Thursday

And we come to a close. Que lastima!!!! Today was a very fun conclusion to a wonderful  viaje in Spain full of memories. We started our day off with an extremely fun trip to the stadium of the Real Madrid Futbol team. During our tour we saw the museum of trophies including Euro Cups, in addition to the opportunity to explore the team locker rooms! We especially enjoyed taking countless photos on the field, the team benches and in the press room. Afterward, we took the bus back to Puerta del Sol where we enjoyed an afternoon full of exploring. Many spent their lunch in the San Miguel Market where we enjoyed tons of beautiful tasty treats. Others encountered some small cafés with tons of tapas.

After lunch, we all got an hour and a half to explore the streets of Madrid (using the buddy system of course). Some of us just walked around and enjoyed some delicious helado (ice cream) while others spend their time looking for different clothes and souvenirs. After our time was up, we all gathered back at the big statue with the horse and returned to the hotel to rest up for the big event of the day: the flamenco show.

After two hours of lounging around the hotel, we all departed in very classy clothes for the dinner and show.  After getting a bit lost, we arrived at the restaurant and sat down to what was to be one of the best meals of the trip. We were treated to a wonderful paella, pan (bread), cheese, tortillas and various other tapas. Right before we were served the delicious closing course of chocolate cake, magic happened. The lights were dimmed, the guitar was strummed and dancers went to work. It was one of the most unique, wonderful shows anyone has ever experienced. After we left, everyone agreed that it was something they'll always remember. We then returned to the Puerta del sol, where we snappd some last photos before our flight home tomorrow.

Before we say adios, we want to thank Señora Cohen and Señor Carvajal for making this trip happen as well as being wonderful chaperones/parents. We also want to thank our tour guide Yolanda for showing us the country. And of course, muchas gracias to the parents for letting us have this wonderful experience. We'll see you all tomorrow at 9 pm at Lambert Airport!

Day 8

Greetings from Madrid!

This morning, we awoke in our hotel in Granada and filled up on a hearty breakfast before leaving to return to Madrid.  After about an hour in the bus, we stopped for a quick excursion: to visit the Castillo de Santa Carolina in Jaén!  We were greeted by a talking suit of armor, and continued up onto a tower of the castle to admire the wonderful views of the countryside in southern Spain.  Then, we journeyed out onto an overlook, marked by a large stone cross (the cross of San Fernando), where we continued to soak in the vistas.

We boarded the bus again and spent another two hours traveling before we stopped for a quick lunch.  Many students enjoyed traditional bocadillos (sandwiches), and others tried a delicious Spanish dish with bread crumbs, olive oil, garlic, and chorizo (sausage).  When we got back on the bus to continue our journey northward, Señora Cohen, Señor Carvajal, and our guide Yolanda led us in Spanish word games to pass the time.

Finally, at about 4:30, we returned to our hotel here in Madrid; we unpacked and settled in before heading to the Reina Sofia contemporary art museum, where we had about an hour and a half to wander freely.  Among the many impressive items in the museum's collection, Picasso's Guernica and a special exhibition of Salvador Dalí's works stood out.  Every junior or senior on the trip has had Sr. Carvajal, who teaches Guernica to all of his students, so many of us were able to fully appreciate the significance of Picasso's masterpiece.  And, the younger students who haven't learned about the painting from Sr. Carvajal still found much to enjoy in our visit to the Reina Sofia (and learned a bit from their older peers).

After our time exploring the museum, we headed out for a wonderful dinner, which included a cactus juice drink that received some mixed reviews.  To cap off the night, we returned to our favorite chocolate and churro café in Madrid for some wonderful desserts.

We're all tired after a long day of travel, but ready to enjoy our last day in Spain tomorrow!  Hasta mañana!

Day 7

¡Hola from Granada! Today after a splendid breakfast buffet at the hotel, we took a walk through the Albaicin, which was a historically Arab neighborhood in Granda. The neighborhood had a lot of interesting sites, such as the water canals that were implemented throughout the city, old places of worship (churches and mosques), the snow-covered mountains, as well as a previously isolated part of the neighborhood in which the citizens would chop off the hands of artisans that tried to cheat them! The artisans would add extra weights to their scales to trick customers into paying more than they should have. If they were caught, the customer had the right to cut off the hand of said artisan and put the weights of trickery on the wall of the entrance to the neighborhood. Some of those weights were still there! After the walk, we met up with the bus at the hotel and drove to the Alhambra.  The Alhambra is an ancient Arabic that sits on top of a hill above the rest of the city, and is the most visited site in Spain. There, we took a guided tour through the elaborate gardens of the compound, then through the compound itself. The intricate design of the Alhambra was truly impressive especially considering that it was constructed in the fourteenth century! There was also an unexpected treat during the tour: a friend of our tour guide that hand-makes molds of the wall decals of the compound showed us one of her pieces! ¡Que casualidad! After the tour we had a couple hours of free time to have lunch and shop around! From the we rendezvoused at the hotel and then departed for another guided tour of the route of Federico García Lorca. While talking about the history of the author, we were simultaneously shown the places that had great influence on his life.  Some of these places included the houses he grew up in, the café in which he met with his fellow artists, the university at which he studied and was held hostage, the house in which he took refuge, and finally (as another surprise), the house Lorca and his family were placed under house arrest during the Spanish civil war. That was quite a treat! After such a long day, we dined at a tapas bar for dinner where we ate until our hearts content! Tonight we're resting up for a long journey back to Madrid in the morning! ¡Qué lindo es Granada!

