Spain! (Part Two)

So, after Sevilla, we basically had two cities left on our educational tour of Spain: Granada and Barcelona. And, let me tell you, we saved the best for last. At least, that's what I thought upon arrival in Barcelona. After some reflection, I realize that the whole trip was AWESOME (and I've already told you how much I enjoyed Toledo,) but some of the sights in Granada and Barcelona were pretty fabulous.

Let me back track a bit. . . We took a bus from Sevilla to Granada, for some sight-seeing. Granada sits at about 2500 ft. elevation at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, only an hour from the Mediterranean coast. One of the most famous buildings of the Islamic historical legacy, The Alhambra, is in Granada. This Moorish citadel and palace, makes the city a hot spot among cultural and tourist cities in Spain.



I really enjoyed our tour of The Alhambra and the history behind it. For a literature teacher, I especially liked hearing the anecdote about esteemed American author, Washington Irving, and his stay in Granada. According to our guide, in 1829, Irving was granted access to Alhambra for inspiration in writing some fictional stories that would introduce Spain, Granada, and The Alhambra to Western audiences. When his book, Tales of the Alhambra was published in the 1830's, it revived tourism in Granada and surrounding areas. There is a plaque that hangs in the room where Irving stayed while he was writing to commemorate his influence.

Anyway, here are a few more pictures from the gardens. It was beautiful and I could have spent the entire day just searching out every little spot in the place.





From Granada, we took the overnight train to Barcelona (I couldn't get Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express out of my mind). It was approximately 12 hours of train-rocking fun/sleep as we traveled north to our destination. The train stopped every now and again for passengers hopping off or boarding. . .even at 2:00am. Quite an interesting experience. In my sleeping car, I had two South Korean girls who were traveling through Europe on a "fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants" adventure. They didn't speak any Spanish and very little English, but they seemed to be having a good time. Here is a picture of my room and the train sign. Good times!



Upon arrival in Barcelona, we checked into our hotel, then took a little walking tour of the central part of the city. Barcelona is one of the coolest cities I've been to in Europe. I'm not sure I can do it justice so, again, I'll try to show you in pictures. (But even then, you're better off to visit for yourself.)

First stop. . .the mercado (marketplace) where you could purchase fresh produce, seafood, candy, wine and other delicacies.






After the stop at the market we took a trip around the gothic part of Barcelona. There always seem to be some beautiful chapels, museums and other structures in the older sections of Spanish cities. However, after a visit to a great park, the most famous landmark in Barcelona was our next destination.

The "Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia" (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family) is an incredible cathedral that is still in the process of completion. That's right. . . they're still working on this magnificent structure. The first blocks of stone were put in place in 1882 and famous Spaniard artist/architect/genius Antoni Gaudí took over the project a year later. You can read more about Gaudí here and here. We were lucky enough to spend some time at both Park Güell and La Sagrada Familia.



Not sure who those two are in the background, but I loved Gaudi's rock-work.

Next was La Sagrada Familia. Simply incredible.

I can't do it justice with words, but here's a brief synopsis just about the façades of the cathedral. . . and some of my pics. "The Church will have three grand façades: the Nativity façade to the East, the Glory façade to the South (yet to be completed) and the Passion façade to the West. The Nativity façade was built before work was interrupted in 1935 and bears the most direct Gaudí influence. The Passion façade is especially striking for its spare, gaunt, tormented characters, including emaciated figures of Christ being flogged and on the crucifix. These controversial designs are the work of Josep Maria Subirachs. The Glory Façade, which began construction in 2002, will be the largest and most monumental of the three and will represent one’s ascension to God. It will also depict various scenes such as Hell, Purgatory, and will include elements such as the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Virtues." (Source: Wikipedia)


Here's the ONW part of our group on the Nativity side of the cathedral. You can see that the Sagrada Familia just dwarfs us.

Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in the manger scene. And below you have the three wise men and the flight to Egypt that followed Herod's decree.




