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My Trip to Spain – an Unforgettable Experience

Cervantes, Southern Spain

In 1997, I toured Spain with my Alumni group from D’Youville College in Buffalo, NY. Because I never studied Spanish in school, I was not familiar with either the language or the cultural background of the places we visited. Nevertheless, it was one of my favorite travel experiences. I had picked up James Michener’s book “Iberia” and read it at times during the trip, which gave me a lot of insight into the many places we visited.

In Madrid, we were shown the house where Cervantes lived; it was in the second oldest neighborhood in the city. A statue of Cervantes was erected in the Plaza de Las Cortes in Madrid, not far from his home. Outdoor cafes are prominent in Madrid and we made use of them often. I first learned about Tapas at one of these cafes. Tapas are simply a wide variety of appetizers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They are served either cold or hot and can be combined to make a full meal.

Of course, we visited the Prado Museum in Madrid which is renowned as the largest art gallery in the world. El Prado houses the works of Velasquez, El Greco, Dali, Goya, Raphael, Rubens and Bosch. I learned how to say “Velasquez” in Spanish which mispronounces the V and the S in a way we are not familiar with. The word Prado means meadow and is derived from the meadow district where it is situated. While there, I was able to purchase a small Lladro figurine, a Spanish collectible which I still own.

We were able to have lunch at the Hotel Ritz in Madrid, at their outdoor café. Interestingly, the movie L. A. Confidential was being shot right there, not too far from our table at the café. I was able to get some pictures of one of the cast, Guy Pierce, who starred in the movie. He was very cordial when I asked him to pose. Curtis Hansen, the director of the movie, is also in one of my pictures.

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Our tour took us to Toledo and the house-museum of Greco, which is actually a recreation of the artist’s home because the original home was destroyed centuries ago. It houses several important paintings. I had read in Michener’s book “Iberia” that a tourist should never stay overnight in Toledo as it is a noisy place and you will lose sleep. Fortunately, we did not stay overnight in Toledo. The marzipan of Toledo is famous, so of course I purchased some marzipan to bring home to friends. Toledo is in the region known as La Mancha where windmills are numerous and are mentioned in Cervantes novel Don Quixote.

Driving through the region known as Andalusia in Southern Spain, we spent some time in Seville where we visited a nightclub where some talented Flamenco dancers were performing. From there, we drove to Granada, where Washington Irving lived for a while during the time when he wrote “Tales of the Alhambra” in 1832. The Irving Hotel in Granada is named after Washington Irving and his picture hangs there in a prominent place.

There were many places to see on our way – Valencia and Monserrat. However, my favorite city in Spain is Barcelona. A must-see tourist spot is the Church of the Holy Family, considered the master-work of the architect Antoni Gaudi. The Church has been under construction since 1882 and is not expected to be completed until at least 2026. Without a doubt, however, my best memory is of Barcelona’s most famous boulevard, Las Ramblas. Amidst the quaint shops touting souvenirs and food, mimes perform to the delight or the crowd. Some mimes are painted from head to toe with white or silver paint; some stand still for hours to make you wonder if it is just a statue you are seeing. They expect you to contribute some coins if you watch them, and particularly if you take a picture. I can truthfully say that Las Ramblas was my favorite spot in all of Spain.

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We were warned however, that Barcelona, and especially Las Ramblas, was rife with pickpockets. We learned the hard way as one of our group had her purse stolen from the back seat of a taxi as we were getting out. It happened so fast and the thief moved so quickly down a narrow passageway that it was impossible to retrieve the purse for our companion.

It was wonderful going through my album of pictures from my trip to Spain. I hope you enjoyed the travelogue as much as I enjoyed reminiscing about a wonderful time in my life.

Sources:

Personal experience