TITANS... ON THE WAY TO MADRID!

DAY 16: MUSEO ARQUEOLOGICO

Recreation of the Altamira Caves (people are not allowed in the real ones anymore).


Australopitechus' skull compared to a chimpance's skull. Find the differences, if you can... (besides size).



TOMORROW: FREE- FAMILY DAY
THURSDAY: SHOPPING DAY AROUND LA CASTELLANA Y RECOLETOS

DAY 15: PEDRAZA / SEPULVEDA

Pedraza....

This was a bad day for the camera. The memory card setting didn't allow me to take more than 7 pictures. AHHHHH!!! I just fixed it... but it was too late. Anyhow, the kids took care of it and they have plenty of pictures. As soon as I get those from them, I'll post them up! In the meantime, you have a couple of pictures from PEDRAZA and some stories to read...

Pedraza de la Sierra is percheed high over rolling countryside. It is a quaint little village... very little. Silence was everywhere and we asked ourselves how something this quiet could be only an hour and a half away from the cosmopolitan noise of Madrid. If we saw 15 people in total, I would be exagerating. It was almost a moment of magnificence: us, the tourists in the middle of a medieval (XI century) "nowhere."

Within Pedraza's medieval walls, old streets lead pasts mansions to the porticoed Plaza Mayor. The huge castle (strategically positioned to cover all the panoramic view), standing on a rocky outcrop, was owned by Basque artist Ignacio Zuloaga. The castle museum show some of his works; unfortunately, it was closed. On the first and second Saturdays of July, candlelit concerts are held in Plaza Mayor.

We spent an hour in this town, hopped in the bus and in 15 minutes we arrived in Sepulveda. This spectacular town is sited on a slope above the Río Duratón. This area of striking beauty has been designated a natural park, the Parque Natural de las Hoces del Duratón. They also have a natural reserve for vultures (we were actually looking up to the sky watching out for them.... just kidding!).

The "Cordero" (lamb) in this town is legendary all over the world. So we had to have cordero. Consuelo, our Gonzaga's guide for today said that it was a must!!! We searched for typical "Figones" (restaurants exclusively reserved for cordero, prepared in wood ovens- Is that how you say it in English?? I doubt it, but you guys get the idea!). Well... the owner of the Figón himself greeted us and brought us into the kitchen to see with our own eyes the oven and the cordero in it!!!!!!!!!!!!! We sat and had homemade bread, a tasty salad and cordero... the most tender, juicy and delicious cordero I've ever had! It had a smoky flavor in the background. Very subtle. Heaven. Thinking about how authentic everything was almost brought my eyes to tears from excitement... The owner, the food, the ambience, the search for the place, the way the served us. Fantastic experience!!!!!!!!!! Kids enjoyed it a lot too!! They were doubting a little at the beginning but once they lost their "fear," they "devoured" their corderos!

Afterwards, heaven sent us a very helpful "walk" that helped our stomachs to "process" the hard-to-digest cordero. We got lost looking for the bus stop... in Sepúlveda... a very small town.... we got lost in Sepúlveda (please, don't tell anybody...). Once we found Mario, the bus driver, he laughed at us: "¿Se perdieron en Sepúlveda????" (Did you guys get lost in Sepúlveda?").

Anyways... travel stories... a trip wouldn't be a trip without this type of stories...

TOMORROW: MUSEO DE ARQUEOLOGÍA

Today I celebrate my two-year anniversary!!!
Happy anniversary, my love.....

REAL MADRID CAMPEON!!!!

How lucky can one be... Catching this moment in Madrid was a cultural experience...!!!!!

DAY 11: AVILA

Titans in Avila!!!

At 3,710 ft. above sea level, Avila de los Caballeros ("of the Knights") is the highest provincial capital in Spain. In winter access roads can be blocked with snow, and at night the temperature plummets (we actually had to wear sweatchers in June!). The centre of the city is encircled by the finest preserved medieval walls in Europe. The walls are open to visitors. One of the best views of the walls is from "Los Cuatro Postes" (Four Posts) on the road to Salamanca. Mario, the bus driver, took us there to appreciate the view before entering the town.

Built in the 12th century, the walls are over a mile long. The oldest sections of the wall are guarded by nine impressive gateways, like "Puerta de San Vicente." The apse of the cathedral also forms part of the walls.

One of the things that we enjoyed the most in Avila was lunch. We had paella, rissotto and the most wonderful dessert... definitely for chocolate lovers!!! (see pictures below).

Yemas, a delicious lemony treat from Avila, were a must try for us. Well... most of us... This custardy cakes are made with egg yolks and sugar... like that: YOLKS and SUGAR. It is definiteley an aquired taste but unique!!!!!!

TOMORROW: WITH FAMILIES, until sunday!


We learned two things with this sign: (1) Abulences, name given to people from Avila and (2) Yemas, typical dessert from Avila



Details of Avila's Cathedral


Avila's Plaza de Mercado "La Grande" (there's another one called "La Chica")



Having an extraordinary lunch... and dessert, as always.... yum!


Will couldn't resist to have this picture taken with "El burro" ...