And, now here are the pictures of the inside of the cathedral (still under construction) and the Passion façade. Again, it's hard for me to describe everything. If you have the opportunity to travel to Barcelona you must see this site.






Above are depictions of Peter's denial and Judas' betrayal.


Our final excursion before heading home included a trip to the beach and a general free day to roam around Barcelona. It was a relaxing way to end a memorable trip! (Some time I'll tell you about the thief from the beach and our own "Don Quixote and Sancho Panza" who chased the man through the streets.)


Except for the Spanish loss to the Swiss in pool play at the World Cup on our last day in the country, my trip to Spain couldn't have been any better. (And obviously, Espana has recovered to do quite nicely.)

Thanks for reading my ramblings; I leave you with this little saying:

How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterward.
Spanish Proverb

Spain!

After eleven days of travel and touring through Spain, I returned to the good ol' USA last night. Although I'm always happy to get back and sleep in my own bed, I can honestly say that I could have stayed a while longer in beautiful ESPAÑA. I don't think I can fully describe all that I saw on this adventure, but I am going to try to tell you a little about what I experienced while visiting Madrid, Segovia,Toledo, Seville, Granada, and Barcelona.

I went with a group of 25 students and 3 adults to visit Spain for 10 days. It was absolutely spectacular. The architecture, the people, the landscape, and the culture were simply amazing. I don't want to try to describe the trip with a bunch of blah, blah, blah, so I'll try to be succinct and show some of the beauty and adventure with some photographs. Let the pictures do the talking I guess.

First stop: Madrid. It's a very nice city with sweet attractions like the Royal Palace and the Prado Museum, which houses the great works of artists like Diego Velazquez (his painting Las Meninas is known as one of the greatest masterpieces in the world) and Francisco Goya. Here are just a few pics from our 3 day stay in Madrid. Here I am in front of the statues of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza at the Plaza de España in Madrid. Miguel Cervantes published the story in the early 1600's and it has become one of the most influential pieces of literature in history. We referenced these two characters often throughout our week.

Here is a picture of my friends Annie, Mary, and Pam (with me of course) at the oldest restaurant in the world. Don't believe me? Here's a condensed description from Wikipedia: "Sobrino de Botín is a restaurant established in 1725. It is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest eatery currently in Madrid and the rest of the world. Part of the restaurant's folklore has it that a young Francisco Goya worked there as a waiter whilst he was waiting to get a place at Madrid's "Royal Academy of Fine Art". The restaurant is also mentioned in the book Fortunata y Jacinta by Benito Pérez Galdós (published 1886-1887). The Sobrino and its speciality of cochinillo asado ("roast suckling pig") are mentioned in the closing pages of Ernest Hemingway's novel, The Sun Also Rises." We had amazing salads and the dish just mentioned. Below is the picture of the oven in the kitchen. It is the oldest oven in the world that is still in working order.

On the day we ate at Botin, we also visited a Chocolateria and had churros with chocolate. Delicious.

And here is Madrid at night with the Royal Palace in lights on the left. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the Royal Palace which is still used on occasion for state dinners and royal weddings etc.

On one of the day trips away from Madrid, we visited Segovia where there is an aqueduct built by the Romans. Here's a picture of the structure along with a photo of the Segovia Cathedral. (We saw a lot of Cathedrals throughout our stay. . . but they were all beautiful and regal.)



After Madrid/Segovia we traveled to Toledo. . . a nice little city in central Spain--in fact, it might be my favorite of the cities we visited because of it's beauty, history, and ambiance. Seriously, it's cool.

It is in Toledo where we saw El Greco's masterpiece, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, which truly is magnificent. And the story behind the painting is awe-inspiring as well. To be brief, the painting was commissioned for the side-chapel of the Virgin of the Church of Santo Tomé, and was painted by El Greco between 1586–1588. However, the date El Greco placed on the painting was 1578. When asked why he painted that date which was eight years prior to his actual commissioning, El Greco remarked that, although people believed the painting to be his masterpiece, his true masterpiece was actually the creation of his son who was born in 1578. (He painted his son as the boy holding the torch in the lower left side of the painting.) I just think that's a fabulous story.

