Madrid, Spain

Today the second bombing attempt took place in London. This is getting crazy. I keep thinking about the Londoners and how awful it would be to be scared in – and of – your own home town.

“Madrid” is from the Arab word “Maharid” meaning “where water comes together”. This is because of the river and the lake, both of which today are very small.

Random Idiom: In Spanish, “un huevo” (an egg) means “a lot”. So, when they say “te quiero un huevo”, they mean “I love you bunches.”

Tags: random facts & history

Aranjuez, Spain

I boarded the bus to Aranjuez with my class. Aranjuez is 30 miles south of Madrid. There are six royal palaces within 60 miles of Madrid, of which the biggest is the Royal Palace in Madrid, which is also the winter palace. Aranjuez has the spring palace.

There is also an even smaller palace, created by Felipe II in the 1500s, which is where the prince has his rooms before he becomes king.

The small, princely palace is two miles away from the main palace, and the entire distance between is covered with gardens. Spain in this area is hot and dry, and the gardens flourish because of the proximity to the river. There’s lots of dams and wells – a whole complicated mechanism keeps the gardens alive.

The cemetary was intriguing because it was crowded with headstones, and had niches for ashes.

Tags: castles & palaces, random facts & history

Córdoba, Spain & Puerto Lápice, Spain

This morning, we piled back into the bus and headed to Córdoba. The Mezquita de Córdoba (mosque) is wicked cool, and if you ever get a chance, you should definitely see it. (This, the Alhambra, and the Alcazaba in Málaga are my favorite old buildings thus far.) There’s a huge tower like the giralda in Seville, and a man would climb all the way up five times a day. On a horse. He sounded the trumpet, which was the cue to the people that it was time for minarcle (prayers).

All the doors to the Mezquita are open, but out of respect, people enter only through the main door. Inside is beautiful. The Jardin del Espiritu patio is there, too. The important thing in their religion is that beauty should always be on the inside. The outside can be walls.

Naturally, this beautiful mosque was converted into… you guessed it, a Catholic church. But in a way, I’m glad, since otherwise they would have destroyed it, and that would have been a terrible loss. Going into all these amazing places makes me think about all the places the Catholics did destroy – that’s a lot of history and beauty that we no longer have, but at least we still have some places like this where we can visit, learn about the past, and wonder at the beauty.

Next we went to Puerto Lápice, which has lots of Quixote paraphernalia, but no windmills. So we trekked up to the tops of the tallest hills to see the “giants” made immortal in Cervantes’ famous novel.

That night, both excursions made it back to the dorm, and the girls (and Bryan) all congregated in my room so we could exchange Barcelona/Andalucía stories. Oh, and we sampled some Absinthe from Barcelona. Apparently, the word on the street is that Vincent van Gogh, a little whack already and having downed a tad too much absinthe, cut off his ear in a fit of passion and sent it to his cousin to prove how much he loved her. I was of the opinion that this particular move might have been just a bit too much, but one of my classmates said that any man who would go to such lengths for her really deserved her.

Tags: castles & palaces, cathedrals, hiking

Seville, Spain

This morning, we piled in the bus and trekked to Sevilla. Seville has a population of 700,000, with another million if you count the suburbs. The only larger cities are Madrid and Barcelona. Out of Seville’s 700,000 city inhabitants: 50,000 are college students.

Two Roman emporers were born here in Seville. Amerigo Vespucci also lived here, as did Magellan.

The walls around the city were built by the Arabs, and the gate is called the Macarena. (And you thought it was just a song!) One week every spring, Seville has a flemenco festival.

Cartuja is the new section, with an island and bridges. There’s an amusement park open from 11 am until midnight. It has a section that’s a copy of the Seville harbor during the 16th century.

Valenque is a tent-covered square that actually has air conditioning. Concerts and the like are held here.

A mudéjar style Cathusian monestary here was converted into a ceramic factory by an Englishman. It has since been reconverted back into a church. St James is the patron saint of Spain and his festival is next week.

Seville has the famous bridge you may have read about in the Guinness book of world records. It’s long, flat, and with zero suspension. Oh yeah, and it’s not just foot traffic, either – our bus rolled right across it, and I amazingly lived to tell the tale.

