Barrio de las Letras

What a week! A and I are beginning to work as English teachers in Madrid, and it is quite taxing! Most of our classes are held way up north in offices. I really like it up there; it's much more scenic and contains highways. It kind of reminds me of West Virginia and every now and then I get a little homesick. The only downside is that our commute can take from an hour to an hour and a half! Thank goodness I found a library with some books in English!


This weekend, I decided that I wanted to actively visit the historical sites where some of the greatest Spanish writers once resided. Spain's most famed writers are Miguel de Cervantes and Lope de Vega. In fact, both of their houses are on the same street! Here is a picture of the plaque outside of Cervantes's house.I believe that the plaque states that he lived and died in this house. Coincidentally, he died the same day and year as Shakespeare.

As you meander down this street a bit more, past the posh clothing stores, which I doubt get any business in this terrible economy, you come across Lope de Vega's house. In a time when most of the citizens of Madrid were impoverished, this house really stood out, and it still stands out today. It is quite a big house to have in the downtown area!



Lope de Vega was born in Madrid, but then traveled around Spain. He returned to Madrid and lived in this house for the last couple of decades until his death. It is here that he write Fuenteovejuna, one of his most popular plays. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside of the house, but they did let us take pictures of their garden. Here's a picture of part of the garden and a well, which was rare to have in the 17th century!



Lope de Vega and his family used this garden for food. They would plant their vegetables here.



Anyway, that was our trip down literature lane. For anyone who was bored to tears by this post, I will end with a picture A took while I wasn't looking. At a store across the street from Lope de Vega's house, the owners drew this sign on a whiteboard. A thought it was hilarious and worthy of capturing on film. Hope you enjoy.