a bit of a history lesson...
OK, so here is ALL of the stuff that happened while I was in Madrid. Inma and Paula, the ladies in charge of AIFS and our trip, printed out some stuff about each of the places we were gonna go, so here is an official description of everything…partially taken off of those papers, and partially some of my own awesome commentary…enjoy! oh and i left out a lot of the stuff from the previous entry, so you don´t have to hear me repeat myself...lucky you!

We arrived Thursday evening after having one member of our group pass out on the bus…it was a long ride, I guess it could be expected? No worries, she was fine. Just a bit car sick…or bus sick, rather. So we wandered the city because nothing was planned for the rest of the day. Jennifer found a starbucks, which was the highlight of her life because she is addicted to coffee and there are NO starbucks in Granada…watch out! So of course, she posed with her coffee.


When we explored Plaza Mayor for the first time, we found bf’s favorite person in the entire world…none other than David Beckham!!! YEAH…so we took a picture for him! Because I am just that wonderful of a gf (he actually loathes DB for those of you who do not know my bf…I just love sarcasm). But the whole team is there too, so it actually was kinda cool.


The building across from this little stand was awesome too…just look at how cool-ly it is painted! And the statue in the middle…wow Chris Mellas, you were right when you told me how awesome this plaza was…and the rest of Madrid too!! But those stories are yet to come.


So here we are that night, taking random pictures…and me taking pictures of Jennifer because she is ALWAYS the first one to volunteer to NOT be in pictures and be the photographer…hmmm I had to fix that.


Then I ate McDonald’s (and of course they took a picture) because I had to see if this international corporation was actually the same wherever you go…it is. Except McDonald’s in Spain sells beer. It was Krystal’s goal to order a beer at McDonald’s just to say that we did it and I decided I would join her, but that has not happened yet…oh well.


Oh, and here is a picture just for Aubrey…toilet paper blowing in the wind in Plaza Mayor…quite a bizarre sight to see!


Friday, Septeber 30th 2005
Palacio Real de Madrid
The Royal Place, official home of the Bourbon dynasty from the 18th to the 20th centuries, is a symbol of imperial Spain erected by Filipe V in 1734, on the site of the old Arab alcazar in Madrid. This new palace was built by two Italian architects and was used until the abdication of Alfonso XIII. The present king, Alfonso’s grandson Juan Carlos, lives in the Zarzuela palace outside Madrid. This palace is still used for official state functions, however.




Before we got inside, we were allowed to wander the gardens in front, where Krystal, Stephanie, and I decided to pose with some statues…hee hee hee








Finally, we get inside and we see the Salon de Gasparini with some very cool Oriental-style stucco ceilings...yeah, the whole thing is stucco!!


Then, there were some Goya portraits that we were not allowed to take pictures of, and a completely marble double staircase!! they also had a "smoking room" that they decorated in a rather interesting fashion...


and a very cool painting on the ceiling of virtaully every room!!


and here is brenda posing and acccepting some jewels from isabella catolica...


On our way out of the castle we got to hang out in the royal armory where myrcia posed with some gentlemen…cute!


Then, there was this AMAZING-looking church just outside the palace!! It was so cool that it needed to be photographed as well…did you doubt me?


- Tarantos –
A musical version of Romeo and Juliet about gypsies using flamenco dancing and singing. This was probably the coolest thing I have ever seen!! I have wanted to see a good flamenco show since I got here, especially since my senora loves it so much and dances for me sometimes. They had no scenery…it was a big open stage with a tiny balcony in the back where the play went on at the left side and the band was sitting on the right.








All of the scene changes were done by lights and sounds. They had these cool snow-flake looking lights that were blue and they sent about halfway up the stage and back at a pretty rhythmic pace to be like the beach with ocean sounds…then, after Romeo and Juliet died on the beach, they did the same thing, but with red lights…kinda gives you chills, huh?


I really liked it even though I could not understand most of it because the microphones made the words a bit fuzzy. It was still really interesting.