The new bridge in Seville has a funny history. The bridge came first, and the water came second! Once the construction finished, they released the dams and put the river underneath the bridge.

I also saw the cacharro – a statue of Jesus on the cross. The sculptor witnessed a gypsy getting caught and killed on the street and captured the gypsy’s expression for the one on the face of christ.

The Plaza de Toros in Seville is one of the oldest in Spain. (But not *the* oldest – do you remember where that one was?) It is the bullring featured in the opera Carmen.

Seville also has two towers – the tower of silver and the tower of gold. Also, you may have seen the square on film – Lawrence of Arabia was filmed here, as were parts of Star Wars Episode II.

Seville has a monument dedicated to El Cid Campeador in front of the university, magnolia trees with big whilte flowers, and five remaining arches of a Roman aqueduct.

Kansas City, Missouri is the the sister city to Seville, and the name of the avenue to enter Seville for the airport. (That bit of info is for you Missourians, you know who you are.)

The Holy Cross square used to be a synangogue that (of course) was converted into a Catholic church. But then it caught fire and was destroyed and now a monument stands in its place.

Seville also boasts the largest gothic cathedral in the world. It has the mummified “el lagarto” (which is like a crocodile, but more about the size of a large iguana.) Interestingly, “el lagarto” sounds suspiciously like “alligator”. (Things that make you go hmmm…)

The tomb of Cristobal Colón (Christopher Columbus to us) is also in this cathedral. Next year marks the 500th year of his death. He died in Spain and his remains were in the church that became the old ceramic factory that later re-became a church. (You followed that, right?) When his son died in Seville, his widow took the remains of both father and son to the island of Santo Domingo. 200 years ago, Spain lost this island and moved the remains to Cuba for safe keeping. This turned out to be a bad plan, and in 1898, the remains (in terrible condition by this time) were brought back to Spain. Seville recently decided to DNA test everything that was left, so actually, Columbus is in a laboratory somewhere in Houston right now.

In this cathedral, there were lots of glass cases featuring the bones and other visible remains of various saints. As mentioned recently, this is the first time I ever knew people kept this sort of thing in churches for general viewing, and I am getting used to the idea, since in old European Catholic churches, it seems to be the norm. I also learned that the Catholics like to pray to the saints when they can see part of them. I’m guessing this is to feel a connection with the person. (If you’re Catholic and you have some insight on this, please confirm or deny).

This Church has a huge baptism chapel, which is still in use. Just two days ago, some kids were baptised. The walls are adorned with paintings by Murillo. On one, someone cut out the saint and stole it. This was back in the 19th century. years later, someone came across it in the black market. (What they were doing perusing the black market and how they recognized a piece of this random painting, hard to say.) So, it found its way back to Spain. I can clearly see the marks where a big rectangle was cut apart and put back together.

I also climbed 35 floors to the top of the Giralda tower, which has a magnificent view. Afterwards, I ate some ice cream at Rayas, which was delish. Europe not only has a sweet tooth, but very specifically has tons of ice cream.

Tonight we went to a (choreographed) flamenco show, and although it was well-executed and entertaining, I enjoyed the gypsy flamenco much better. Also, the theater we were at tonight had us sitting thigh-to-thigh with the person next to us. People were smoking and ordering drinks, even during the performance. (The girl to my right got a vodka and fanta. Ew.)

I won’t name any names since this is the Internet and all, but there was one girl on the trip who cracked me up continuously because she was always saying the zaniest things. First of all, she said she disliked Spanish cuisine because there weren’t any twizzlers, and she likes to eat a pound a week. (???) She was going to pack five pounds of twizzlers in her carry-on, but she knew she’d eat them all the first week she was here. (!!!) Also, when I asked her if she knew what we were doing tomorrow, she said “Yep – we’re going to see Dante’s windmills.” I blinked, and when I realized what she meant, I cracked up laughing until I got the hiccups (which didn’t faze her in the least, so she must get that a lot.) “Actually,” I mention casually when I finally catch my breath. “I believe Dante is known more for his Inferno. Maybe we’re going to see Don Quixote’s windmills.” (To which she said, “Whatever. All I really want to do is go to the movies, because I’m a big fan of the Fabulous Four.”)

