Berlin

As we have obviously failed to update our blog on a regular basis, we have decided to provide a brief summary of the last leg of our trip: Germany.

We arrived in Berlin excited about experiencing another country, but nervous about making the switch from Spanish to German. It proved to not be so difficult, however, because within a few minutes of meeting the family with whom we would be staying for 4 weeks, Ian was talking about his initial impression of the architecture. (It took a few days for Lisa to adjust, but she could understand enough). We had heard that because much of Berlin is undergoing development and there are many unoccupied buildings since the reunification of Germany, apartments are not very expensive. The family with whom we lived had actually purchased two apartments, tore down a wall, and converted them into one. We stayed in Southwest Berlin, about 30 minutes from the center by U-Bahn. The woman was a nurse and now works for an American pharmaceutical company. Her son (our age) was also a nurse and works in the operating room. They were incredibly friendly and inviting. It was great for Lisa to get to talk to them about medical issues and the healthcare system in Germany. She even got to visit a hospital with a young, female neurosurgeon. Unlike in Spain, we had a very large room for ourselves and a private bathroom. We were very comfortable in Berlin; the cool weather added to that.

On the day of our arrival we had to go to the Goethe Institute to take the 3-4 hour entrance exam. Much to our dismay we had to take classes in different parts of the city because of our differing levels. We both tested into the classes we wanted, Ian in C1 and Lisa in A2, C2 being the highest. Although Ian thought he would be prepared for the class (as he had taken a class the previous semester devoted exclusively to German grammar), everything he knew was actually presupposed. This turned out to be advantageous, however, at least after the first week. It was a definite challenge for him in the beginning. Lisa's course covered such topics as discussions about things around the city, holidays, and other common daily conversation topics. In addition to advanced technical aspects of the language, Ian discussed aesthetics, politics and other difficult topics on a regular basis. He had to write a few papers and give one 20 minute presentation over a German author, which was certainly the hardest thing he's had to do in German so far.

One of the most interesting aspects of our classes was that we had classmates from around the world, many of whom did not speak English. We were thus forced to speak German and to learn new words without English translations. This tactic of immersion was very effective. Within 2 weeks Lisa began joining Ian and his classmates in conversation at the Biergarten. We got to meet people from many countries, including Egypt, Brazil, Russia, Israel, South Africa, and Italy. We even got to practice Spanish occasionally. Ian's table partner was from Spain. Because her English was not nearly as good as his Spanish, she would frequently ask him in Spanish what German words were. Lisa was able to hear about how healthcare works in countries with radically different histories and systems of government. Ian spent a lot of time talking about politics and academics with his classmates.

A major advantage of studying at the Goethe Institute was that we were able to take many guided walks around the city with guides arranged by the institute. We took a tour through private art galleries with an art historian and professor from Leipzig. Two of the walks dealt with national socialism and its influence on and destruction of the city. These were lead by a history professor. Before the walks Ian was able to listen to him give lectures on the Weimar republic and Hitler's rise to power. He also heard lectures on "degenerate" art not only during WWII, but also in the former GDR (East German government). We also took a walk led by a participant in the demonstrations against the GDR before the wall fell. The most profound guided tour was led by a former prisoner of a concentration camp in Hamburg. We were led through Sachsenhausen, a former work camp on the outskirts of Berlin. This 5 hour tour was incredibly illuminating, though disturbing. We were impressed by the guide's energy and passion to make known his history, as well as important historical facts that were covered up. He has spent the last few decades giving presentations throughout Europe.

We of course visited many of the traditional tourist and cultural sites: art museums, city landmarks, the wall, etc. (We will put up pictures with some highlights, if you want to see more about that.) In general, the city has an incredibly multicultural feel, with more foreign restaurants than traditional ones.

Although we could go on and on, we will conclude with a few remarks about our trip as a whole. This was, indeed, the trip of a lifetime. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to basically live in Europe for the summer- trying to speak the languages, changing our daily schedule and diet to fit the common lifestyles, learning about the histories, internalizing the customs, and seeing the sites. We have learned so much, not just academically, but culturally and practically as well.

By the way, we hope to keep updating the blog in order to keep everyone informed about our activities and journey onto medical and graduate school.

Paris

After visiting Paris we certainly understand why it is known as a city of great beauty and romance. It was interesting to see how different this city is from any of those we saw in Spain. The city layout is very structured (in stark contrasts to the winding streets of Andalucia) and, when viewed from the top of one of its many monuments, appears to have a sense of symmetry. We kept ourselves busy, especially throughout the first few days, and managed to see many of the great museums, churches, historical buildings and monuments. 