Saturday, October 1st 2005
Museo Reina Sofia –


There were lots of Picasso, Dali, and Miro. The original Guernica was up on the wall for us to see…absolutely GINORMOUS and way cool!! From what I heard about the painting, it was done sometime around WWII when Franco, the dictator here in Spain, allowed some country to test bombs on the city of Guernica, killing millions of people. This is what I know of the painting, but it is not all that clear, so if anyone else knows more, please let me know because I am quite curious. I have a postcard too, but you can’t see it until I get home…sorry.

This museum took us about three hours to hit just the second floor which was the permanent stuff. The first floor was the cheesy book store, cafeteria, pretty stuff, etc. The third floor was random temporary works that did not look very interesting and neither did the fourth floor with permanent artwork from artists that we were not too excited to see after three hours of the second floor…oh wow, so hungry afterward.

On our search for food, we ran into a rally…quite large, several hundred people…but totally silent!


It was really cool because it was a rally for the deaf. They had huge signs with different organization names on them, but obviously, I don’t know what they were saying. It was weird because we did not want to say anything as we walked by for fear that we would break the silence. I am honestly not trying to be sarcastic right now. It was pretty neat and even the people who could speak weren’t for the exact same reasons as us.

Planet Hollywood – mozzarella sticks!! yes folks, i found mozarella sticks!! i have been craving them since i left and i enjoyed them a great deal. unfortunatly because they are, i guess, an american food, they do not have them in granada because we have only mcdonald´s and burger king that even partially replicate the US (and yes i know that burger king came from great britain, but it still exists in the US, so i am gonna consider it american too!!)

Parque del Retiro
On our walk Krystal got tired of using her crutches because they were hurting her arms…so she decided to hurt her food instead and just walk on them…whatever.


Then, we came upon the coolest wedding dress EVER!! that was already discussed in the last entry along with all of the amazing photos of this park, but that´s ok...

Sunday, October 2nd 2005
El Escorial

This massive monument was constructed for Filipe II to celebrate a victory over the French on August 10th 1557. This cold, undecorated building reflects Filipe’s cold, severe outlook on life. As one of Spain’s most religious kings, he dedicated this to San Lorenzo, whose feast day is on August 10th. San Lorenzo was martyred by being roasted alive on a red-hot grill (thus the monastery’s shape). Legends say that during the battle with the French, a church dedicated to the saint was accidentally destroyed and that El Escorial was a way for Felipe II to make amends.

The monastery was constructed amazingly fast in 21 years: 1563-1584. It was finished just in time for Felipe II to die here. Throughout history, El Escorial has served as a royal palace, monastery, intellectual center, library, and a laboratory for local and foreign scientists experimenting with alchemy. Now, it contains artwork from Goya, El Greco, Velazquez, and many others. The royal pantheon is also here, where nearly every Spanish monarch since Carlos V (grandson of Isabel and Ferdinand who sent off Christopher Columbus/father of Felipe II, in case you were curious) has been buried. Furthermore, it is currently being used as a monastery, private religious school, university, and tourist attraction (it receives over 5,000 visitors a day).

Valle de los Caidos
This famous monument of Spain is a Basilica carved out of a solid granite mountain. On the top is a 500ft high cross. The history of this memorial is rather controversial. You will hear that it was built to honor “all” those who died in the Spanish Civil War, meaning both sides Republican and Nationalists. However, this building was constructed after the war, with the forced labor of many Republican prisoners. Also, it was originally supposed to honor those who died “serving Dios and Espana” (aka the Facist-Nationalists). So basically…you can choose what to believe.

Inside the Basilica are the tombs of General Franco (the first dictator of Spain from 1939-1975) and Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera (founder of the Spanish Falange [a political party] who was assassinated by the Republicans). Behind the chapel walls lie 9 levels of dead soldiers, approximately 70,000.

Real Madrid game instead of Segovia
Here we are in the awesome jerseys that we all bought at the game...unfortunately, we all coincidentally bought totally different jerseys with the exact same name on the back!! (krystal bought it because she likes the number seven, i bought it because sten told me to get anything except david beckham and i thought this guy was really good when i watched him play, megan bought it because it was the smallest one they had, and jenna bought it because she had actually heard of that player before, and jennifer did not get a name on hers)...i know, all stupid girlie reasons for getting the jerseys, but we were pretty clueless, not gonna lie. but still pretty funny!!




