Spain in January
Monument to Alonso X
I finally had the opportunity to truly visit Spain. What does this mean exactly? Technically, I had been to Spain before (Barcelona to be exact), but it was such a short visit, and I was only really there for a day, so it was not possible to truly explore thoroughly.
In January 2025, I finally decided to visit Spain correctly since I had some time off from my job. Now, these days I try to avoid Europe in the summer because of the massive crowds and high prices. I figured January in Europe would be a bit less crowded, and the prices would be somewhat more reasonable.
However, as I have said before in previous posts, in my opinion, there is no real low season in Europe anymore. When I visited Spain, there were still a lot of crowds, and it did not really seem like low season existed anymore. Despite that, some people me that the crowds were less than what would be seen in the summer months. Yet, even though there were still a lot of crowds, the prices for the hotel were a little bit more reasonable since I was able to get a relatively nice room just steps away from Plaza del Sol. I am almost sure that this same room and location would have been significantly more (maybe double) during the high season, so I’m definitely not complaining about that.
Museum of Video Games
During my time in Spain, I based myself in Madrid since I wanted to explore the city more thoroughly. While I had the chance to explore many different museums, one of my favorite aside from the two famous art museums would have to be the Museum of Video Games.
Even though I no longer play video games, when I was younger, I used to own several different systems. It was quite nostalgic to play games on systems that I used to own. In particular, one game they had was Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis. I actually used to own this game and after getting used to the controller again, I was able to speed through some of the levels like I used to even though I had not played in over two decades.
Of course, no visit to Madrid can be complete without a visit to the Prado, which is one of the preeminent museums in the world, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which has an amazing collection as well. While I definitely enjoyed my visit to both these places, it became somewhat overwhelming due to the large number of famous works that I had studied back when I was a student in art history many years ago seen in person for the first time ever.
Segovia Aqueduct
Even though I based myself in Madrid, I also did day trips to Avila, Segovia, the Valley of the Fallen, El Escorial (the Kings and Queens of Spain are buried here) and Toledo. All of these places were very beautiful, but I enjoyed Toledo and its medieval streets in particular along with Avila, which is famous for being the home of St. Teresa of Avila in the 16th century. Segovia was also beautiful with its Roman aqueduct that is very well-preserved.
The last part of Madrid that I really enjoyed was checking out all the historic churches. There are many within the city within relatively close proximity to each other, and while they are all beautiful, there was a bit of an interesting story.
During a visit to one of the churches, I got yelled at in Spanish by a random parishioner for taking a photo (Mass was not in progress). I very easily could have taken a photo from the back, and no one would have noticed, but I decided to be bold and approach closer, and this is when the guy got pissed at me.
Church of St. Andrew
After a bit, this guy began balling me out in the back of the church. Then, an old lady using a walker came in, and the guy started explaining what I had done to the old lady. This woman gave me dagger eyes and said loudly in Spanish "Don't you have any respect!" With how huffy and puffy she was getting about an event she wasn’t even present for, it is honestly amazing that she did not have a heart attack right there in the church from telling me off.
This is not my first time being yelled at in a church. Back when I was a graduate student in the late 2000s, I was doing MA research in Rome, and I got yelled at more than once for taking photos in churches. In fact, I even got kicked out of one particularly beautiful one (Chiesa Nuova) by the sacristan even though other tourists were taking photos as well. Therefore, getting yelled at is something I’m used to. To be honest, I am usually very sly about sneaking photos, but this time I decided to throw caution to the wind, so it does not surprise me that I got yelled at, but I did not care.
Aside from getting yelled at in the church, the trip to Spain was definitely successful, and I am extremely glad that I finally got to truly visit and see as much as I could with the time that I had.
Please enjoy the Photo Gallery. All photos were taken by me.