We began our first day by meeting Mary Kay at our hotel. Considering the fact that we had just come from an over-night train and she from an over-night flight (without sleep and jet-lagged) we really crammed a lot into the first day. We visited the Holocaust Memorial, Notre Dame, walked around the the smaller island of the Seine, had a nice dinner and ice cream, went to the Shakespeare & Co. bookstore, and finished the evening with a boat tour of the Seine. The lac

y stained glass windows of the Notre Dame were especially impressive, as we had seen nothing like that in the cathedrals of Spain. The boat tour was a great way to begin our stay in Paris because it gave us a feeling for the city overall. It is incredible that so many impressive sites all lie within a single city. It's no wonder that half of France lives in Paris, though this makes it even more amazing that everywhere is so clean and beautiful.

For our second day in Paris we visited the Arc du Triomphe. We were impressed to realize how large this monument is. We climbed to the top, for our first panoramic view of the city. We walked along the Champs Elysees and enjoyed a bit of people-watching. We spent the afternoon in the Rodin Museum. This museum is in a old house where Rodin once lived; the house

and gardens are beautiful alone and spectacular with Rodin's sculptures. It was fantastic to see some of Rodin's most well-known works, like The Thinker and The Burghers of Calais, along with smaller works that showed what an innovative artist he was. We walked around the surrounding area, past the Hopital d'Invalides. It's hard to believe that this palace-like, golden-domed building is basically the Parisian equivalent to a VA hospital. After having french onion soup and a quiche at a brasserie we went to the Eiffel Tower. Our timing could not have been better: we were able to ascend the tower just before sunset and stayed until dark, allowing us to have a fantastic view of the city during day and night. Interestingly, beneath the tower was some sort of concert/wake for the recently deceased Michael Jackson. We were somewhat shocked to learn that he had such an international following.

The next morning we visited the St. Chapelle Cathedral before checking out of our hotel. The walls seem to be composed more of stained glass than they are of stone; we enjoyed reading both German and Spanish descriptions of the windows. We

 then moved from our hotel to the apartment that we would be staying in for the remainder of the week. Having an apartment was a great idea because it allowed us to cook meals rather than always eating out and have a more comfortable place to relax. We were able to have more leisurely mornings and evenings and found a bakery called Bread and Roses that we fell in love with. The location was great: we were directly across the street from the Luxembourg gardens, so we had a great view and a great breeze. It also was a lot of fun to speculate about the people that normally lived in the apartment. We spent the afternoon in the Pompidou Center, which houses modern art, beginning with the post-impressionists such as Picasso and Matisse. The building itself is very contemporary; all of the pipes for water, air ducts, etc. are on the outside of the building rather than hidden behind walls, somewhat similar to the convention center in Houston.

Day 4. We spent several hours in the Musee d'Orsay, focusing especially on the floor of impressionist paintings. We took a scenic route back to the apartment when the museum closed, passing through an artsy area of the city that was filled with art galleries, fresh food markets, cafes, and boutiques. We had some of the most interesting ice cream & sorbet of the entire trip; the fresh mint ice cream was especially good! It was fun to see so many French people just getting off of work, chatting, shopping, and people-watching. 

On our fifth day in Paris we took a taxi to see the Sacre-Coure. The cathedral has an interesting history and is quite unique, but we found it much more attractive from a distance than when we actually ascended the hill. Perhaps the most exciting part of this experience was our taxi ride there. We had a female taxi driver who spoke a bit of English but had a deep, raspy voice and cursed about the traffic. She was very friendly to us and it was fantastic to see the city as we drove through it. 

That afternoon, we finally went to the Louvre! Just knowing that we were in such a world-renowned museum with so many masterpieces was wonderful. The old palace grounds alone are impressive and the glass pyramids in the center make it all seem somewhat ethereal. We were a bit annoyed by the fact that the museum was so full of people taking pictures of everything, but that wasn't enough of a distraction to take away from the art. It was great to be able to compare the artwork here to the many other museums we have visited throughout the summer and to be able to see why the Louvre is considered to have the greatest collection. Especially with the early Christian and Renaissance paintings, we were able to tell that even the lesser-known paintings here are superior those in many of the other museums we had seen. Unfortunately, the Louvre is so massive that it is overwhelming under any circumstance, but especially after having done so much sight-seeing in the past 6 weeks. We did see many of the greatest works: the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and of course the Mona Lisa. We felt it appropriate to celebrate our day at the Louvre with a  fine French dinner. We did so at Chez Grammond's, a small restaurant down the street from our hotel. Chez Grammond and his wife have owned and operated this restaurant for 30 years and have never hired an employee. We read an article online praising the restaurant for having the freshest, most wholesome ingredients and traditional French cuisine. Sure enough, the tables were even decorated with wildflowers. It had a lot of character: the woman waited on us, wearing high heels and a The Doors t-shirt. She practically told us what we wanted to eat, but we were happy to agree. The food was delicious (especially Ian's duck and the Grand Marnier souffles)! There was only one other table filled and, as we were the last ones there, Chez Grammond himself came out to talk to us after closing the kitchen.