And Desiree couldn't help having this one... "Attacking Jamón Serrano"


Walking on the medieval wall...



Walking towards "puerta de San Vincente"


María, our guide from Gonzaga in Avila (she went to college in this town)


Loving "casual" pictures...


Looking for the bus stop, where we were supposed to meet our bus... Kathleen has the best sense of orientation in the group!!! Emily was the best photographer, Desiree was exhausted and Will... the umbrella man!!! Sir Will carried this umbrellas during the whole tour around Avila... what a gentleman!

DAY 10: VALLE DE LOS CAIDOS / EL ESCORIAL

As spooky as it may sound, today was the "death day." Well... kind of. We visited two of the most outstanding edifications in the province of Madrid, both dedicated to death... both conceived as mausoleums: "Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos" and
"El Escorial" Palace.

Visiting "El Valle" was a "pharaonic experience." More than 10,000 years ago, Egypt built magnificent structures to honor their great governors (well, pharaons ordered their constructions before dying). In the other hand, Spain, had a dictator whose governement (dictatorship, I must say) has divided the country politically for many generations. Almost as a self-considered "pharaon," he also ordered the construction of his own magnificent mausoleum.

General Franco had the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen built as a memorial to those who died in the Civil War. The vast cross is located some 8 miles north of El Escorial and dominates the surrounding countryside. Some Spanish people find it too chilling a symbol of the dictatorship to be enjoyable, while for others its sheer size is rewarding (Can you tell how divided the political views are?)

The cross is 490 ft. high and rises above a basilica carved 820 ft. deep into the rock by prisoners. A number of them are said to have died in the 20-year-plus project. A funicular connects the basilica with the base of the cross, but access to the top of the cross is not permitted.

Next to the basilica's high altar is the plin white tombstone of Franco and opposite, that of Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera (founder of the Falange Española party). A further 40,000 coffins of soldiers from both sides in the Civil War lie here out of sight, including those of two unidentified victims.

Later we took the bus to "EL Escorial." Felipe II's imposing grey palace of San Lorenzo de El Escorial stands out against the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama to the northwest of Madrid. It was built between 1563 and 1584 in honour of St. Lawrence and its unornamented severity set a new architectural style which became one of the most influential in Spain. The interior was conceived as a mausoleum and contemplative retreat rather than a splendid residence. Its artistic wealth, which includes some of the most important works of art of the royal Habsburg collections, is concentrated in the museums, chapterhouses, church, royal pantheon and library. In contrast, the royal aprtments are remarkably humble.

After this impressive visit to the "dead," stomachs started to roar. We went to an Italian restaurant (kids mentioned earlier that they were craving for pasta). We had Gnocci, Spaguetti al Pesto, Baked Goat cheese, Melanzane (eggplant) a la parmegianna, Salmon Lasagna... and for dessert: Tiramisu and gelato... What a hard life, isn't it?

Should I mentioned that Emily, Desiree and Kathleen got a couple of cars to beep and scream "Guapas" (handsome, beautiful) a couple of times? Should I mention that Will is being called the twin of the guy in "High School Musical" by most of the female student body at Gonzaga?

TOMORROW: ÁVILA



El Valle de los Caídos


Going up to the top in the funicular!!


The view of the valley from the top


The cross that costed many lives...



Our seasoned travellers in action (or should I say... photographers?)


Silvia, our Gonzaga's guide for today (she is also Nick's wife, our guide for Toledo... remember??)


Going down, again...


EL ESCORIAL, from the interior patio (pictures were not allowed inside... unfortunately)


Posing with the Escorial as a background :)



More Escorial pictures


Having lunch at ROMPICAPO, a nice Italian restaurant...

DAY 9: DAY 2 AT GONZAGA

The "A-Team," at one of Gonzaga's halls

Today we enjoyed a more relaxed day at Gonzaga. We were all tired (Toledo involved a lot of up-hill walking) but eager to experience another chance of sharing a day at a spanish school.

We started with an Informática class (Computers) with Reyes, the "computer savy" teacher here. Later, we took a Spanish class where we learned how the celtics influenced Spain, specifically on the northern area of the Iberian peninsula: Celtics were the first inhabitants of Galicia. We watched a movie that recreated the Galician Mythology, called "El Bosque Encantado" (The Enchanted Forest). It was extremely challenging and interesting to watch a whole movie with "acento gallego" (Galician accent). Later, we played a game called ALTO!... to practice some more Spanish. It was fun and it actually refreshed loooots of terms!!!

After the precious "half-an-hour" break for lunch, we went to the computer lab just to catch up with e-mails and communication with friends. Later, we had a Math class (it was more Geometry) were we did another relaxing activity: "reflecting" and "coloring." It was a nice way to end the day.

And that was it... we all went home to rest (except for Desiree and Kathleen who decided to play soccer afterwards... and Emily, who went shopping to "El Corte Inglés") :)

TOMORROW: EL VALLE DE LOS CAIDOS/EL ESCORIAL


In the English Lab, before watching "El Bosque Encantado" (The enchanted Forest)


Playing ALTO (Stop)... with María José