Sunday in Madrid: History and Art in Spain

Yesterday Cody and I went to Madrid. Most museums offer free admission on Sundays so we planned to visit the Museum of Archaeology and the Prado. We entered Madrid by train then took the Metro to the Plaza de Colón, which is dedicated to Christopher Columbus (or Cristobal Colón in Spanish). There is normally a pillar in the center of the Plaza, but it was taken down for renovation. The Plaza is decorated with modernist sculptures which display engraved text concerning Columbus' voyages. Also visible from the Plaza are the Torres de Colón (often called "the plug" by Madrileños for obvious reasons).

Next to the Plaza was the Museum of Archaeology. It contained several of the most well-preserved artifacts from the ancient Iberian culture. The sculpture of the Iberians and their architecture reveal an advanced society, but we know very little about them (other than what the ancient Greeks and later the Romans wrote about them) as their language has yet to be decoded. They traded gold with the Greeks and were separated into several societies throughout Spain. The statue below is the most famous Iberian sculpture, the Dama de Elche, the clothing of which matches that described by the ancient Greek historian, Strabo. The statue comes from the fourth century BC and was found on the Mediterranean coast near Valencia:

There was also this statue believed to be part of the religion of the Iberians:

The museum also held objects from the Roman occupation of Spain (or Hispania as the Romans called it, giving the modern country its name) including this statue of Urania, the Muse of Astronomy. It was sculpted nearly two-hundred years after the Dama de Elche:

The museum also held a small collection of Visigothic items. The Visigoths were a Christian people who acted as stewards of Spain for the Romans during the collapse of the Roman Empire. After the Empire fell, the Visigoths controlled Spain until the Moors of North Africa conquered the peninsula. Here is a symbolic crown given to the church by the Visigoth King Recceswinth. It is believed to have been made around the year 655:

The museum contained some artifacts from the Muslim era. The Moors invaded Spain in 711 and slowly expanded their influence to control most of the southern peninsula. The Muslims of Spain had many scientists and philosophers and for a while lived in harmony with the Jews and Christians in what was known as the Kingdom of Al-Andalus (the province of southern Spain is now known as Andalusia). Here is an astronomical map dating from the period. It is inscribed with Arabic script:

As time progressed and a new, less tolerant dynasty took control of Al-Andalus, the relations between the Christians, Muslims, and Jews grew worse. The Reconquista (which had various and complex origins) saw the Christians take control of the Spanish kingdoms once again. In 1492, the Catholic Monarchs, Fernando and Isabel, forced all the Jews and Muslims to either convert or leave Spain. The Inquisition followed. The museum had a number of artifacts from this era of medieval Spain, including this statue of a penitent nobleman:

The museum also had a small collection of royal trinkets from the early decades of the Spanish Empire.

From the Museum of Architecture, we walked down the Paseo de la Castellana, a tree-lined street which heads to the modern financial district of Madrid, known as AZCA. Along the way, I spotted this sculpture by the contemporary Colombian artist Fernando Botero:

A few miles down this street, we ented the AZCA district and saw the modern part of Madrid which includes the rounded Torre Europa (built in 1985) and the leaning towers of Puerta de Europa (finished in 1996):

From here, we took the subway back across the city to Gran Vía and walked to the Plaza de España, in the center of which stands a giant monument to Miguel de Cervantes:

From here was a short walk to the Temple of Debod. This is an Egyptian temple from the second century BC that was given to Spain as a gift for the Spanish government's aid in the preservation of several Egyptian monuments. The temple was reconstructed stone by stone on a hill overlooking the city. This creates an odd sensation at first as the last thing one expects to see when walking through a European capital is an authentic ancient Egyptian temple.

From here, I had this great view of the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) and the Catedral de la Almudena:

We then headed to the Prado, one of Europe's largest art museums. We stopped at the adjacent Parque del Retiro and saw some musicians, then headed up the Paseo del Prado. Along the way, I saw this modern art museum, which I am assuming is "green":

We then came upon the Prado, which houses European art from the Renaissance to the 19th century. Most of the collection is Spanish art, focusing on El Greco, Diego Velazquez,

and Francisco de Goya.