We were incredibly fortunate in terms of weather throughout the entire trip, especially considering the fact that rain was predicted nearly every day and we never really got rained on. However, we did choose a rather warm day to see Versaille. This palace undoubtedly outshines all those we had seen in Spain. Such extravagance! We decided to make it a bit more educational and listened to the audoguides in German and Spanish. The gardens are so large that it would take hours to see them all by foot, so we rented a golf cart and rode to a shady area in the back to eat the picnic we had brought with us. There happened to be some sort of military event going on at the time, so we even got to see small procession.

We finally decided we had seen enough museums and monuments and just wanted to walk around and BE in Paris. We walked around the Luxemburg gardens, sat and talked and ate crepes. Walking around the streets we saw the Observatory, an incredibly beautiful teaching hospital and the Sorbonne University. We did a little shopping (Lisa at a clothing store, Ian at the University's Philosophy bookstore). We saw a ballet in the Palais Garnier. This concert house is beautiful, and quite unique with a ceiling painted by Marc Chagall.

On our last full day in Paris we had a long brunch at our favorite Bread and Roses. We visited the Tulleries gardens, but found that we preferred the Luxemburg gardens. And we had another good French dinner, with a final order of Escargot.

On our final morning we went to a mass at St. Sulpice and got to hear a 30-minute organ concert afterwards. Cathedrals and organs certainly compliment one another to create a sublime feeling. Outside the church was a small ceramics market which was fun to browse. We had a picnic in the Luxemburg gardens before moving out of our apartment. We helped Mary Kay move into her new hotel and shared a final bottle of wine (and ice cream!). Then, it was finally time to head to the train station and board our 13-hour night train to Berlin.

Valencia - Week 4

We returned to Valencia by train and arrived Monday morning at 5 am. We began our final week of classes at 9 am. It was a busy week, because we had final exams.  We still managed to do a good amount of sightseeing though.

We visited the Museo de Bellas Artes, which contains an impressive collection of early Christian art and a few paintings by the great Spanish artists Velázquez, de Goya and El Greco. There was also a temporary exhibit of more contemporary Valencian artists. We were glad to see a few paintings by Sorolla, the impressionist artist famous for his paintings of the beaches of Valencia.

There was a film festival going on in Valencia, with films from directors throughout the world. We saw a series of short films by Valencian artists. Not all the films had subtitles, which created a bit of a barrier, but we enjoyed them nonetheless.

We also spent an evening at the beach. We shared a bottle of wine with two friends at a cafe on the boardwalk and walked along the shore for a while. It was too cool to go swimming, but it was really nice to see the beach at night.

Our stay in Valencia has been a wonderful experience.  Academically, we have developed a solid foundation in Spanish upon which we can continue to build in the future.  We received certificates at the completion of our course with our level, B2 on a scale from A1 to C2, C2 being the highest.  We were also able to feel at home in a foreign city by living and communicating with a family on a daily basis, taking in the culture, and visiting the top sites.

Andalucia

After a quick, one-hour flight, we arrived in the enchanting city of Seville (Sevilla) o

n Thursday evening.  Our hotel had been around since 1914 and was run by a crippled, grumpy, but nevertheless kind old man.  The first night, we walked around the main part

s of town and struggled to navigate the narrow, curving streets, the names of which change every two blocks (if one can call them that).  We awoke, had an inexpensive breakfast o

n a nearby plaza, and quickly went to the largest cathedral in the world, La Catedral de Sevilla.  It had the first elliptical domed room as well as the (supposed) remains of Christopher Columbus. We found the sheer size of the building as well as its main tower to be the most impressive aspects.  The Giralda bell tower sits on a Roman foundation.  One can even read the latin inscriptions at its base.  The Muslims destroyed the original Roman church when they took over in the 8th century.  The majority of the tower was built by Muslims, but the Christians altered the top w

hen they replaced the mosque with the cathedral upon regaining power in the 13th century.  The muslim, red bricks of the tower are thus the only remaining part of the original mosque. For lunch we shared nine different tapas at a nearby restaurant.