Hard Rock Café!! Here is Krystal jumping for joy that we had finally made it to a restaurant!!


Stupid Hard Rock had crazy mannequins with tongue, nose, and ear piercings, but no mozzarella sticks…


Monday, October 3rd 2005
Toledo!!

Surrounded on three sides by a bend in the River Tajo, Toledo stands atop a hill overlooking the arid plains of New Castile, a natural fortress in the center of the Iberian Peninsula. It was a logical choice for the capital of Spain, though it lost its political status to Madrid in the 1500’s. Toledo has remained the country’s religious center, as the seat of the Primate of Spain.


The rock on which Toledo stands was inhabited in prehistoric times, and there was already an important Iberian settlement here when the Romans came in 192BC. On the highest point of the rock the Romans built a large fort; this was later remodeled by the Visigoths, who transformed the town into their capital by the middle of the 6th century AD. In the early 8th century, the Moors arrived.

During their occupation of Toledo, the Moors furthered its reputation as a great center of learning and religion. Unusual tolerance was extended to those who continued to practice Christianity (the so-called Mozarabes), as well as the town’s exceptionally large Jewish population. Long after the departure of the Moors, Toledo remained secretive, its life and treasures hidden behind closed doors and forbidding facades.

Alfonso VI, aided by El Cid, captured Toledo in 1085 and styled himself Emperor of Toledo. Under Christians, the town’s strong intellectual life was maintained, and became famous for its school of translators who spread to the West knowledge of Arab medicine, law, culture, and philosophy. Religious tolerance continued here, even during the rule of Peter the Cruel (so named because he allegedly had members of his own family murdered to advance himself).

- Cathedral:


Fernando III, founded Toledo’s cathedral in 1227. This is the 9th largest cathedral in the world. It is a perfect example of Gothic style. The cathedral interior, center of Spanish Catholicism, is lit darkly by stained glass and dense works of art. The magnificent choir contains scenes of the capture of Granada, by Rodrigo Aleman. The large altar piece opposite includes a representation of the sheperd who guided the Catholic troops to their great victory at Navas de Tolosa. The main altar in the front where mass is held is a depictions of the life of Jesus. During the time that this cathedral was built, very few people could reads except for the priests who were already pretty well versed in Jesus’ life…hopefully. Therefore, they tried to make the Bible into a picture book on the wall. At the very bottom center is Jesus’ birth. Along the sides and through the middle are different acts of Jesus during his life. In the center of the very top is his crucifixion. And this was not just a painting, this was a huge piece that was actually carved and painted! Pretty cool, I think.

Throughout the cathedral, there are several other biblical scenes depicted on walls, and other works of art. Above each work of art in the cathedral hangs the hat of the cardinal who approved it. Most people do not see these hats because they do not tend to look directly above their heads when viewing a beautiful piece. Typically, just under the hat, is the grave of that cardinal as well, which you would be stepping on at this point in time. This is a characteristic of TRUE gothic, catholic cathedrals.

- Puente de San Martin – It is a pedestrian bridge built in 1203.

Since no cars are allowed to drive on this bridge, we thought it would be totally fun to cartwheel all the way from one end to the other…so here is Stephanie and Jennifer cartwheeling down Saint Martin’s Bridge.


- Santa Maria la Blanca
This is a synagogue that has no record of being built. However, historians know that it was in use by the Jews some time in the late 12th century when the people of Toledo were still getting along. It also known that the Arabs who lived there helped to build it, even though it was for the Jews, because they had some of the best architectural techniques and worked quickly compared to other groups. Therefore, this synagogue appears very much like a mosque with five naves and elaborate Mudejar decorations. In the early 15th century, however, it was converted into a Christian church at which time they built the very large structure pictured here.


Such history makes this building look odd to the unknowing tourist (I say as if I knew what I was getting into when I entered…HA) because it appears Arabic, yet it is called a synagogue, but it has a huge structure picturing the crucifixion of Jesus and several saints all around. Kinda silly.

