A Mom in Madrid!!

“I can’t believe I’m really here!” said Mom. “Welcome to Spain,” said Suzanne. And that’s how Thursday began. Since Suzanne has so much homework and is being such an expert travel agent, I offered to write a couple of blog entries. For her regular readers, I apologize that it will not be near as interesting, but I’ll give it to her to post and add her own thoughts as her schedule permits. Remember, Suzanne = English Major, Julie = Elementary school teacher. Anyway, here goes…

I arrived in Madrid from Atlanta on Thursday right on time at 9:40 a.m. where I was given explicit instructions (regular readers, you know how explicit she is ☺) on how to get from the airport to the Metro to the Centro de Art Reina Sofia where I was welcomed to Madrid by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali, which Suzanne earlier described, but was amazing! At approximately 1:30, I was to exit the museum to be greeted by my favorite Madrilènes! From now, I shall blog as “we.” We gathered my suitcase and stopped long enough to eat a wonderful calamari Bocadillo before meeting her art class at Prado Museum for a tour of the major works of Francisco de Goya (again, amazing). Before entering the Prado, we had time to wander through the Royal Botanical Garden. After “class,” Suzanne continued my Prado tour and art lesson by introducing me to many other famous Spanish artists, their historical context, style, controversies, etc. This girl knows her art! Finally, we headed home via Metro to meet Elena, who made a wonderful welcome dinner for us. I’m so glad Suzanne is in Elena’s home. She is a great friend for her (and a great cook too!)

Friday, we began our weekend away! An early morning train from Atocha took us on a 4.5-hour journey to the region of Andalucía, where we were to spend our next three, well-planned days! We arrived in Granada about 1:30 p.m. and checked into our cute hotel (Pension Landarzuri) where we had a three-bed (though we were told to only sleep in two) room with a view! With just enough time to drop our bags, we then began our adventure, with our friend Rick Steve in hand. Some say Suzanne and I look alike, but we REALLY plan alike. Those of you that know us both know that we always try to fit in “just one more thing…” and that we did! Some expected, some spontaneous. Rick’s walking tour took us on a great old town walk. After a few plazas and markets, we ended up at the Cathedral and Royal Chapel. Not knowing much Spanish history (we don’t teach that in grades K-5), Suzanne taught me about the Moorish people, conquered by the Catholic King and Queen. This day was our “Catholic” day, where we met Ferdinand and Isabella in the Royal Chapel (they were really there!) along with Philip the Fair and Juana the Mad (they were really there too!) The cathedral was magnificent and the Royal Chapel kind of eerie. The cathedral is the second largest in Spain (after Seville’s). After touring, we walked uphill through the Albayzin, Spain’s best Moorish quarter to the San Nicholas viewpoint to get a better view of tomorrow’s sight, the Alhambra. After hearing about all the turmoil, conquest, building churches over mosques, and kicking Muslims and Jews out of Spain, it was nice to see the new, Great Mosque of Granada right next to the San Nicolas catholic church. After walking down the hill, we wandered uphill again through the Sacromonte district, home to Granada’s thriving Roma (Gypsy) community. We had decided we wanted to see the Zambra (flamenco) dance, and made a reservation at a cool place for dinner and the show (our special night for the weekend!) We were the first ones there and were seated at the best table of the house, served sangria, house label wine and a 3-course meal! A cute Canadian / Australia couple sat next to us, while a family from Pennsylvania sat at a table on the level below us. They had a cute 4-year old and I offered my lap so she could get a better view. We tapped our toes and snapped our fingers for the fast paced, emotional Zambra show. Our walk back down to our hotel included an evening view of the Alhambra as a preview to our next day.

Saturday we rose early, as to not miss a thing, we ate at our hotel café and struck out. One thing we didn’t get to see on Friday (because it closed at dark) was the Center for the Interpretation of Sacromonte, a Roma open-air folk museum. As we toured the caves, we imagined what it would be like to live and work as this culture did in caves. It was very interesting and provided another amazing view of Granada. (As you are hearing, we had lots of “Up” and “down” between each venue). Down again to Granada, we stopped at a cool 11-century ruin of Moorish baths (where Suzanne recounted her bath experience… see Morocco, day…). Then, we crossed the river, and headed up to the Alhambra, where we spend the entire afternoon touring every nook and cranny. We traveled back in time again to the time of the Moors who flourished here until 1492, when Ferdinand and Isabella took over. It was like being in another world! Suzanne had been to Morocco, so the Arabic feel was familiar to her. We toured the Moorish palace (Palacious Nazaries); Generalife Gardens (with a summer palace) Charles Vs palace (after the Reconquista) and Alcazba (an empty roman fort). We even a wedding couple and the mother of the bride getting ready for a wedding in a church on the grounds. Suzanne might choose to elaborate here, but other highlights were a close-up view of the stone lions (released from their fountain for renovation); an exhibit of Henri Matisse (who was inspired by Alhambra and the Arab influence); Washington Irving (who wrote Tales of the Alhambra during a stay there); and lots of creative ways to move water! After our day at Alhambra, we made it to the train station for our 8:30 p.m., 3-hour trip through the mountains to Savilla! Another cute hotel was our home for the night, Hotel YH Giralda, once an 18th century abbots’ house. We even got the really cute two-floor suite!