Although one cannot deny the splendor and importance o

f the cathedral, what stood out to us most is the Alcazar, which is the Arabic word for palace. Interestingly, the Alcazar was built by Muslim architects for the Christian rulers yet contains minimal Christian architectural influence.  The layout of the palace seems to be without an organized system. Each time one enters a new room, one has the feeling of approaching a mysterious surprise. This overall feeling was most impressive, though the details of each room were incredible.

After spending an hour or so in the gardens, we decided to visit an important plaza on the other side of the city.  Not realizing how hot it had become, we thought we could walk . . . bad idea.  The temperature had risen to 105 degrees, which, during the day, remained constant in each of the three cities we visited.  We were therefore unable to make it as far as we wanted and headed back to the hotel to get ready for a flamenco show that evening.

We had heard that Seville was the best place to hear flamenco, of both improvisatory and "higher" types, and we were not disappointed.  We saw a one hour performance in a central courtyard of an attractive building decorated with typical Arabic tiles.  From the powerful technical mastery of the guitarist to the exotic allure of the dancers; from the foreign rhythms pounded out by the singer to his entrancingly dissonant voice - we could not have asked for a better spectacle.  We concluded our night by having sangria and a few more tapas at a restaurant near our hotel.

The next morning we had breakfast at the same cafe as well as churros (a sort of long, thin doughnut) with chocolate. We were lucky to catch the rapid train to Cordoba, a much smaller city. We were able to walk everywhere easily, though we still got lost in the narrow streets. The Mezquite of Cordoba is a strange mix of Muslim and Christian architecture. When the Christians conquered Cordoba they converted the center of the mosque into a beautiful cathedral, but left the rest as it was. The building is filled with seemingly endless columns and red arches, symbolizing infinity.

We walked around the old Jewish quarter and got lost in the heat, surrounded by white-washed walls and streets that dead-end without warning. We did manage to find the statues of Averroes and Maimonides, two philosophers Ian has studied recently.

We traveled to Granada for the evening and were thrilled to find that our hotel was located just off the main plaza, on the road with the sign directing travelers to the Alhambra. We arrived too late for the praised sunset, but we did have dinner with an incredible view. The restaurant we went to was located in a little street with no more than a little sign. We actually had to ring a doorbell and wait for it to be answered to enter the restaurant. We sat outdoors, on a patio that looked out at the Alhambra, with the snow-covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada as a backdrop. We ordered the tasting menu and were given more food than we could eat, all of it delicious! This included multiple courses of Spanish and international dishes, bred, wine, a dessert plate and coffee. Back at our hotel we found an attic room on the roof, and shared a bottle of wine with another impressive view of the city.

We rushed to the Alhambra in the morning. We really rushed (uphill, running, with backpacks) because we thought we were going to miss our thirty-minute reservation for entrance. Fortunately, we actually had a reservation for two hours later than we thought. This worked out just fine because it allowed us to tour the Generalife Gardens before entering the palace. It was cool to be in a place that was so old and has inspired so much poetry. The palace was beautiful, but we actually were more impressed by the palace in Sevilla.

We also visited the Capilla Real where the first king and queen of the Spanish empire, Ferdinand and Isabel, "the Catholic kings" were buried, along with their daughter Juana "la loca" and her husband Felipe "the beautiful". They chose Granada as their burial site because it was the last city of Spain to be re-conquered from the Moors. We had run out of energy for any more major tourist sites, but walked up the hill for one last view of the Alhambra. We sat in front of the church of San Nicolas on a bridge famous for its view of the palace. It was raining in the distance so we got to watch a patch of rain move over the countryside toward the mountains. We weren't able to stay late enough to see the reds of sunset, but the changing blues and grays have left a strong impression. This site also happens to be the hangout of a group of gypsies selling their hand crafts and playing flamenco guitar (singing and clapping included). The atmosphere was festive and we got a kick out of seeing their reaction to an approaching police car. One man yelled "agua" a few times and all the goods for sale disappeared. This was a great way to conclude our weekend trip, which will remain one of our favorite memories.

Weekend and Week 3

We spent a relaxing weekend here in Valencia exploring the city and trying to catch up on our homework. On Friday evening we went to one of the main squares in the historic district and tried agua de Valencia, one of the most popular beverages here comprised of orange juice, gin, vodka, champagne, and lots of sugar. On Saturday we visited the Palacio del Marqués de Dos Aguas, with its amazing alabaster facade and interesting ceramics collection. Our instructor called it a "mini Versaille", but we're hoping for more when we visit the actual Versaille in two weeks. It was most interesting to see traditional ceramics alongside modern works of art, including 5 plates by Picasso. We spent Sunday morning at the beach, reading on the shore and swimming in the Mediterranean. 