- Iglesia de Santo Tome
This modest little 14th century chapel, situated on a narrow street in the old Jewish quarter, might have been overlooked had it not possessed El Greco’s masterpiece “The Burial of the Count of Orgaz,” created in 1586. It is said that when the Count of Orgaz was being buried, he was such a great man, that Saints Augustine and Stephen came down to earth to personally put his body in the ground and take his soul to heaven. The painting was placed just behind the exact spot where this miracle happened and where Orgaz’s body still lies. El Greco’s masterpiece shows the miraculous appearance of saints Augustine and Stephen to lower the Count into his grave, still wearing his damascene armor. A line of Castilian gentlemen looks calmly on. The upper portion of the painting stands for heaven, with the Virgin waiting to welcome the soul of the dead man. In the painting, El Greco tells us that even he considers it a masterpiece because he left his signature (in all of his pieces that he felt were important, he paints a small white cloth somewhere at the bottom of the painting). Also, he plays with time a bit by putting the Count of Orgaz in a Spanish conquistador’s uniform, even though the two events differ in time by several hundred years. Furthermore, he painted his entire family in it as well. In the bottom left corner, there is a little boy dressed in black that is pointing to the body of Orgaz, which is supposed to represent his son. On the face of the virgin who is accepting Orgaz’s body, he put that of his wife. Then, all of the Castilian gentlemen who are looking on are looking in different directions: some at the body, some up, some down, some left, some right. The only man who is looking straight forward is just barely a head and neck peeking over the shoulders of two other men and this is the face of El Greco himself. (kinda like how Stephen King puts himself in all of the movies based on his books…) One last interesting point about this painting is that El Greco put a painting within the painting…on the robe of Saint Stephen, he put a paining in a frame of Saint Stephen being stoned to death…not a very pleasant way to end the description of this cool painting, but that is all I have to say. All in all, you can ask any art critic and they will place this painting in the top three of the best paintings in history!! If only I had a scanner so that I could show you the postcard that has this painting on it because my description is probably pretty boring without anything to look at…sorry, not allowed to take pictures inside.

- Sword Factory!!
Not gonna lie, this place was pretty cool! We first walked into the work shop where there was this adorable little old man working there (I know that sounds mean to call him that and I am sorry, but he was cute and short and…yeah, I am gonna stick with that). He told us that he build the Notre Dam Cathedral out of metal in his spare time and no one wanted to believe him until he uncovered it for us…wow, I tell you what, wow! He even put in the stained glass windows and Quasimodo!! It was so detailed and just plain cool!!






So then we went into another work shop and saw some other guy working, but it was not quite so cool. A tour guide was telling us all about the grades given to each piece of work depending on who crafted it, a master – apprentice – or student…and everything is priced accordingly. Next we went into the show room where most of us were just wandering around looking at stuff because no one was actually gonna buy a sword…except Stephanie. I guess her sisters had all studied abroad and traveled to this specific shop in Toledo and brought back swords, so she was obligated to do so too. She bought three for 121 euros…not too shabby.
The rest of us were messing around and playing with the swords because the tour guide told us we could. So, we have a few musketeers…some samurai warriors such as myself (that is rather questionable, but whatever)…some kids trying to kill each other, etc. Good times!












TGIF’s!! Still no mozzarella sticks…so sad…I am deprived. Apparently our time in Madrid was “let’s eat all of the American stuff that we have missed out on since we have been gone” time. I know, it is pretty pathetic, but I am honestly not the biggest fan of eating Spanish food in a restaurant because I am so used to my senora’s food!! So, American was just the way to go…

So the ride home was pretty amazing because we decided that since it was our last night, that we needed lots of random pictures.




This one is my favorite, but a bit dark…it is “Eye…Heart…the Metro” hahahaha because we had ridden it so many times because Krystal was having a hard time walking to most places. It was much easier anyway, so I am not complaining.


Then, while we were actually in the metro station, Krystal kept warning us not to get too close, so we were mocking her…pretty mean, but funny at the same time.


Finally, we are home and ready for bed…good by Hotel Principe Pio!!