Sunday, we were awakened by church bells and called to our 10:00 a.m. mass at the cathedral. Even though it was in Spanish, it was a great spiritual experience. God is a great translator. The organ of 7,000 pipes was unbelievable. What an amazing way to praise God (the topic of the homily, but the way). After mass, we had a leisurely breakfast discussing theology over café con leche. Then we followed Rick once again on a guided walk through the Barrio Santa Cruz. From plaza to plaza, we learned about the Virgin of the Kings, the Plaza of Triumph (saved from the 1755 earthquake), Bartolome Murillo (buried under the Plaza de la Santa Cruz). I learned from Suzanne about how to know the difference in paintings of Immaculate Conception and Assumptions (there are lots of each everywhere! – Murillo is pretty famous for those). We also walked by the Convent of San Jose del Carmen, where St. Teresa stayed. Suzanne has read from her mystic works (here was the literature tie in to the weekend!). We then toured the Alcazar, another palace built by the Moors in the 10th century, which became the home of Christian king Pedro Cruel. It was also an amazing complex of structures. After walking through its gardens, we wandered toward a less “Rick” recommended sight, Plaza Espana, built for the 1929 International fair. It was recently renovated and was really a favorite for the day. Before we got there, we happened through a Festival of Nations, featuring crafts and foods from EVERYWHERE (including the U.S.A. – it’s always interesting to see how others depict us… hamburgers, Budweiser, Hollywood and Coca-Cola). We ate Spanish and German food and viewed all the vendors. It was filled with locals and was great fun. A quick walk back, we had just enough time to tour the cathedral (where we had Mass earlier in the day) and the Giralda Tower. When the Spanish Catholics tore down the mosque to build their cathedrals, they often saved the towers and converted them to bell towers rather than minarets. We had a great view of Savilla to end our day. We grabbed out bags from the hotel, grabbed a cab and got to the Savilla train station in time for our 7:45 AVE (high speed- 350 km/hour) train to Madrid.

Whew… tired… we are. Now it’s Monday, and we’re at school! I have met Isabel, Suzanne’s great new friends, eaten in the cafeteria and am keeping busy while she is in class. It’s a beautiful sunny day and guess what??? I’M IN SPAIN!!!!!!!

Monday, Suzanne and I went off to school together, only I didn’t have to go to class (Thank goodness!) I found a cozy corner around each of her classes to read, write and watch. It was great to meet Isabel, the director of her program and all of her wonderful program-mates. ☺ We had lunch in the cafeteria and then came home to have dinner with Elena.

Tuesday, we rose bright and early to catch the Metro to catch a bus to El Escorial. We had also hoped to see the Valley of the Fallen, an underground monument to the victims of Spain’s 20th-century Civil War, but it is closed for three years to remove the fascist symbols and identify the approximately 50,000 people, both Franco’s Nationalists and the anti-Franco Republicans, who lost their lives in the war. The Monastery de San Lorenzo de Escorial is a 16th century palace built by King Phillip II. It is filled with wonderful artwork, but its dark, stone walls make it a cold place. Much of the inquisition was directed from here. It serves as a grand mausoleum for Spain’s royal family (which helped us get a handle on the order of the royals). We spent much of the morning there, had a lovely lunch, rode the hour-long bus back, rode the Metro home, and I had my first well-earned “Siesta” - what a wonderful concept! Perhaps I can bring that tradition home! We woke from our rest to catch a Metro to Sol to meet Suzanne’s “intercambrio” (friend who wants to practice English, which Suzanne practices her Spanish). She was delightful, and has so much in common with Suzanne. We had an afternoon beverage at Café de Oriente and chatted (fortunately for me, in English).

Wednesday, Suzanne and I boarded opposite Metros. She towards school, me towards Madrid (on my own, well… with the help of my friend Rick Steve). Rick and I completed the “Welcome to Madrid: From Puerta del Sol to the Royal Palace” tour, wandering by bakeries, governmental offices, plazas, convents (where Suzanne and I will return to acquire “dulces.” (more to come on that). Finally, I ended up at the Cathedral of Almudena. It was very modern, yet BEAUTIFUL, consecrated by Pope John Paul II, in 1993. After enjoying the Cathedral, I toured the Royal Palace. It is Europe’s third-greatest palace (after Versailles and Vienna’s Schonbrunn). I was especially impressed with the armory, featuring armor and swords of Ferdinand, Charles V, and Phillip II. Following my stay at the palace, I hiked up to the Temple de Debod, the actual ancient Egyptian temple relocated to Madrid (Suzanne has already told you about that, but it was very cool!). Finally, I boarded a neighboring Metro and found my way home! Suzanne and I went shopping so that we could make a good old American meal for Elena. We found a Supermarket, but made several rounds looking for familiar items (things we have in cans and lots of are in different containers and only on or two brands). We figured out what we needed and headed home to cook, casserole, salad and banana (plantain) bread – yum.

Thursday, (today) we once again went our separate Metro ways, Suzanne to class and me back to some sights I didn’t complete in Madrid. I went first to the top of the cathedral through a museum of beautiful artifacts chronicling the Cathedral’s brief history. They, I wandered through some streets to see a the Descalzes Royal Monestery and some neat shops. We met back at home (Suzanne comes home for lunch on Thursdays), where we ate and

prepared for her after art class, always in a museum. We rode the metro and met the class atht Chapel of San Antoino de la Florida, a church with Francisco de Goya’s tomb and frescoes by the artist. Following that, we went to the Museo de Bellas Artes to see Goya’s prints and original print plates. What a talented mane he was! A shopping spree was next in order. Suzanne is now an official Spanish girl with her own leather jacket (everyone has them, so she should too!). All this said…. It means I have spent a wonderful week in Madrid. Sadly, I only have two days left, tomorrow we take the AVE (High Speed Train) to Segovia to see a Roman Aqueduct. Saturday, I accompany her group to Cuenca. If she let’s me, I’ll tell you about those too.

Julie (Suzanne's mom/ guest writer)