On Monday we watched a Spanish film after class entitled Los Amantes del Círculo Polar (Lovers of the Arctic Circle). It was beautiful, deep and thought-provoking, even without English subtitles. We particularly enjoyed getting to hear our instructor's interpretations of the film and talk about the symbolism.  We would definitely recommend this film to anyone. 

The same evening we attended Wagner's opera Das Rheingold at Valencia's Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia. In addition to impeccable singing (confirmed by an 

opera student who came with us), the choreography, costumes, and scenery corresponded to the architectural design of the building. That is to say, it was very modern, using three-dimensional technological effects, human bodies to represent gold and other material resources, and an outer space-like setting for the gods. It was well worth the price to get to experience a small part of the huge music festival that is taking place right now. People are coming from around the world to attend Wagner's cycle of operas entitled Der Ring des Nibelungen, as well as participate in concerts, and discussions.

We've also visited the Lladró factory, the only sight in the world where these valuable porcelain figures are handmade, and the Museum of las Fallas. Las Fallas is a festival held yearly in Valencia, of which Valencianos are extremely proud. Hundreds of giant paper-mache statues are constructed as part of a competition. At the conclusion of the week-long festival one is chosen as the winner and all the rest are burned. The museum contains the life-size figure that won for each year from 1930 to the present (except for the years during the Spanish Civil War). It was interesting to see how the emphasis on theme and designed changed over the years, especially after having just studied 20th century Spanish history. 

Valencia - Week 2

Our educational experience in Valencia has, to our surprise, been much richer than we anticipated at the beginning. Although we have been occupied with our daily classwork in addition to seeing the sights in Valencia - of course! - it has been helpful in a variety of areas. Our first class covers the history of Spain. . . that is, all of it. Our professor lectures over the historical events and artistic developments throughout the centuries. It has been particularly rewarding to understand the historical and symbolic significance behind many of the paintings and buildings we have thus far seen. In our second class of the day, we have been reading poetry by Bécquer and fragments of a play by Frederico García Lorca. We like the material but our instructor knows little English and, well, would probably be difficult to understand in any language. Nevertheless, our third class makes up for any shortcomings. We have written a few compositions for this instructor, whom we find inspirational and admire, and, surprisingly, have learned a thing or two about writing in English. What most impresses us is this instructor's ability to instill in the students a desire to explore the descriptive and poe

tic possibilities of the Spanish language. Finally, our communication class is taught by a lively Uruguayan instructor, who pronounces "y"s and "ll"s as the sh sound in English. These courses have indubitably contributed to our ability to converse with our family and others we have met over the last couple of weeks.

In fact, we have even had a few conversations about the current, global economic situation (called la crisis in Spain) and health insurance.  The other night, we discussed how life has changed for many people in Spain after the death of Franco.  Although he was a brutal dictator, we had heard that many people who lived while he was in power feel that life was better at that time.  According to the grandfather of the man with whom we are living, that this is probably due to, on the one hand, the lack of violence perpetrated by civilians in the past--for fear of Franco's "iron fist"--and, on the other, the supposed moral decadence associated with liberal society and religious tolerance. 

Our conversations aren't always so intense, however. One evening Lisa learned how to make tortilla española. This is nothing like the tortillas to which we are accustomed; rather, it is basically a fat omelette composed of eggs, pota

toes, and onions. We also learned how to make paella, a common Spanish dish that originated in Valencia. We all went as a group to a small town outside of Valencia named Sagunto. This is the sight of Roman ruins dating back to the second century BCE and a (controversially reconstructed) ampitheater. At a park nearby we had a competition over who could cook the best paella. We had to first make an open fire from twigs that we collected in the park. (Ian, being an Eagle Scout, succ

essfully took charge in this area.) We then cooked the dish in giant pans, starting with lots of olive oil and chicken, adding vegetables, spices, and tomato sauce shortly thereafter, and ending with rice and water. The winner of the competition became apparent when the opposing group set its paella ablaze. It was a fun experience and the food was flavorful -- a meal that definitely deserves some experimentation.

Barcelona

We arrived in 

Barcelona by bus on Thursday evening, had dinner at "La Fonda" and took a walk along the famous street, Las Ramblas. The restaurant was large (3 stories) with a romantic atmosphere. They served traditional Spanish dishes as well as other more diverse cuisines and seemed to cater to tourists and non-tourists alike. The prices were great for such a fine dining experience; we were able to order a 1/2-liter of wine for only 3 euros. The Ramblas were filled with people: tourists, street performers, salesman, and con-artists. Perhaps it used to be more elegant,  but we quickly decided that this "must-see" wasn't going to be one of our favorite sights.

