Day Two- Madrid

Today we begin our tour at Palacio Real or the Royal Palace, Europe’s third greatest palace. With more than 2000 rooms in total, we spun through about 20 which included the Royal Armory, which houses a vast collection of full armor for men and horses, swords and shields.  The armory ended up being one of my favorite sights with all of its fine metal work.

The palace was built by King Philip V who hailed from France, so everything about it is very French, almost a mini Versailles.  And it is filled with exquisite tapestry, elaborate wall coverings and a hand painted ceiling by the ambidextrous artist, Luca Giordano, who is known for quickly finishing ceilings because he is said to have painted with both hands at the same time!

The rooms themselves are all decorated in different color themes and there is a very small room, almost like a closet that is completely covered in porcelain from floor to ceiling! The original queens quarters (tree full rooms) have in more modern time been converted into a extra large sized dining hall which is used even today for royal events. 

The royal family now resided in a mansion a few miles away.  This previous home serves as a national treasure and is a delight to visit.  

The afternoon brought us freetime and a chance to see some modern art without the jetlagged brains of the previous day.  We made out way to Rena Sofia Museum on my request to catch a viewing of Picasso’s Guernica, which depicts the people of Guernica who were bombed out during World War II.

Reina Sofia, the national museum of 20^th century art houses much of the original art of the Cubist movement, of Picasso and Juan Gris (one of my favs) and other Spanish artists, such as Miro and Dali.  We even caught some glimpses of Bunuel’s Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog) and also a film by Buster Keaton!

I have included some of my favorite pieces of artwork that I was able to photograph. 

Good Morning, Madrid

We land on Spanish soil and find our tour director, Francisco, awaiting our arrival and are easily transported to our new home for the next 3 days, Tryp Charmartin. Without a moments rest, we take an easy ride on the computer train, only 2 stops to the heart of the city center.  AT Metro stop-SOL, the bell tower and the zero KM marker, in front of the Governor’s mansion, becomes our Madrid rendezvous meet up point for our 50 person tour.

The zero(0) KM marker marks the very center point in Spain…all km markers through Spain marks the distance back to this spot.  It is also the spot remembered as where the war against Napoleon began in 1808. Urban legend guarantees you a return visit to Madrid if you photograph your feet inside the marker.

Our daily consists of a general overview of city center and Plaza Mayor, where a variety of events, such as bullfights, fires, royal pageantry, and torture from the Inquisition, took place through out its 400-year history. A wander through the Prado Museum, as we take note of the Velazquez, Goya, Titian, Rubens, El Greco paintings, and one of my all time favorites, HieronymusBosch’s, Garden of Earthly Delights.

Our introduction to Spanish culture would not have been complete without Chocolate and Churros at San Gines Chocolatieria which is open 24 hours a day/7 days a week, just incase you need a sip of dark smooth chocolate at say 4:oo in the morning!

We end our first day in Madrid, over shadowed by a bad case of jetlag that puts to shame any hangover from my misspent youth.  

 Buenas Noches, Madrid. See you tomorrow Madrid.

Adventure in Spain 2015

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go. I have definitely said that before.

This will be my third and probably final trip with EF Tours, the largest education tour company with offices all over the world. We have gone to Italy and France and now we are giving Spain a spin.

Any educator's out there who want to travel free with students and parents...http://www.eftours.com/ 
Tell them,  Andrea sent you.  No really, there is a referral fee if you travel! I will hook you up!

I love traveling with young people, seeing them experience something so far away and so different from their own backyard. The art and culture explode right in front of them!

Nothing beats experience...no App, no FB, no YouTube. It's the real deal. Life...in real time.

This whirlwind trip begins in Madrid and then travels south...
to El Escorial...Segovia...Toledo...Granada...Seville...and ends up in Costa del Sol....all in a 7-day on-the-ground tour extravaganza.

I've got my Fitbit strapped to my wrist and I'm gonna see how many steps we take every day! Won't you join me? Hop on a treadmill and stay tuned.

The Rolling Stones and My Last Day in Rome

Today the Rolling Stones play Circus Maximus to 70,000 Romans and countrymen.  

 I spend my last day in Rome at the Porte Portese market not buying much at all.  Just browsing stall after stall of used and new clothing, fake leather purses and cheap shoes. Toward the end I find the more interesting antique section, but it is time for them to pack up.  I did buy some vintage hand embroidered Italian table clothes.

I make my way into the working class become chic neighborhood of Trastevere to find my ultimate pizza.  Believe it or not, I have not sat down to have a pie yet.  I have read in my Rick Steve’s pocket guide that there is a really great wood fired spot called Dar Poeta, so I make my way and get lost, backtrack and take a different turn.  I turn on the street that I think it is on and then the numbers end.  I backtrack and then make a different turn and the numbers are getting bigger, I round the next turn and hear voices and see packed outdoor tables and voila!. I am here.

I sit next to, but actually at the same table (really just two tables next to each other) with a 20 something couple from Canada.  They are finishing their meal and I ask if the food was good and they smile and say “Great!”  I get their advice because it all looks so good.  I go for a pie with tomatoes sauce, olives, capers, anchovies and oregano.  It does not come with melted cheese, but add for one Euro the buffalo mozzarella.   Score.

It makes its way to my table in no time and I devour the whole thing.  Crispy and flavorful, just as it should be in Rome.  I am satisfied. 

Inside the Pantheon, looking up.