Tags: cathedrals, festivals & fiestas, music & concerts, random facts & history, theme parks

Granada, Spain

Today I finally got to see La Alhambra. (Which, side note, is technically redundant. All Spanish words beginning with “al” are Arabic, and “al” is Arabic for “el” and “la”, so saying La Alhambra is saying “the” twice. OK I’m done.) The Alhambra is absolutely amazing.

Carlos I of Spain (But V of Austria, if you’re keeping track. He’s also son of Felipe and Juana la loca, and grandson of Fernando and Isabel). Anyway, Carlos I began its construction, and Felipe II had a second level put on. No one lives here because to this day, it isn’t “finished”, although plays and concerts are held in its auditorium. It was created in an italian rennaissance style with wide staircases, as opposed to the narrow ones typical of the middle ages.

The Alhambra is more of a city than a palace. It is that huge. The water in the fountains is natural water, flowing from the Sierra Nevada. To have running water (as opposed to having to take a pail and go get some from a river) was a sure sign of richness.

The entranceway has two doors. One from the outside leading to a waiting room, the other from the waiting room to the real inside. Uninvited or unwelcome guests never made it past the waiting room into the palace.

The designwork frequently utilized octagons, symbolizing the seven levels of heaven (with the eighth side being god himself). The hand sign Americans use to say OK is the same sign they used to symbolize Allah. Incidentally, I also learned that it’s very American to say “oh”. The Spanish say “ah”. I wonder how many other signs we throw off that we’re not even aware of!

Next I got to visit the beautiful Generalife gardens (Not “General Life” – say it like a Spaniard: hen er ah LEE fay). These are right next to the Alhambra and absolutely gorgeous.

Tags: castles & palaces, random facts & history

Grenada, Andalucía, Spain

This morning, I packed up and headed out for my four day Andalucia excursion (through the school). I had the choice of Andalucia or Barcelona, and since I plan to hit Barcelona later, I chose Andalucia.

The first stop was Grenada. We checked into our hotel rooms and I went walking around the city. I hopeed on a bus and got out at the Science Museum. It was pretty cool. There was an entire exhibit on Velociraptor. (For those of you aware of my dinophilia, you can imagine the gravitational pull that flung me into this room.)

Velociraptor is in the Dromaesaundae family. So what, you say? Well. This family includes dromaeosaurus and deinonychus, and in 1999, a dromaeosaurus was unearthed with *feathers*. This was probably to regulate body temperature and means that it is extremely likely that Deinonychus and Velociraptor also had feathers. (Kind of changes the whole Jurassic Park imagery a bit, doesn’t it.)

Scientists have long suspected that birds are descendents of dinosaurs, and this is just another nod in that direction.

In the hands-on section of the museum, I did an experiment with a beach ball hovering over an air jet, and was surprised to verify that I could not easily knock it off course.

I also learned about hermetism, introduced to Europe by the Arabs. In the middle ages, doctors looked to the stars to determine the most auspicious times for treatments. (I also learned the Spanish words for several types of trees and unusual animals, but I won’t bore you with all that here.)

The Sierra Nevada is the mountain range you see in Granada. Usually there is snow at the peaks, but this summer has been so hot that it all melted.

Tonight I got to go to the caves and experience gypsy flamenco. It was incredible, and I am forever ruined for all future choreographed flamenco shows by having seen how much soul the gypsies infuse into every movement.

This was also the day I realized all the photos I was taking with my digital camera were blurry – the autofocus stopped working. (I was later to find out that most of the photos I had taken for the past week or so were also blurry, so I only have about 20% usable, if that, of the pictures I had thought I’d taken. I do still have my video camera which does take digital pictures, but very few and of smaller size and poorer quality. I’m not even sure they’d make a 4×6 print.)

Those who know me well can just imagine how devestating this was for me – no camera and no clear photos. No sir, I didn’t like it.

Tags: museums, music & concerts, random facts & history

Madrid, Spain

This morning was class in the regular room, followed by a delightful afternoon of working until dinnertime. This evening we went out for sangría, followed by the Hard Rock Cafe again. I don’t remember how we ended up there – I think Ashley missed it the first time around and so we all went back for a reprise. This time there was no fake valley girl waiter – or if he was there, he was in his regular man-gear and I didn’t recognize him. I did get the tasty Fresh Spinach Alfredo and steamed broccoli. Mmm.