However, along Las Ramblas is the large Mercado de Bocquería, which we loved! We walked through this market in the morning to buy fresh fruit to snack on later in the day. The variety of fresh food available is incredible - you really have to see it. During the late morning and early afternoon, when people are shopping as well as eating there, it is a place of more vivacity and liveliness than the street scene at night.  After this grocery stop we joined the rest of our group on tours of two buildings designed by the modernista architect Antonio Gaudí, La Perdera/Casa Milá, and the cathedral of the Sagrada Familia. Walking along the streets of Barcelona Gaudí's influence is ubiquitous. The lamp posts along the Gran Via are designed by him and there are apartments on every block of the city displaying the modernista style, some of them designed and constructed by Gaudí himself. 

The roof of La Perdera offers an incredible view of the city, including the Sagrada Familia. It is a unique roof because the design of the chimneys and ventilation shafts give it the feeling of a large playground for children. Inside the museum, one floor has been converted into a museum displaying models of other works by Gaudí, furniture he designed, and an explanation of his inspiration from the natural world. Another floor is set up as an apartment in the late 1800s might have been decorated (very art nouveau).

The Sagrada Familia has been one of the most incredible places we have ever been. Construction began in 1882 and the projected date for completion is 2030 (but only two years

 ago it was 2020, so we'll see...) Gaudí uses figures from nature, like fruits and seashells, as if to convey the idea of heaven in a way that anybody can relate to, rather than using the elaborate style and golden ornamentation of more traditional cathedrals. Some of the towers are topped by vegetables and grains, surrounded by the words "sanctus, sanctus.. hosanna", as if to offer these goods to heaven. Viewing this cathedral is like seeing something from another world; perhaps this was the goal of architects of every cathedral but we are so far-removed from their time that they now seem common. 

We began Saturday at the Picasso museum. After seeing some of Picasso's  master works in Madrid we had really been looking forward to seeing the development of this great artist. The museum contains landscapes and portraits that he painted at the age of 15 that demonstrate such a genius ability to realistically portray what he saw. It is no wonder he felt the need to experiment with more abstract forms later in his life. After a formal education in art Picasso went to Paris and picked up a lot from other painters on the scene at the time. The influences of Seurot, Cezanne, Toulouse-Loutrec, and Matisse can be clearly scene in many of his paintings. The museum also contains a collection of his 50-some variations on Las Meninas by Diego Velázques.  One last interesting note about this museum: most of the paintings were donated by Picasso himself, an artist who actually lived to see his works become famous.

After two weeks of sight-seeing throughout Spain we realized we had actually tired a bit of nonstop touring, so we took the rest of the weekend a bit more slowly. For lunch we returned to the Mercado and bought ham, cheese, and figs that were larger and more lush than we have ever tasted before. We had a lovely picnic in our hotel before taking a train to the area of Barcelona known as Montjüic. This is the old Jewish area of the city, on the top of a hill that gives another incredible view of this enormous city. We walked through some of the gardens, preferring this tranquility to the overstimulation that the many museums of art and history offered us.

We spent our last morning in Gaudí's Parque Güell. He designed an entire hillside to be a suburban-like residence area, complete with parks and a market area. Unfortunately, Gaudí was before his time. The idea of living in a "suburb" did not yet exist and nobody was interested in moving to this (previously) remote area of the city. Now it is a unique park, filled with benches and fountains decorated with colorful tiles and a few buildings in Gaudí's usual style.

Valencia Week 1

Valencia will be a great city to live in for 4 weeks. Without all the tourism of Madrid and Barcelona, it still has just about anything one could want: museums, concert halls, shops, parks, the beach. The river that once ran through the city dried up years ago and has been converted into a huge park with sports fields, fountains, orange trees, benches, flowers, and shady fields for picnicking. We get to walk through this park every day on our way to and from school.

Our host family couldn't be more perfect! We are living with a young married couple who has a 3-year-old daughter and a 9-month-old son. They host students year-round so they are accustomed to having strangers in the house and great about talking with us a lot and correcting us. We're able to have surprisingly good conversations - our Spanish has improved so much since we arrived and we've barely even begun classes. The location of the apartment is ideal. Our room has a full-length window looking out onto the Plaza Cánovas de Castille, one of the popular places for evening tapas, beer, or coffee. We can walk to the school, downtown, or the beach in less han 30 minutes. The food is also great. We are getting to try many common Spanish dishes and our host family likes to eat a lot of fish and vegetables (just like us).

