Saturday

Saturday mornings there are free tours at 10:30 AM of the lower house of Parliament (Congress), the Congreso de Diputados. We got to see the Constitutions, rooms where they meet and sign important documents, a really cool clock with a barometer, the rotation of the earth, sunset and rise, time (of course), and pretty much anything you wanted to know in a grandfather type clock, and the room where the congressional sessions are held. They have different sections for the two biggest party, and one middle section for the rest. In the back are bullet holes from when the Franco supporters tried to create a monarchy again, but King Juan Carlos supported the democracy, and so the coup failed. They pointed out the chair where the president and prime minister sit. And we saw how they voted. Several people were excited to sit in the President’s chair.

Then we went to the Naval Museum. Boats!! It detailed the history of the Spanish nation based on their naval history, complete with miniature models and weapons from each era. What stood out to us were the weaponry (more Amy), the mast heads/ figureheads, the replicas of the Chinese and other people’s boats and a Chinese pirate ship, and maps. It was amazing to see that exploration was such a big part of the Spanish nation for so long.

---Palacio de Comunicaciones (next to Naval Museum)

---Metropolis Building
On our way to eat, we stopped to see the Casa de Siete Chimeneas (seven chimneys). Apparently, some king stayed there and tried to get married to some royal person in Spain, but it failed. Too bad for him. The house has seven chimneys, from which it derives it’s name. It is one of the sole survivors of the Bourbon period in that area of Madrid. Cool, huh? It sounds cooler than it looked, cause we definitely walked by it the first time.

Third museum/tour of the day was the Monastery of Las Descalzas (the barefoot monastery). The nuns were mostly nobles that would bring a dowry. But, after the passage of time, the nuns were more poor people, and the nuns were practically starving and forbidden to sell any of their treasure. Finally, they were allowed to open part of the convent as a museum, while they cloistered themselves in another part. We saw the room where they used to sleep on the floor on little pallets and lots of things that would be more meaningful to Catholics who know all the virgins and saints. Unfortunately, the guide was rude and talked one million miles per hour, so I didn’t understand a lot of it, much less translate. On the other hand, there was a really nice Spanish couple that spoke some English, or even just slower Spanish, that helped us.

During the early evening, we went to a flamenco/Spanish dance show. Amy liked the costumes and castanets. It’s kind of like a Spanish version of river dance, for lack of a better description (which I’m sure exists). There was a live band during part of it, which was cool. I don’t know how authentic it all was, but we really enjoyed it.

Barcelona photos

Barcelona

Friday

Airplane.
“Normal” day.
Errands.
Cheap fruit.
10 year old talking about us (I told her I understood).
Chinos (variety shops owned by Asian immigrants).
INTERNET!!!

Thursday, September 25

During the morning, we took the metro to Arc Triumf. In the park beside the arch, we saw some older men playing bocce ball. I knew that there were places to play soccer, basketball, even ping pong in the parks, but not bocce. We watched for a bit, and then we walked through the city park, saw the Parliament building, an old run-down market place, and then the Museu Picasso after getting a little lost and waiting in a looooong line. I liked the blue period even though if it is depressing because of the emotion…but Amy didn’t like because she doesn’t like blue. She’d prefer the purple period, which doesn’t exist. It was interesting to see the chronological organization of Picasso’s works starting about at 15 years old. There were also ceramics, which we decided that he should have not taken up as an art form. We did like his prints. As we were leaving, I gave the street guitarist 1 euro because he made pretty music. Unlike the guy in the Madrid subway who plays on a keyboard with one hand and canned background music, with a very limited repertoire (we’ve heard the same songs in the three times we’ve seen him) and still makes mistakes with the slow one-handed songs. I won’t give him money.

Today the food was great. I got paella. And Amy liked her food too (yummy ice cream!!). Yum. My desert was a baked apple, which I did not know would come soaked in liquor. It was interesting. After eating, we wandered through the old neighborhood and went into an art gallery (my idea) and accidentally fell into a philosophical conversation with the very bored art student manning the shop. It was very pleasant and I wish him the best with his art.

After seeing a cathedral or two, we went to Park Guell, which had Gaudi’s handiwork and where he lived. We again got kinda lost, but not really, and had to climb a HUGE hill up to the park. Half of it was escalators, though. I asked for directions at a bar, and the owner tried to tell me that the park didn’t exist anymore because of pickpockets. We walked up a hill with crosses on it from which we could see the entire city, surrounding mountains, and the sea. On the path, there was a man playing an instrument (a Hang, which means hand in Berne or something) that looked like a pot/wok and sounded beautiful when he played it. Amy almost died on top of that hill, though she concedes it was a beautiful viewpoint. The best part was all the mosaics of ceramic. It was very extensive. Amy said she is too organized to do all of those patterns.