Afterwards we went to Plaza Mayor for some sidewalk shopping. Ten minutes into it, the cops busted the vendors and actually caught someone this time – we saw him get arrested. The vendors are usually too quick – they spread their wares on a cloth the size of a square baby blanket. Around the edges of this cloth is a drawstring, typically looped around a wrist or finger for easy access. Whenever someone calls out “Cop!”, they grab their blankets by the string, which instantly turns it into a bag containing all their stuff. Then they take off running. It’s very entertaining to watch because the cops show up several times a night and they have to do it all over again.

Tags: food, shopping

Madrid, Spain

Today I finally made it to the Prado Museum. I went with my class and stayed practically all day. I saw a ton of paintings by Velazquez, including several of Felipe III. They even have the portrait Velazquez did of him that earned him the title of court painter. An interesting tidbit about Velazquez is that he doesn’t pre-sketch before putting paint to canvas. Now, before you think that this is because he is a genius or that there is no such thing as an artistic error, let me explain. If he decides to paint a different pose, for example, he doesn’t start with a fresh canvas – he paints right on top of whatever he’s already got down. And due to the passage of time – and with a little help from museums’ arch enemy, tourists who illegally take photos with flash – in some paintings you can see a “ghost” image of an extra leg, eye, hand, etc. And in others – you can see it *really* clearly. It is actually a little funny in a way – I bet he never thought anyone would ever know, and here it is – on display to the world, mistakes and all.

I also got to see his other works, like El Triunfo del Baco (or Los Borrachos) as well as Retrato de Familia (aka Las Meninas). I can talk for a good half hour on these two paintings alone, so if you’re interested, just ask and I’ll be glad to wax poetic as well as divulge all my cool trivia. Same with Vulcan’s Forge, Cristo (de Velezquez) and Las Hilanderas (aka The Challenge Between Arachne and Minerva). In the latter, the tapestry in the back is Ruben’s Europa.

I learned some gossip about the people in the portraits, also. Carlos II, for example, was the last of his line. He couldn’t… procreate, due to problems stemming from too much royal inbreeding. He had to choose a French prince as his heir and he picked Felipe V, which began the Bourbon dynasty. On a similar vein, all the Hapsburgs have massive jutting jaws, also a defect due to too much inbreeding.

Here’s another “Did you know?” fun fact. Wigs were not only a fashion statement, they were an accent with a purpose – to avoid lice. (Thank god the fashion changed, or I’d have had to wear a white curly wig on school field trips as a kid, instead of my trusty Cubs hat.)

An interesting fact about La Maja Desnuda (other than that the only difference between this painting and La Maja Vestida is that in one, she’s clothed, and in the other – not) is that this marks the first time a real woman was shown nude. Before this, the only naked females were goddesses, cupids, etc.

I also got to see Goya’s Dos de Mayo and Tres de Mayo, the latter of which is based on the executions he witnessed from his home, which haunted him for the rest of his life. (I can also tell you tons about these two paintings, so if you’re interested, just holla.)

Next I saw El Greco’s Holy Trinity. An interesting fact about El Greco is that he never called himself El Greco. He was given that nickname fairly recently, in an attempt to dumb down art for the lay people. They call him The Greek because he was from Crete. And now an interesting fact about Crete – at the time of El Greco’s birth, it was part of Venice, not Greece.

I also got to see La Rendición de Breda (aka Las Lanzas). By the way, all these “also known as” names were also created in the same attempt to simplify art for us commoners. So there’s a “real” name and a “common” name for many artists and paintings.

I also saw several works by Hieronymous van Acken Bosch, and if you have no idea who that is, you should definitely check him out. The Garden of Earthly Delights is amazing, especially given the time period.

One thing that was weird about El Prado (other than it being obnoxiously loud, naturally due to running and shouting tourists from the US. I could go on and on with stories of ridiculous things done by US tourists that I’ve witnessed during my travels, but that would fill an entire book.) Anyway, one thing I found a bit odd was that there were a lot of people painting the paintings. I don’t mean painting *on* the paintings, but standing ther behind easels, palette in hand, the distinctive smells of oil and turpentine in the air, to paint paintings of the paintings. Surely something is wrong with this?