Day 6

For our last morning in Madrid we went to the Parque Retiro, the last major thing on our list for this city. It is a lovely park, comparable to New York's Central Park. It seems like a good thing to have such a place of tranquility in the midst of a bustling city. We bought a few pastries from the shop next to our hotel before boarding the bus. The pastries here are great! but one of these, an empanada bonito, was not so good - it was filled with tuna and other unexpected spices.

On our way to Valencia we stopped in the small old Moorish town of Alarcón. It has only 215 residents and an old castle that has been converted into a Parador where tourists can spend the night. It was a beautiful little town with white walls, red roofs, and dried-up palm branches in many windows, remainders from the celebration of Corpus Christi. Driving through the countryside, scattered with white-walled towns, ancient ruins, and orchards of olive trees, was beautiful. We were in the area of Spain known as Catille-la Mancha, which is where much of Cervantes' don Quixote takes place.

Day 5

We finally went to the Prado! This art museum is incredible; often compared to the Louvre. It contains many paintings by the most famous Spanish artists: Francisco de Goya, Diego Velázquez, and El Greco. It also contains many other great artists and paintings like Ruben's Three Graces, Heironymous Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, and paintings by Raphael, Carvaggio, and Titian. Our favorite artist of this visit was de Goya. His career as an artists consisted mainly of painting for the palace, as he was also a magistrate of sorts. Some of his famous paintings include the La Maja - Desnuda and Vestida, and Third of May. 

We found the collection of Pinturas Negras (The Black Paintings)  to be the most interesting. After de Goya's death these paintings were removed from his house, where he had painted them directly on the wall of of his basement. They are called the Black Paintings not only for their dark colors, but for the subject matter. De Goya painted these after experiencing the brutal war between Spaina and France and many of them are deeply symbolic. For example, the painting Saturn Devouring One of His Sons is thought to symbolize what Spain did to surrounding countries as well as its own people. The style of these paintings, from the early 1800s, are ahead of their time, and completely different from de Goya's earlier paintings for the aristocracy. This contrast is especially striking in a few dark paintings that depict the   same subject matter as earlier paintings, like El ciego de la guitarra (The blind man playing guitar). These paintings demand more thought, but we never seem to have enough time in museums - we had to go join our group for dinner.

Day 4

The entire group traveled by bus to El Escorial, about a 2-hour drive. El Escorial is a grand palace that was built by King Philip II. He designed it so that he could live like a monk; thus, many of the walls are undecorated and everything is centered around the church, the altar of which can be seen from a window in each bedroom. The library was one of the most fantastic parts, and we had a great guide to tell us all about it. It is an amazing library because it contains many books that were prohibited during the Inquisition about astronomy, Tarot, the natural sciences, etc., as well as books written in Arabic, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. The palace is also the burial site of all the kings and queens of Spain since Carlos V, including two empty tombs for the king and queen that would have been buried there had it not been for the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

On that note, we also went to the Valle de los Caídos, or, Valley of the Fallen. This is a memorial to all those who died during Spain's civil war from 1936-1939. A basilica was built into the side of a mountain, and the granite that was removed was used to form a 500-foot tall cross above the site. Buried here are not only Francisco Franco and José Antonio Primo de Rivera, but nearly 50,000 Loyalists and Nationalists as well. Franco decided to build this monument/church in an apparent attempt to reunite the people of Spain, but there are many things that make us suspicious of his intent, the first of which is that it was the Republican prisoners who dug out the 220,000 tons of granite, twelve of which died during the process.  Also, it is an incredibly unique and haunting place: the statues of angels have cloaks that cover their faces, they are dark and tower over the viewers, many hold swords. The lanterns are shaped like swords and torches and the main room of the church is decorated with tapestries depicting the Apocalypse.

Day 3

This morning we had breakfast with our group and took a bus to Toledo. This is one of the oldest cities in Spain and is very important for the Catholic church. Toledo's bishop is Spain's representative for the Vatican and it's cathedral contains the gigantic monstrance used to hold the body and blood of Christ during the celebration of Corpus Christi. We particularly enjoyed getting to see and hear about the various influences on the architectural styles of the Cathedral, which included Baroque, Gothic, and Neo-Classical. There were many paintings by artists in whom we have developed a strong interest, particularly El Greco. There was even a painting by the grandfather of our former Spanish teacher, Señora Tristan. 

The Arabic influence is particularly obvious throughout the city. From the typical geometric ornamentation, which evokes notions of infinity, to the domed towers, one can see how, despite the centuries of violence, coexisting in harmony did indeed take place among the great monotheistic religions. This is particularly evident in the Sinagoga de Santa María la Blanca, which was built by Muslims around 1200, became a Jewish synagogue shortly thereafter, then converted into a  Christian church.