Wednesday, 24 September

Today was our Moderniste/Gaudí day and Barceloneta beach day. First, we walked to the bullring, then to the Sagrada Familia. Wow. They have been building it on donations (entrance fees and other donors) for 100 years or more! It was cool to see the symbolism of the supporting pillars inside (12 apostles, diocese of Spain, tallest and center post is Christ), difference between the realism of the Nativity and early life of Christ on one side of the church and the angular sharpness of the Passion on the opposite entrance. I didn’t realize that Gaudí got most of his architectural ideas—especially structurally—from nature. Trees, leaves, polygons, web-like fibers from plant matter…it’s all very innovative.

By the time we finished at Sagrada Familia, it was mid-day and time for lunch (good pizza) and a ATM stop. We saw Casa Milá, Casa Batlló and other Moderniste houses (row houses/apartment buildings). I enjoyed the whimsy, the ornamentation, and the bright (blue, red, yellow) colors.

At the Uquinoana stop, we got on the metro to go to the beach. I loved seeing all the boats at the marina and the sailboats off the coast enjoying the Mediterranean breeze. When a midway-type amusement park blocked our way beside the docks we moved closer to the street to browse the street vender’s stalls. It was like a hippy sale. I bought a wrap-around skirt that I am very excited to wear. Once in front of the beach, Amy and I sat down to share some cookies we bought at a convenience/grocery store. I don’t know why, but I kept calling the Mediterranean Sea the ocean, much to Amy’s chagrin. After eating, we rolled up our pants and removed our shoes to wade in the sea (not ocean). Amy’s pants (or so she said) promised her they would stay dry. Ha! Jeans take (and took) a long time to dry. I got pictures of Amy with her feet in the surf smiling nicely, but in the pictures of me, I was shrieking from the shock of the water. I tried to look lady-like and smile, I promise!

For supper, I scouted out a bar with typical tapas and something for Amy. It was a tiny place that perhaps could have held 15 patrons, and we were the only tourists cozily scrunched in with the rest of the patrons. By the time we finished eating, it was getting dark, so we left the narrow streets of the old fishing neighborhood of Barceloneta and walked to the populated dock-side sidewalks. The lights on the festival rides lit up the night and people milled around the venders, sweet shops, and wine tasting tents. The festival mood continued as we rambled down Las Ramblas, a street with street venders, where we eventually stopped for a treat.

As the finale to the Merce Festival (in honor of patron saint of Barcelona, there were fireworks in the Plaça de Espanya. The subway getting there was bursting at the seams, but once there we were able to find seats on the grass in the shadow of the huge monument in the middle of the circle. Coincidentally, a couple that we had met in Segovia recognized us and we chatted a bit. I also saw a young man that was on the plane to Barcelona with us. Right as the fountain show was beginning, those sitting closer began to stand for a better view. “¡Ya se siente! ¡Ya se siente!” We shouted to no avail, trying to shame those blocking our view into sitting down. Amy and I could see the fireworks, but not the fountain show. One young man volunteered to be our guide, announcing the fountain’s progress. “Ahora, sale rojo…ahora amarillo…” (now it’s red, now yellow…) I duly translated for Amy, though I don’t think it was necessary. Surprisingly the metro back to our stop was uncrowded. We were scared since Amy had gotten stuck in the metro in D.C. once after the fireworks due to overcrowding.

Hooray!

I almost forgot to tell you all...I have internet in house now!!! It is so nice to check the weather forecast, read e-mail, and write on the blog without walking 8 blocks to the store or going to someone else's apartment to use their computer (and feel like a leech). Yay!! We've had it since we got back from Barcelona. Much thanks to Angelita and Juan Marcos (her grandson).

Tuesday, September 23

It’s good that Amy and I had to take the bus this morning into the airport. We figured out the timing (1 hour from door to door to Terminal 4), the bus fare, and the shuttle. Now Amy won’t be so stressed when she flies out on the 2nd, since I can’t go with her to the airport.

