Spain

We arrived in Spain to bright sunshine and cool breezes. No rain in the plains of Spain to make us disdain this day. Upon checking into our beautiful hotel, we discovered that our afternooon reservations to the Palacio Real had been cancelled due to an official function going on at the palace. No worries though, we made some adjustments to the schedule and the day proceeded. After settling in, we started our walkabout to get our bearings in this lovely capital. We began at Puerta del Sol at the heart of Madrid and a lively junction of humanity which is right outside our hotel. From there we made a quick stop at the Gran Via where students can gleefully swipe their credit cards in the high end shops during their free time. We made a lunch stop at the Plaza Mayor and watched the many street performers lure in the tourists. One of the group commented that it is rather sad to see such historic and wondrous locations in Europe fall prey to the kitchy tourist devices of such performers. Food for thought.  From the Plaza Mayor we headed for our first tour of the trip, the Reina Sophia, our substitute for the Palacio Real.  Most famous for Picasso’s monumental Guernica the museum also displays a variety of works by Dali, Miro and other modern artists.  Nearly all of the students were taken aback by the magnitude of the Guernica canvas.  The power of the imagery and the messages that Picasso sends are magnified by its sheer size.  The JBIP prep class had several readings about this piece so the students also were able to appreciate the accompanying phtographs by Picasso’s mistress Dora Maar, who photographed the evolution of the work as Picasso created it.

Whew!  It had been a long day trekking about Madrid and jet lag was setting in.   Some headed back to the hotel and a few of the group was off to lie in the cool grass and shade of Parque Retiro.  Another discovery here by the students - PDA’s are more prevalent in European culture.  At the park Debbie D. videoed Sarah K. “reporting live”  in Retiro about the monument to Alphoso XII.  We’ll see if that makes it to YouTube.

That’s all for now.

Kent Rhodes, Professor