Returning to the streets, I make my way to visit the Pantheon, one more time.  My last day in Rome is fulfilled.

Summer Solstice in (Ancient) Rome

I thought…what a great place to celebrate the summer solstice or midsummer, but so far I have not come across any type of advertised festival or event online, so I must come up with something to do myself.  Thinking about the meaning of the longest day of the year….I look back at the year so far and think of all of those new year’s “intentions”.  How have they been going?  Am I on track?  Is there anything that needs adjustments?  I make some mental notes.

I make a plan to go a bit south to the Appian Way, the famous ancient Roman road that once stretched 430 miles to the sea.  I rent a bike and ride about a total of 10 miles round trip from the entrance of the park. Riding over the original large cobblestones, like the ones located around the Coliseum, I enjoy walls and gates with hidden villas behind, vast countryside and early Roman ruins.

Appia Antica

Villa along the way

Villa in the countryside

Ruins along the way

I stop for a salad of artichoke, watercress and mozzarella before a 45-minute tour of San Sebastian catacombs.  Simon, our English speaking tour guide, takes us 4 meters or more under the ground to reveal the 2^nd to 6^th century Christian catacombs or burial grounds. More than 100,000 bodies were buried in the over 65,000 graves that stretch out under Rome’s soil.  Only five of the sights are open to the public.   Walking through the narrow cool hallways, Simon describes the various Christian symbols, the anchor, the fish and the dove.  We see the stamp pressed into the soft terracotta that covers the chambers.  On this stamp is the ruler of Rome, so we have en exact time stamp for each grave.

 

SanSebastian Catacombs

Inside catacombs

One of the three masoleums

Close-up

But that is not all, Simon takes us several more meters deep to the earlier Roman (pagan) graves.  Unlike the Romans that slid the bodies into the walls, the Romans practiced cremation.  The structures where the cremanes are found are more like mausoleums, small buildings with elaborately decorated ceilings and frescos painted on the ceilings and walls.  When these mausoleums were discovered, they were in pristine condition and no restorations were needed.  They were beautifully preserved in the Roman soil.

My day was complete as I stumble onto one of the last areas of town that I want to visit… Capitoline Hill.  This area was the sight of the original Forum and Temple of Jupiter from the 1^st century and is considered the spiritual, economic and political center of ancient Rome.  Today is typifies the blending of the past and present as buildings from the various centuries are literally built one on top of the other.

It is also the sight of Michelangelo’s Marcus Aurelius on horseback in Piazza del Campidoglio, the Capitoline Museums, Santa Maria in Aracoeli church and the Victor Emmanuel monument. The sun is setting and my day is complete as I welcome the summer solstice, renewed and redirected.

Rick Steve’s Pocket Rome

A last minute purchase at my local Whole Earth Provisions Co., this guide is invaluable.  Mostly because it fits so discreetly into my small over the shoulder bag that I can whip it out to read and check out locations.  The small area maps depicting areas of interest or “tours” or “walks” is also handy except all of the streets are not listed.  The local map that Fabio at my hostel offers me fills in the blanks although I would probably need something much stronger than my eyeglass readers to actually be able to read the fine print.

My first half day in Rome includes getting on the shuttle bus to Rome’s Termini Train station and then onto Metro A toward Anagina and off at the third stop San Giovanni.  All is well until it becomes not so clear as to which exit is Magna Grecia.  I guess... and it isn’t until I have walked over four blocks that I realize it was not the correct guess.  Backtracking, I ask a local cabbie, who looks it up on an ancient dog-eared map book.

Right-Left-Right behind where I have been, and he points me toward my destination. Onward I trek.   It is now almost 5:00 as I come upon the front door of the building.  Inside a small car filled with Costco-like products is Domenico, one of the owners of "The Dreaming Rome Hostel". He lets me in and tells me to go to the 2^nd floor where brother, Fabio, greets me with a welcome drink and shows me around.

After setting up my bunk, I venture out on a backwards Rick Steve’s “Heart of Rome Walk”… starting at The Spanish Steps and ending at Piazza Navona.  After that, I walk the busy Corso Vittorio Emanuelle toward the Coliseum at dusk and come upon ancient, medieval and modern Rome., stacked on top of itself. I love this part of Rome as the melding of 2000 years comes together.  There is even a giant big screen playing the World Cup.

Our Last Day in the Riviera

Today we travel east to the small medieval town of Eze.  Here we visit the one of the Frogonard perfume factory.  We learn that it takes a ton of rose petals to make a very small amount of essential oil for perfume making.  This is why it is so expensive.  They also still make some items by hand, carefully packing each item for retail.  After the tour, we are let lose into the factory store where I purchase far too many items as gifts and for myself. 

 We wander up the stairs to the top of the hill where the castle of Eze sits perched atop for safety and security during medieval times.  Wandering the steep narrow passageway we climb to a lovely viewpoint.

Returning back to the bus we press on east to the tiny country of Monaco.  We learn that Monaco is the most densely populated country in the world.  It is only .7 square miles with over 32,000 inhabitants.  Thanks to the casino, it is also a tax-free haven.  We have lunch of moules and frites.  After lunch we wander the hilly terrain taking in the views of exotic yachts, exquisite gardens and fantastic coastal views.

Back in Nice, we swim the Mediterranean Sea and say good by to the French Riviera.

Thanks for a great tour EF.  See you next year in Spain!!