This is what I wrote in my journal about today’s events, since I got tired of writing in narrative form:

Jolting under the earth on rattly metro cars.
Walking laden with luggage.
Staring out the window at old buildings galore.
Listening to rain hit the umbrella’s bright shade.
Riding the escalators to Mont Juic’s Estadiu Olympic.
Reading the history of the games in Barcelona.
Drinking bottled water (I asked for tap) at a Chinese owned Spanish restaurant.
Reading notes from home on free internet.
I hope tomorrow doesn’t rain.

Monday, September 22

This morning we went to the Real Fábrica de Tapices (Royal Tapestry Factory). The guide book didn’t mention that the only tour was in Spanish, and apparently we weren’t the only ones who didn’t know. Of the dozen people on the tour, two spoke some Spanish (me and another young man) and later a Spanish couple joined us. There was also a couple from Israel, a Italian man married to a French woman, a couple from Canada, and another from Romania. I was “elected” as common translator, or rather appointed by the guide. I think I should have gotten in free for doing them such a service. Hmph. It was really interesting, though, seeing them making rugs and tapestries. All of the carpets/tapestries there are made by order. The clients pay about 900 euros per square meter for the Turkish style carpets and 1200 euros per square meter for Spanish style carpets. The styles differ by how many vertical threads they use per knot. The designs they choose from are mainly traditional and tapestries are generally copied off famous paintings, often from Goya. To make the tapestries, which they knot from the back, they use mirrors so that they can see the design and their work. Cool!

For lunch we went to a Museo de Jamón *(Museum of Ham). So, we ate ham, which was the best ham we’ve had here. Then, we had hot chocolate and churros, which is like chocolate melted in a cup with fried dough. Very yummy, very bad for you, but very yummy.





After lunch Amy braved the scary city alone!!! I went home to do errands and relax and she went to the Reina Sofia museum, across the street from Atocha, the main train station, so neither of us were worried. Guernica by Picasso is probably the most important painting there. It’s about the civil war in Spain, when Franco bombed a Basque village that had no military importance…basically a massacre. There were sensors to keep people about 5 feet away from the painting. Amy didn’t like that, since she likes to put her nose just far enough away to not smell the paint. Miró had several works there. She liked his sculptures, but not his paintings, that she said a kindergartner could have done. They had an interesting film (in English with Spanish subtitles) about rock ‘n’ roll as art and religion in America. Also of interest was an exhibit that combined light and sound to cause movement in 3D works. She wants everyone to know that she had no problems getting back to the apartment all by her self. It was a good test for both of us.

We go to church

Sunday the two of us went to Angelita’s church. Lynn, the Veldts’ cousin that picked the two of us separately at the airport, came and got us. It was raining, so for the first time in three months church started on time. We were late. I guess people couldn’t hang out outside and talk. I was able to meet the woman in charge of after-school tutoring and told her that I was interested in working. They start in October, and I want to devote two afternoons a week to do that. She said that they needed teachers! Tamara, the daughter of Loli who lives near here, said that if I wanted to go to their young people’s group, she could take me or Brian or Lynn could since their boys go. I might visit another church, but I think that since most of my connections in the community here are connected at the church we went to this week, that it would be easier to get there and be connected with all the activities. Amy gave me a list of Churches of Christ in the area.

After lunch, Amy and I went to the Museum Thyssen-Bornemisza. It had a nice variety of paintings from medieval ladies to Pollack. Both of us really liked a painting about Elizabeth and Mary visiting before the children were born. You could see the unborn babies inside the mothers’ dresses. Quite amusing. The same weekend, there was a bicycle race in Madrid and all the streets were blocked off to car traffic. From the museum’s window, we could see the cyclists flying past in a triangular formation. It was so cool! That night on TV we saw them interviewing the young (cute) Spaniard who won the race, the third in a series throughout Spain that he had won. I enjoyed the impressionists’ paintings and one painting by Georgia O’Keefe. It wasn’t a flower, but I don’t remember what it was…maybe a tower? Amy’s favorites were the ones with autumn scenery in them because of all the pretty fall colors, and it reminded her of her beautiful couch that for some reason no one else likes. I think they probably have bad taste (unless I decide I don’t like it either after seeing the couch).

I cooked chicken legs for supper and threw out moldy rice. And we had peaches, delicious Maria cookies (circles kind of like graham crackers, without the graham) with Nutella (hazelnut/chocolate spread). We were weak and had more than two cookies, even after I had put them away. But, we walk a lot and so it doesn’t matter. Angelita complimented us for eating a full supper for once. She doesn’t see that we eat more for lunch. I think the meal almost had all the food groups (salad for lunch). Later in the evening I managed to shock myself by touching the metal by the plug. That was interesting. I dropped the plug, and was all right. I was having trouble putting the plug in; I won’t make the same slip again.

