fascinating history. There are several different religious groups represented in the processions with different dress costumes. One of the better known groups is the Moors and Catholics depicting the ejection of the Moorish invaders from Spain by the holy armies. In most of the Spanish speaking countries they celebrate Semana Santa the same. It is different in every town but they do the same things in all of the Spanish countries.


http://www.prayforspain.com/comment/index14.html

http://www.de.nrcs.usda.gov/about/spanish/majorholidays.html

http://pscosta.com/costa-del-sol/semana-santa-holy-week/