By Marisa Garcia

My little sister, Mallory, came to visit me from NYC for Semana Santa. Excited to have her, I became her tour guide for the week. She and two of her friends started In Dublin, Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day and then arrived in Madrid on the 18th. Preparing ourselves for Las Fallas we decided to rest up. The next morning we woke up early and rode on the European Vibe party bus to Valencia. Ecstatic to be there we walked around all over Valencia admiring the beautiful ninots before they were burnt to the ground. After a lot of exploring and watching the exuberant fires we hopped back onto the bus and returned to Madrid. After a long day and a half of sleeping we woke up the next morning and headed out to visit the Palacio Real where we saw the beautifully decorated rooms with marble walls and Mahogany doors from Cuba. After the Palacio Real we made our way over to the infamous park, Retiro, where we sat outside and ate at a café across the street for a real bargain! Later that afternoon we moved onto Chueca, Sol and Gran Via where we did a little shopping at the chic boutiques. The last day they were here visiting we visited the Prado and Reina Sofia Museums where we saw some of the exquisite works of Dali, Picasso, Juan Gris, Velazquez, El Greco, Goya and other talented artists. For dinner we decided to try some food that would hit close to home so we ate at Foster’s Hollywood American Café and enjoyed turkey wraps and cheese and bacon fries! Early the next morning my sister left me and this exciting city only to return to another exciting city!