Day 6

Today, we woke up bright and early then got on the bus and left the hotel for the city of Cordoba. The drive was about five hours long and most of us slept on the bus (or at least tried), but we stopped in a small town on the way for some snacks and later we stopped again for lunch. At 1:00 we finally got to the living museum of Cordoba. There we saw a beautiful Mosque, la mesquita, in which a cathedral was built after the christians conquered the previously Muslim city. After visiting la mesquita we walked around the jewish quarter of Cordoba which was filled with beautiful, green plazas and then we went shopping and exploring the rest of the city. We then travelled to the olive oil capital of Spain, Baena. All of plains and hills surrounding the town were filled with olive groves, and while we were in the city we learned about the great and interesting history of the olive oil industry, and also got to try several varieties of olive oil. After the long day of travels we finally arrived at our hotel in Granada and ate there. It was a long but fun travel filled day. Hasta Manana!

Day 5

Another wonderful day en España! We started the day off at the monastery of San Lorenzo at Escorial, built in the 16th century during the reign of Felipe II. The architecture was stunning and Jason Roodman even claimed to see a ghost. We were guided through the tombs of many royal tombs and were fortunate to visit a library containing ancient texts. Following this excursion, we had a lovely lunch and then departed to Segovia. There we toured the castle, known as the Alcalzar, where Christopher Columbus received permission to travel to the New World. We climbed to the top of the castle's tower ("el torre") which left most of us out of breath. It was worth it for the glorious view. Following the Alcalzar, we walked the streets of Segovia, entered a cathedral or two, and tried the local delicacy known as Ponche, which can be described as a rich, lemon-infused layered pastry/cake. After our brief snack, we visited the Aqueduct and marveled at the quality of the ancient architecture. We concluded the day back in Madrid with a lovely meal at the Museo de Jamón.

Hasta Luego!

Day 4

After an early breakfast in the hotel, we took the wonderful Madrid metro and a tour bus to the historic town of Toledo. Laboriously walking up the steep inclines of the fortified city we saw the incredible view of the many buildings. We visited a metal/gold work shop where we found an incredible collection of jewelry (which we also saw made) and more importantly swords and daggers that customs at the Madrid airport would have loved to deal with. Don't worry, none of us purchased a sword, but quite a few pondered it seriously... We then found the Main Street, grabbed lunch, and met up with a fantastic tour guide who showed us some of the most interesting religious sites of the town. First we saw the Cathedral of Santa Maria, a building that took 300 years to build starting in the 13th century. What is interesting about Toledo is the mix of religions and influences that have affected the formal capital of Spain. Thus, after seeing the Catholic Cathedral, we went to see the synagogue and Sefardi Museum. Finally we took a tour "train"(it was really just on wheels), which included an audio commentary, around the city to see some of the most splendid sites from the outside. Everything was great until an onslaught of rain bombarded us unprepared chicos. We hurried out of the rain to our tour bus and returned to Madrid for a delicious dinner of salad, chicken, and ice cream. Overall it was another great day in Spain!

Day 3

This morning, we woke up at 8:30 and ate breakfast in the hotel. At 10 o'clock, we headed for the statue of Don Quijote. We ended up accidentally splitting the group between the two chaperones, then all met up an hour later at the statue. After, we took a tour at the Palacio Real, where we impressed the tour guide with our mastery of the Spanish language. We had a late lunch, around 3, in the Plaza Mayor. At 4, we began a self-lead tour through the Museo del Prado. We then returned to the hotel, then some of us went shopping while the others played a ferocious game of cards. We ate dinner at 8:00 at a buffet, and dessert at the famous  Choocolateria, where we had churros, porras, and melted chocolate. In addition, we ran into our tour guide, surprisingly not wearing his classy business attire. What a small world here in the beautiful city of madrid!!!!

Days 1 and 2

After a very long day of travel, including an almost 8 hour overseas flight, we finally arrived in Madrid! We spent the day sightseeing, first visiting the Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol. We then took an elevator to the top of town hall for a breathtaking view of the city. Next, we visited the Parque del Retiro. We ate lunch at a small sandwich shop and strolled through the park for another hour or two. Our day concluded with a delicious dinner at La Paella de la Reina, where we sat down to a three course meal of salad and chorizo, paella and flan. It has been wonderful to be able to walk all over Madrid and begin to take in some of the culture. So far, the trip is off to a great start!


The view from town hall.

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