Since I stayed later to hang out at the museum some more, I apparently missed some excitement on the bus ride back to the dorm when the bus sideswiped a parked car and just kept on rolling.

Tags: fashion, museums, random facts & history

Madrid, Spain

This morning, I headed out with my art class to the Royal Palace, which is on Orient Square. It was begun by Felipe V, the first Bourbon king, and took 30 years to build. It’s made of granite and white stone from the mountains. And here’s the kicker: it has more than 2800 rooms.

The first room I saw was the Salon de Alabarderos, who formed the royal guard. The fresco on the ceiling was done by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

The second room was the Salon de Columnas, or hall of columns. This was done in a rococo style and was used for royal ceremonies and banquets until 1899. The fresco was done by Corrado Giaquinto. Interesting fact: On October 30,1991, this room was the site of the Middle East Peace Conference.

The third room I visited was the throne room. The thornes in this room are symbolic – the king and queen don’t really use them. The fresco was done by Giovanni Battista Natale (OK I’ll stop telling you – can you tell I’m in love with frescos? Don’t be surprised if the next time you come over, I’ve painted my ceilings). The chandeliers in this room were made in Italy, with silver and rock crystal. The canopy is gold on velvet. (Why oh why did we do away with frescoes and gold on velvet and decide that paisley and splatter paint were better choices?)

One of the rooms I visited was the Porcelain Room. In the 18th century, Spanish porcelain was considered the best in the world, and was known as “white gold”. Another room boasts the only Stradivarious Quartet – still played twice a year at private concerts! That’s right, not one, not two, not even three – *four* stradivarious originals.

For those with a morbid bent, you may be interested to know that in the royal chapel, there’s a glass case with the mummy of Saint Felix. I learned on this trip that it is very Catholic to keep bodies – or parts of bodies – of saints. These are typically housed in glass cases for viewing and called relics.

After the Royal Palace, I bopped next door the the Catedral de la Almudena, which had a free art exhibition themed around the immaculate conception.

Today I also went to El Corte Ingles to pick up some toothpaste and I ran into a cousin of somone you P&Gers might be familiar with… Don Limpio! =)

Tags: castles & palaces, museums, random facts & history, shopping

Madrid, Spain

What is this, terrorist season? Today the ETA had apparently attempted – and failed – to bomb the Italian Embassy in Barcelona for some reason. I know they want their independence from Spain, but what does Italy have to do with it? The world is getting a little too bomb-happy. Since when is mass murder and civilian deaths the only answer to disagreements?

In the morning I had class and in the afternoon I worked, but in the evening I managed to break away for a spot of fun. A whole mess of us (Ashley, Danielle, Kristin, Alison, Isabel and I) went to the vegetarian restaurant for dinner, then prowled Plaza Mayor in search of good deals. The cops must have been by earlier, however, because there weren’t too many vendors out, but there were all manner of clowns, gypsies, actors, mimes, and even a pickpocket. How do I know? Because she tried to pick-pocket me. I was walking along, following my friends, when I got the eerie feeling someone was following right behind me. I turned to my right and caught her just as she was slipping her hand in my purse. (which, I’ll admit, was not the securest sort, as it was more of an open bag type purse, with no zipper or latch.) Nonetheless, I was so shocked that I couldn’t even make a sound. She was shocked too – that I caught her in the act – and she snatched back her hand and took off. It was crazy. The freakiest part was that she looked like just anybody – maybe late twenties, early thirties, stylish blond hair, preppy outfit.

I have not since taken that particular non-latching purse anywhere. (Get me once, shame on you. Get me twice, shame on me.)

Also, I want to give a big up to the metro system and their campaign “Ni un día sin poesía” when means, “Not even a day without poetry” (and, in Spanish, it rhymes.) There is at least one poem with accompanying color illustration on the wall in every metro car. I rarely saw the same poem twice, and that was only on the 6 Circular, which I take practically four times a day. Although subway windows are typically scratched up with graffiti (strange stuff, too – “Jamón”, “Agua” and “Leche” were popular, as if Madrid runs amok with food gangs, or grocery store wars) but the poems were always in pristine condition. I never once saw one marked up or torn in any way.

Tags: lost in translation, travel tips