Anyway, here are some of the pictures of/from Toledo:


Obviously, the picture above is the hotel where we stayed, named for the famous painter.

Toledo is also known for it's artisans, specifically in gold work and sword-making.



That's right. . . you better watch yourself. I believe the sword I was wielding in this picture was called Excalibur.

After Toledo, it was on to Cordoba, a beautiful little town where we toured a Mezquita--a former mosque built around the 8th century and converted into a Catholic church around 400 years later.



In this picture you can see the bell tower of the mezquita in between the flower-lined streets of the city.

Next on our journey was Sevilla where we visited the third largest cathedral in the world (behind St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London.) We also did a walking tour of the city's cultural and historical landmarks and took a carriage ride through the streets and saw a flamenco show. If you visit Spain, you must see Sevilla. It's too full of excellent cultural experiences to miss.


This is the bell tower of the cathedral. If you're ever lost in Seville, just find this landmark and you'll be fine. . . or so we were told. :)
I loved this picture with the sky and part of the cathedral. Sort of postcard-esque if I do say so myself.

And you can't go to Spain without seeing a Flamenco show. Another enjoyable cultural moment.

Well, I basically have two more cities to cover. . . but I'll leave Granada and Barcelona for my next post. . . coming soon I hope. "Hasta la vista" readers.


(This is Mary, myself, and Annie at the Alcazar (a castle) in Sevilla. Mary and Annie are sisters, both fluent in Spanish and excellent friends of mine. No, I don't know why I'm the only one with my sunglasses on. . .goofy. And every time we visited an Alcazar in Spain (which was a number of times) I thought of the former villain who bore that name on the soap opera, General Hospital. . . Anyway, I apologize, I'm rambling. . . I'll have another post up as soon as possible.)

Book Club

So, about 3 months ago, my good friend Jessica sent an email requesting that we "resurrect" our Book Club. You see, back in the early-mid 2000's a core group of gals, all connected to one another in different ways, were meeting approximately once a month or so to do what book clubs do: eat, chat, snack, talk, catch up on the latest, and. . . discuss the book we were "supposed" to have read prior to our meeting. In those 2-3 years we read some great/interesting books (**see below), but more importantly, we cemented friendships that will last a lifetime.

When Jessica's email made the rounds, we all agreed to give our book club another shot, even though one of the core members, my good friend Gretchen, no longer lived in eastern Kansas. (We also agreed that we would try to hold all book club meetings when Gretch was back in town visiting relatives.) The first book chosen was Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, and so, when I had some time I dug out my sister's copy of the book (that she leant me years ago) and began reading.

Sidenote: my sister makes a lot of book suggestions. Some I pick up immediately, some I ponder awhile before actually reading, and some I have to be prompted to read over and over again. Even though I'm the Literature teacher, she and my mother are much more well-read. I completely failed them both last year when the three of us were going to read Washington Square by Henry James. . . and I have yet to read past the first few pages. Needless to say, Ari was glad to hear that I read Eat, Pray, Love, but I think she's still a little irked that I haven't "participated" yet in our nuclear-family "book club." Perhaps on the next book? :)

So, as I was saying, we read Eat, Pray, Love and met to discuss it in late March. I must say we had a lot of varying opinions on the book and an interesting discussion. I found it to be intriguing, simply because of the author's voice and the way she described her experiences. I don't think I should do a complete book review right here on my blog, but if you've read it, I'd be interested in your take. Just one observation: her take on spiritually=not a guidebook.

My friend Misty chose our next book, (we go by birthday month) The Sweetness at the Bottom of Pie. It's a great read with a wonderful protagonist: Flavia DeLuce. She's an 11 year old living in 1950's England. There are some classic scenes in this little mystery, and the characters are really well-developed. Again, if you've read it. . . I'd love to hear what you think. Alan Bradley, the author, has written a second book in the series and I hope to read it sometime this summer perhaps. (That's all of us in the picture below at Misty's after sampling a tasty Key Lime pie.)