The museum does not allow photography, but I would recommend everyone search for the paintings of these artists online if you have never seen them. Soon after entering the museum, we ran into Priscilla, a girl from New Jersey who lives in Alcalá de Henares whom we met through Kevin and Liz. The three of us toured some of the museum. The El Greco collection was relatively small as most of his paintings are located in a museum in Toledo.

I saw the museum's Velazquez (the great Spanish painter of the Renaissance) collection. This included his royal portraits and the painting of the royal dwarf (a court jester), Don Sebastián de Morra. The mythological-themed Los Borrachos was also there. The largest crowd in this wing of the museum surrounded his most famous painting, Las Meninas, a single painting on which entire books have been written. The painting has a mysterious quality. It was commissioned as a royal portrait of King Felipe IV and his wife. Velazquez decided to paint the portrait from the perspective of the royal couple (or some other figure) instead of his own. The result is a painting of the princess with her chaperones watching her parents as Velazquez stands at his canvas in the corner. In the distance a mirror reflects the royal couple.

I also saw a portion of the museum's Goya (my favorite artist) collection. I was able to see his royal portraits and the two sister paintings The Clothed Maja and The Naked Maja which were displayed side-by-side. By looking at his portraits up close, you can see how talented Goya was at differentiating between textures. Some of his smaller paintings of festivals were also on display on this floor. The lower floor contained his later paintings which took place after Napoleon's invasion and the resulting Spanish rebellion of 1808. We didn't get to this part of the museum however, as it was closing. We also saw paintings by the Dutch artist Rembrandt and the Flemish/Dutch Rubens' The Three Graces. We spent nearly three hours in the museum, but saw only a small part of it (only one of three floors). I plan on going back to see the rest of the Goya collection and The Garden of Earthly Delights by the odd Rennaisance-era Dutch painter, Heironymus Bosch.

After leaving the museum the three of us headed back to Alcalá on the train after eating at a sandwich shop. I was exhausted after the two days spent in Guadalajara and Madrid and went to sleep as soon as I returned to the apartment.

Cervantes Festival

This weekend was the Cervantes festival in Alcalá de Henares. Cody and I went to the Plaza Cervantes Friday and Saturday. There were many street vendors selling crafts, spices, and foods. I had quite a bit of chorizo and a kebab. There were also several people displaying certain trades like blacksmiths, printers, marble sculptors, and ceramicists. All of the vendors and workers wore period costumes as seen in the pictures and many street performers from Madrid showed up. The festival attracts people from all over Spain and I even heard the people in one booth speaking Portuguese. Here are the pictures:

I didn't have any of the octopus from the picture above, but I wanted some. It was quite expensive at ten euros for a small dish.

Wanderings

My job has been moving along smoothly. I've been planning some learning materials to implement in class and setting up individual tutoring sessions outside of class for extra money. The physical education teacher wants me to tutor his two kids on Tuesdays and Fridays in the afternoon. I will be a conversation partner for them, correcting any mistakes in their speech. I will begin next Tuesday as this upcoming Friday is a local holiday for Alcalá de Henares.

A couple of days ago, Cody and I wandered through the town and found a building called the Laredo Palace. It is part of the University now, but was originally built in the mid-nineteenth century in the style of the Islamic architecture of medieval Spain. The brickwork on the building was amazing.

We then walked past the Plaza de Cervantes where the town was preparing for the upcoming Cervantes festival which takes place this weekend. The people of Alcalá de Henares recognize Cervantes' birth on 9 October every year with a series of plays, games, and street vendors. The Plaza, as seen here, is being decorated in a style similar to Renaissance Festivals.

After class today I ate at a tapa bar called El Baserri and had some chorizo cooked in red wine. The wine gave a strong flavor to the sausage and the dish was again served with bread. I'm relaxing the rest of the day, getting ready to visit the festivities downtown this weekend.