Photos 2

Katie, maybe you can tell me how you put the link to the picasa photos onto your page. In the meantime, I have uploaded more photos. And I labeled the old ones and new by day of the week. So, the new ones are either the ones you haven´t seen yet, or the ones starting on Thursday. Just follow the other link!

To the Country!

Saturday we fled the city once more. We took a train to Chamartin, the train station on the other side of Madrid, and then wandered a bit to find the Plaza de Castilla bus station where we would take a bus to Manzanares el Real. We got to the village mid-morning and walked around the medieval castle, past the church that storks had made their home, and 2 kilometers out of town to the Periza park where we took a breathtaking hike through the rocky mountains. Amy said she was glad I didn’t give up on her during our trek, which was mostly uphill. We reached a point on our hike where we turned the corner and our breathes were taken away. There is a picture Amy took, with me on the right corner, but sadly it doesn’t communicate what it really looked like. Besides the natural beauty of the park, we also stumbled upon a gay/nudist colony (ahhh!!!) and lots of people having picnics on the rocks. Some carried this weird large square backpack. A table perhaps? Being out of the city was so relaxing for the two of us. The quiet, the greenness, I don’t know what else. I guess we’re not quite city girls! We also met a woman from Venezuela who said that the hiking will be better in October when it is cooler. Maybe I’ll go back then and take a longer hike.

Back to the City

Friday we went to two museums on university’s campus: Museo de América and Museo de Traje. The Museo de América was very interesting. We both realized how much land the Spaniards had explored and brought things back from during the 1400s and after. There were hats, weapons, idols, writings, artwork, tools, and animals from the Philippines, the coast of Africa, Madagascar, Canada, the interior of the United States, Alaska, the Polynesian islands, along with artifacts from the places we consider Hispanic: Mexico, Central, and South America. The Museo de Traje was not as complete as Amy had hoped, but we did both enjoy it. We thought there would be more bullfighting outfits and the like. It did go through the history of clothing in Europe using real clothing from the time. One exhibit showed traditional clothing from different regions of Spain. It was interesting to see the evolution of styles. Those sweaters that are three-quarters sleeves and stop halfway down the torso? Those came into style during the 1500s or so. See, things do come back in style!

Week 1, Part 2

We arrived in Segovia Wednesday evening with the plan to try out our beds as soon as possible. After eating tapas, small snacks meant to go with a drink, at a bar/café in the Plaza Mayor across from the cathedral, we planned our attack plan and went to bed. Thursday morning we walked through the old Jewish quarter of the city and past the old synagogue that was converted into a church when the Jews were expelled from the country. Then, we toured the cathedral and learned some about the structure of the medieval church. The priests of the cathedral would near the city walls where there were arcs, with the doors closed to make sure that no one passed through. Many also lived near the castle.

After leaving the cathedral, we found a steep path leading to the lower town and the 12-sided church of the Templar Knights called Vera Cruz. The design was inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, where the order was founded. It is said that aspiring knights made their night-long vigils in the upper room and that there are hidden rooms to hide the valuables from bandits and highwaymen. After trudging back up the hill and grabbing a bocadillo (like sub sandwiches) for lunch, we went to the Alcazar, the castle. They had a cool artillery museum with scientific instruments from the 1700s, 1800s, and early 1900s. We paid extra to climb the tower (156 stairs) to the top of the castle, which was worth it. We could see everywhere (see our pictures).

We spent the remainder of the afternoon at La Granja, the summer palace of the Bourbon kings. The bus ride from Segovia took about 20 minutes. We didn’t go in the palace, but instead spent our time in the gardens. They were immense and we did not even have time to see half. I insisted that we go to the labyrinth, and yes, I made us get lost. But, we cheated to get out and so didn’t have to spend more than 20 minutes in that part.

Perhaps the strangest highlight of our excursion was to ride on the AVE, Spain’s fast train. The slow train takes two hours to get to Segovia, the fast train 30 minutes. Although it was a little stressful getting out to the train, we enjoyed the luxury and newness of the ride. Sitting backwards, we could see the countryside flashing by and the beautiful sunset against the backdrop of the Guadarrama mountains.