Finally, to our current book choice (thanks Stacy), The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I haven't started this one yet, because I'm saving it for my trip to Spain (coming in just a week or so), but I've heard great things about it. Many of my friends and co-workers have read it, so I'm excited to jump on board. It is also one of the books we've chosen as a summer read for our AP Literature students, so I was going to have to read it anyway.

Well, I guess that's it about book club for now. I truly enjoy those nights spent with friends. . . especially when we're discussing a good piece of literature.



**A few of the books I remember reading (and actually finishing) on our first go-round include: Fahrenheit 451, The Eyre Affair (one of my favorite book club choices), To Kill a Mockingbird(perhaps my favorite novel ever), Endurance (a terrific nonfiction account), Memoirs of a Geisha, and Kite Runner (not one I enjoyed, but a good choice nonetheless).

Graduation

This weekend was graduation. . . an event that takes YEARS to prepare for and no more than two hours to celebrate. Since beginning my teaching career 11 years ago, I haven't missed a graduation, and I actually don't mind them too much. For parents, grandparents, family members and friends, it's a pretty cool deal to see your loved one walk across that stage. For those of us who teach them. . . well, our feelings may fluctuate between bittersweet, heartwarming, celebratory, or just a load off our minds. (I did think more than once, "Thank goodness we got that one through high school!")

Anyway, in preparing for the graduation ceremony this year, I was asked on a number of occasions, "Why do we have to wear these silly hats?" Because I didn't actually know the reason I made up an answer that sounded historically-based and passed it off as knowledge that I really didn't have. (Most kids believe you, as long as the answer sounds somewhat intelligent.) So, in pondering this question and thinking to myself that I should know the answer, I have done a little research on all things involved with graduation. Here goes. . .

The "Cap" or "Mortarboard" is traditionally worn at all high school and college/university graduations across the United States. However, you probably will not be surprised to find out that the tradition dates back to (possibly) the 15th century in Europe. According to a number of sources, the mortarboard is so named because of its similarity in appearance to the "board" used by bricklayers to hold mortar. Scholars generally believe that the cap/mortarboard developed from the biretta, a similar-looking hat worn by Roman Catholic clergy and as an indicator of social status.

If you're REALLY interested in the history/origins of the mortarboard (and my meager attempt at educating you wasn't fulfilling), you can check out this link to an article from the Yale Alumni Magazine that I found online. It's actually pretty fascinating.

Some other "interesting" graduation and high school rite-of-passage tidbits you probably never cared to know:

1. The graduation ceremony may date back to scholastic monks in the 12th century.

2. Original diplomas were made of sheepskin.

3. The first class ring was designed for students at West Point in 1835.

4. Tassels are worn on the right until the end and then ceremoniously moved to the left as a sign of graduation.

5. Pomp and Circumstance (that good ol' grad music) was composed by Sir Edward Elgar, an Englishman, in a set of five marches between 1901 and 1930. The title is taken from Act III, Scene iii of Shakespeare's Othello: "Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!"

6. The academic hood (worn at graduations by those of us who have masters/doctorate degrees) can be traced back to the Celtic people and the Druid priests. In the Middle Ages, the academic hood was a sign of superior intelligence. (I'm not sure we can say that anymore.) The color of the hood's facing designates the type of degree (i.e. English = White), and the hood's lining refers to the institution where the student earned his/her degree.

And finally, I will always think back to my own high school graduation of June 5, 1994. Wearing my red graduation gown, I received my diploma from my dad (Superintendents have the privilege of being on stage--and the right to give their daughters their diplomas if they so desire), and then headed out into the "real world". . . to find myself right back in that high school environment about 4 years later. . .and right back on stage at 11 graduations, watching those elated graduates process right on out into the "real world" themselves.

Congratulations Graduates. And Good Luck!