Madrid

After an uneventful flight, I landed in Madrid last Tuesday. After finding the hotel, getting settled in, and walking around like a zombie due to jet lag, I finally met up with the group from Spain that would be doing the Madrid tour. As the only non Spanish speaking, non college-age student, I could see that things might be different from 1969. The "kids" were excited to meet new folks and I was becoming quieter. Hum mm, how easy it is to lose your confidence!

The Madrid tour, however, was very educational and interesting. The staff of USAC were friendly and the tour staff engaging. Here's a bit about what we got to see: The first day started with a walk to the Prado Museum. We saw paintings by El Greco, Velazquez, and Le Goya. The history was already beginning to be revealed. The information was short but thorough and even when I went back to see more later, I realized the best had been seen and heard about in the hour or so tour. We walked on to the Palace and went through many of the rooms. Of course, not reading signs well I was admonished for attempting to take pictures of forbidden views. Naive rebellion never seems far from my experiences. That day ended for me walking around looking for food. I was a bit hesitant of the empty streets (ahhh., it was just too early in the evening to know what were safe areas and what weren't. I finally found a wonderful restaurant that had some of the best calamari I have ever tasted. Along with salad and wine, who could ask for more.

The second day included a bus ride to Segovia, a mountain city to the northwest of Madrid. On the way we passed a monument to Cervantes and his most well known book, Man of La Mancha. When we arrived in Segovia we were greeted with an amazing site. A 2000 year old Roman built aqueduct graces the town and was actually working until only 100 years ago. To think that there was that awareness of engineering so long ago still amazes me. No wonder engineers remain a much coveted profession. We also toured a special castle -- the one Disneyland's "Magic Castle" was modeled after. It was the vacation home for the Catholic Kings, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. What a beautiful building and it's very helpful to have visuals to explain the way it was in olden times. I actually think my history of Spain will be enhanced from this trip. After lunch with a couple of the students from Maryland, we did an independent tour of a cathedral. This reminded me of the many cathedrals I visited with Dee and Melody. Dee's Catholicism and our need to remain safe as young women made such visits mandatory those many years ago. Now, the world's interest seems to be waning, however, the buildings are still quite amazing.

Upon our return to Madrid we "ran" through the Museum Sophia with our guide, Isabella. Her knowledge is great and it was fun to see Picasso, Miro, and Dali. I thought of Margo's book about Father Hunger since one of Picasso's signature blue period pieces was on display. His large painting that was brought back to this, his home country, after Franco was no longer the Dictator of Spain was magnificent. But, in truth, I was most intrigued by the symbolism of Dali's work. Clearly our tour guide knew her art. It certainly made me appreciate the more recent masterpieces. Since I'm a lover of impressionism this was a new enjoyment. After returning to the hotel that night, I decided to walk around the shopping area. What an amazing street -- people were everywhere. With the excitement of adventure, I took myself to a small showing of Carmen, The Flamingo Ballet. For only 20 euro, I was very pleased with the quality and professionalism of the dancers. Finally, at 11 p.m. I sat in a square, drinking a beer and watching people meander by on a Friday night.

The following day we went to Toledo -- the oldest city just southwest of Madrid. With many cobblestone streets, this original capital of Spain was the place where three religions existed peacefully for 400 years prior to the 1400s--Jewish, Christian, and Muslims. Since this was where El Greco lived there were many representations of his in the cathedral there. It was miraculous and the town was readying for a great celebration. What a beautiful representation! I also was invited to have lunch with the faculty, tour guides, and bus drivers. It was nice to share this time with all of them -- even though I was not able to follow their discussion of eating escargot that well. After we returned to the hotel, I rested my weary feet and then headed out to see the botanical gardens (there was a special Japanese arrangement show going on) and the turtle bond in the train station. I think I did myself in because my feet were not particularly comfortable with walking much more that evening.

The next morning we left for Alicante -- a story to be continued in my next post. Soon I will catch up and keep this going more reqularly.