Week 1 Part 1

It´s been almost a week since Amy got here. We´ve been all over Madrid and even out, visiting all of the places of interest. Amy was supposed to get here Saturday, but she ¨chose¨ to stay in JFK airport instead. They were nice enough to give her a cot that she guarded with her life! So, after 24 hours in New York, plenty of running around airports, and little sleep, Amy arrived in Madrid on Sunday. We got a ride home and then went into Madrid to go through the Royal Botanical Gardens. I think that it almost had every plant in the world. The dahlias were really pretty, but we were disappointed that the roses weren´t blooming.

Monday, we went to find the school I´m teaching at, San Isidro y San Eugenio. It was about an hour 20 minute trip, but we didn´t have any problems. It was good to finally meet the teacher I´ll be assisting and teaching under. Hopefully I will get to talk to her soon about more specifics of the teaching. She invited both Amy and I to come over sometime for coffee. After the school visit, we grabbed a snack at a produce stand and made our way to see the sites of the neighborhood. First, we walked and saw the Puerta de Toledo (see pictures), a really old neighborhood, ate Chinese food, walked through Plaza Mayor, went to an artsy souveneir shop (and bought nothing because we didn´t want to pay 60 euros for a plate), and then to a ceramics store. There, all of the pieces were painted in the old Talavera style and the owner´s children were the artists. We also walked through Puerta del Sol and saw the famous bear statue, the symbol of Madrid, and went through some of the department stores. Amy bought a cute kid´s sweater! And I almost left my sunglasses in the bathroom.

Tuesday, we went to the Archaelogical Museum, saw the Puerta de Alcala, and strolled through el Parque Retiro. It´s kind of like Central Park in New York City, with gardens, trees, fountains, a pond with fish and rowboats, gypsies, a crystal building, and plenty of people kissing. It also has a sports club and a funny hill.

Wednesday we took a train up to el Escorial, a monastery/school/palace in the Guadarrama (spelling??) Mountains to the northwest of Madrid. It was spectacular. The gardens that we could see from the windows were sculpted and patterned, the paintings were beautiful, the building was gigantic, and the burial chamber was interesting/weird. We couldn´t take pictures, unfortunately of the inside, but if you bug Amy, I´m sure she´ll show you the souvenier book she bought. It´s really cool. I think that our excursion has been both of our favorite parts of the trip (the excursion spilled into Thursday, which we´ll talk about later). The next part of our trip was a little stressful. We had to figure out how to get from El Escorial to Segovia, to the north. But, as often happens when you have problems, kind people are there to help and cheer you up. In one train station we met a man from Puerto Rico who helped us find our train and then chatted for awhile about his wife and being so far from home. Earlier that day we met a Russian woman who spoke a little English and asked us for help. I think that, as the Puerto Rican did for us, we gave her a little company and someone to talk to for awhile. I can´t imagine travelling alone without speaking the language!

Pictures

http://picasaweb.google.com/ejvance01/AmyAndEricaSAdventures?authkey=EgFHHrAauuI#

Follow the link to see our photos. Let me know if it works, please.

I´m here!

I´m finally here. After what seems like forever planning and waiting (and running to miss a plane, arriving two hours later than anticipated in Madrid), I am in Spain, settled in an apartment, and ready to pick my cousin Amy up from the airport tomorrow. A cousin of friends of mine in Pamplona, Lynne, picked me up at the airport and brought me to my apartment. I am very thankful to not have needed to take a taxi out to the town. Once at the apartment, she introduced me to Angelita, the widow of one of their church´s pastors, and the woman I will be living with for the next nine months. I could not have asked for something much better. After taking a nap, Angelita showed me around the neighborhood, the buses, supermarket, parks, her daughter´s house, etc. So far she helped me get photos for my transportation pass, has introduced me to millions of people (and I remember the name of maybe 3), and helped me find the bank and anything I need. She had been praying for months for someone to stay with her, and I believe that this is an answer to both of our prayers.

Yesterday the two of us went to the vacation bible school that her church holds at a neighborhood school in Canellejas (closer in to Madrid). The secular school lets the church do this each summer before school starts, and they say that they can sense changes in the kids. I think it is because of this that they let the church use the school year after year. In the evening Angelita´s son and family visited. I think I understood half of the conversation, even though her grandson´s fianceé made an effort to slow down, which is very hard to do). I enjoyed the stories about her grandson when he was small, drawing on the wall with shoe polish (and on the couch, furniture,etc.) and other stories. Imagine this: three children of different heights find the shoe polish, brown and black. Together, they draw according to their height, systematically working down the hallway toward the kitchen, where their grandma cooked, unaware of the mischief. I guess kids have to do some mischief when young so that we all can laugh later. He must have been quite a handful with ¨wonderful¨ ideas.