First Day at Work

Thursday was my first day working at CEIP Federico García Lorca. Cody and I met the other assistants, Tamara and Emma, who are both from England. Our coordinator, Pilar, showed us some of the teacher's resources and showed us around the school for the first hour. After that, we went to our respective classes. My first class was a fourth-grade science class. The teacher, Maite, had me introduce myself to the class. They were very excitable children, yet well-behaved. I then read some science vocabulary words to them and had them repeat each term, checking their pronunciation. At the end of class they asked me questions about life in Missouri.

My next class was fourth-grade English, which Pilar teaches. The children were drawing advertisements for vacations which they then had to present to the class. Some of the children were very inventive, such as one who created a one-billion euro vacation package to Las Vegas. The package included "travel by giant chicken." One of the girls in this class asked me, "Where does Hannah Monatana live?" "Hollywood, I think."

These were my only two classes for the day as my schedule on Thursdays is only three hours. We all took a break in the teacher's lounge after this second class. Coffee and pastries were served. I waited in the lounge for an additional hour as the other assistants had another class. After that Cody, Emma, and I went to eat lunch at an outdoor cafe in downtown Alcalá.

This looks like onion rings, but they are the fried calamari I had for lunch. All meals are served with a tapa, in this case the olives in the background, and bread. The food was great, especially the olives, which were grown in the region and not pitted. While we were eating here, we ran into Kevin and Liz, two other American assistants who are living in Alcalá, but teaching in a neighboring town. Later that night we me them and their Londoner roommate, James, who is studying at the University of Alcalá, and walked around the town, going from tapas bar to tapas bar.

The next day Cody and I visited more of Alcalá de Henares, finding the medieval city wall, which was surrounded by an outdoor sculpture park. We also found some more plazas and a Don Quixote reenactor.

I also found a statue of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII of England. She was born in Alcalá de Henares.

Also, these make me laugh:

Every Great Day Begins With Miel Pops

Today I had nothing to do, so I explored some more of the town of Alcalá de Henares. I found the University of Alcalá which is about ten minutes from my apartment on foot. I milled about here taking pictures and got asked by a Spaniard with a cigarette for a light. No tengo un fuego, lo siento. The university was founded in 1496 by Cardinal Cisneros, a powerful figure who brought many religious and political reforms to Spain during the rule of Fernando and Isabel. The university still functions and I actually met a girl from Dresden, Germany while I was taking pictures who was visiting the campus and planning on enrolling in the engineering program. Here are some photos of the university:

After leaving the university, I wandered through some more back streets and finally chanced upon the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes. Outside his house were statues of the main characters from his masterwork, Don Quixote, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

After this, Cody and I went grocery shopping at the local supermarket, Hiper Usera, and I bought a type of Basque sausage and bread casserole and some Spanish omelettes. It was a very relaxing day. Tomorrow I start work, then have a three-day weekend after that.

Moving In and the Old Town

I moved in to the new apartment yesterday and am getting everything adjusted. As I said in the last post, it's in a nice location and I've been able to take my lunches of ham sandwiches out on the balcony where I can watch the people, walking in and out of shops on the street, or doing their laundry and watering plants on the balconies of the building across the street. The weather has been warm and dry during the day and cool at night. Here are some pictures of the new place:

Today I got up early and went to the historic district of Alcalá de Henares which is about a five minute walk from my apartment. The area was crowded with people on their way to church. Many vendors set up stalls along the narrow streets to hawk cheap touristy items (buttons, patches, flags, ceramics, etc.) at higher prices than the stores found elsewhere. There were many street performers as well. This was my favorite street performer I have seen yet (possibly my favorite ever):

She had a recording of Camille Saint-Saëns' "La Danse Macabre" and other songs playing as she controlled the skeleton's playing of the violin. She made it sit on the little stool during the breaks between songs. Here's the street the performer was on:

Down this street I came upon the Plaza de Cervantes, named in honor of the famous local writer whose statue stands in the center of the square. Not much further was an old church, the name of which I do not yet know. There are many more places downtown which I have yet to visit extensively, such as the old university. Here are some scenes from the plaza and churches:

I also went to Madrid today to time the trip I will make to the meeting tomorrow morning. I will visit it more extensively soon and post some pictures.