Photo by Moiz K. Malik at Unsplash

My Trip to Madrid

NOV 16/ by The Wanderlust Collective /Art, Art Trip, Inspiration, Madrid, Motivation

Madrid is a beautiful city in the middle of Spain. It gets its name from Arabic “magerit”, which means ‘place of many streams’. It’s filled with 16th century architecture, cafes, museums, galleries, and history. The major sites for me were Plaza Mayor, and Plaza del Sol which had many great stores and restaurants. The people are so friendly and the food is amazing. I enjoyed people watching while filling up on jamon bocadillo and wine.

Photo by Tomas Anton Escobar at Unsplash

I couldn’t help but to be swept away by the castle-like buildings, and neo-Gothic features, it all felt like a fairytale. Madrid is known for its European art, including the Prado Museum, artists like Velazques y Goya.

One of the things that caught my attention was the Flamenco dancers. Their beautiful flowing dresses and dances were mesmerizing. The guitar players, strumming their guitars, and the rhythm, left me in awe. I knew that I would use this particular inspiration to paint a piece when I got home.


"Madrid is enjoyed most from the ground, exploring your way through its narrow streets that always lead to some intriguing park, market, tapas bar or street performer."

Emilio Estevez


As I walked around I wanted to know about artists that came from Madrid, we know that Goya was one of them, but who else? After researching a bit I found that Diego Velasquez was also an important painter here in Spain. He was one of the leading artists in the court of King Philip IV. He became famous outside of Spain in the beginning of the 19th century when his work was admired and studied by realist and Impressionist painters.

I heard about this secret spot where you can buy cookies from nuns. So off we went on our fun challenge to find the nuns and buy some cookies. This is a centuries old convent called Monasterio de Corpus Christi, it is a local legend and home to a clandestine pasteleria (bakery) run by silent nuns who aren’t allowed to talk. 

This trip was an amazing experience and I’m looking forward to going back to Spain. In the meantime I’ve got some great inspirational stuff to work with from my trip. Make sure to be following along on socials for art, tips, inspiration, and interesting facts!

Come join me! 

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