In a small church, Iglesia Santa Tomé, we saw one of the most famous paintings by El Greco, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. It was interesting to study a painting that has remained in the exact location for which it was intended over 400 years ago. El Greco's style is, from our point of view, uncharacterizable. Many people say that he painted souls rather than bodies, because his depiction of human figures are always elongated, as if they were stretching towards heaven. There are also aspects of his style that resemble certain trends within 20th century art. He was undoubtedly one of the most unique artists of his day - of any day, really.

We returned to Madrid for the evening, and after dinner we went to a Sangria bar with our friend, MJ, located in the basement of a building near our hotel. The bar was run by three grumpy old men: one waited on customers, one stayed behind the bar, and the other played old show-tunes on the slightly out of tune, but nevertheless pleasant-to-listen-to, piano. The walls were covered with posters from the Prado and hand-painted proverbs and quotes. The air was filled with smoke; there's no doubt it was authentic and almost everybody there was a local (check out the video).  It was interesting to experience a part of Madrid's night life.

Day 2

Today we woke up renovated to a bustling, bouyant Madrid. We walked through several plazas, including Plaza Mayor, stopping for pastries and café along the way. We took a detour to buy Pastas de Almendra (soft cookies with an even softer almond-flavored filling) from a local convent. There is only a small sign on the convent door which reads, se vende dulces, which means, we sell sweets. The purchase was conducted entirely through a window with a lazy-susan-type door, allowing the nuns to sell their goods without being seen. We read about the place in our Rick Steves' travel guide and thought it would be fantastic to be the only tourists to know such a secret - to our dismay there were several other tourists holding their Rick Steves books, trying to find the concealed convent. After this we headed to the Palaceo Real, Spain's royal palace. This indubitably magnificent, though decadent, palace is considered to be one of the greatest in Europe. Each room is covered with frescos or elaborately-embroidered wallpaper, and filled with statues, clocks, and paintings of the royal family.

For lunch we ate like the locals, that is, standing up at a bar. We tried a bocadilla (a small ham sandwich) and gazpacho (a popular, cold, tomato soup). We then dropped off the rest of our Pastas at the hotel and headed to the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum. This art museum contains the collection of the Baron and Baronness Thyssen and includes works from early Christian artists all the way up to Picasso. We especially enjoyed the impressionist works, as well as becoming acquainted with a few new artists like Joaquín Sorolla y Batista and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.
In the evening everyone from the group for the Spanish class met at the hotel and then we all went to dinner together. We were served multiple courses of Spanish classics, including olives, ham, and calamari.

Day 1

After a tedious, though somewhat pleasant day of traveling, we arrived in Madrid at 9:00 in the morning. Only speaking our hesitant, broken Spanish, we managed to get on the right bus to take us downtown. The weather was beautiful: cool and sunny with lush, white clouds, perfect for a long walk. We strolled through a significant portion of the city before finding our hotel, observing along the way not only the magnificent architecture, but the people as well. We found ourselves in the midst of a whole new culture, one which pronounces certain letters with a lisp; which takes a midday siesta; which eats a huge meal around 14:00 (2 p.m.) and small snacks and drinks around 21:00 (9 p.m.); and where men ride motorcycles in suits--we even saw two priests sharing a moped!
Nevertheless, we were not deterred from following suit. After our own revitalizing siesta, we ate a multiple course meal around 14:30 at a restaurante called La Taparía. We ordered in Spanish, throwing in the occasional ceceo (the lisp mentioned above) with words like gracias and cerveza (pronounced in Castilian GRAH-thee-ahs and thair-VAY-thuh). For only 23 euros, this delicious meal was una ganga, because we each had salad, bread, an entree, desert, beer and coffee. We then went to Madrid's modern art museum, el Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, where Picasso's masterpiece Guérnica is displayed. Although this work demands more thought and interpretation, we feel comfortable saying now that it undoubtedly captures the horror of war, but in a unique and deeply moving way. Accompanying this were dozens of sketches and drafts Picasso made in preparation for this work, as well as photographs of the havoc wreaked by the civil war.
We also saw paintings and sculptures by other Spanish artists with whom we were not familiar prior to our arrival. It was particularly interesting to see some of Dalí's earlier, pre-surrealist works. Finally, we were able to take a few breaks to contemplate the art we had just seen in a lovely garden circumscribed by the museum.
For "supper", around 9 pm, we had some ice cream, because we were so full from our afternoon meal. Not yet having yet recovered from our overnight flight, we decided to skip on the customary tapas and bar scene in order to get some rest for tomorrow.

¡Buenas Noches!