Today was a travel day so we spent most of our time on the bus. It is a 390 Km drive from Salamanca to Lisbon so it took most of the day. On trips like this it’s good to have a travel day now and again. Sometimes things can be scheduled so tightly that it gets tiring. Travel days allow you to relax with a book or your iPod and catch up.
The highlight of today was a two and a half hour stop in Fatima, Portugal. We had lunch and then the rest of the time we could use to explore the esplanade built around the small chapel where the Virgin Mary appeared to three children. The chapel is off to the side of the esplanade and on either end is the older Fatima Basilica and the Igreja da Santissima Trindade that just opened last month. From the south end of the plaza there is a path that is about 30m long that ends in the Chapel of Apparitions. This path is used by the devout to crawl on their knees and it is kept free for these people to use.
During the peak time of the year the number of pilgrims at any one time can number into the hundreds of thousands. In fact the new Igreja da Santissima Trindade church can hold 9000 worshipers and is the fourth largest Catholic Church in the world. When we were there only a few hundred people were scattered throughout the esplanade.
I visited all of the places throughout the plaza. I said a few Hail Marys at the Chapel of Apparitions and walked through the Basilica and Igreja da Santissima Trindade church. One of the highlights for me was the statue of Pope John Paul II that is outside the Igreja da Santissima Trindade. A Polish sculptor did it and it is a popular spot among the faithful who visit.
After Fatima we had another two-hour drive to Lisbon. Unfortunately we were delayed in Fatima by an ambulance that was blocking the street. It seems that an old woman who usually took the elevator down to the lobby of her apartment decided to take the stairs today. She fell and injured her ankle. The paramedics took care of her but weren’t available to move the ambulance until they had her loaded in. Hopefully she is doing well tonight.
We made it to Lisbon where we will stay for two nights. We just had dinner in the hotel and turned in early. Tomorrow will be one of those tightly scheduled days.
Chapel of Apparitions
Fatima Basilica and esplanade
Fatima Basilica interior
Pope John Paul II statue
Igreja da Santissima Trindade exterior
Igreja da Santissima Trindade interior
11/15/2007 – Fatima
11/14/2007 - Segovia, Avila and Salamanca
It was an early start today as we had a few stops to make before we arrived in Salamanca. The day was basically a typical European Cathedral and Castle tour.
The first stop was in Segovia, Spain in the autonomous community of Castile. The main attraction here is a two thousand year old Roman Aqueduct. The elevated section of the Aqueduct is the most recognized feature of Segovia and it was built during the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula during the first century. The elevated section spans nine hundred meters and at its highest point it is 28 meters. It consists of 166 arches and it was used to carry water from the Rio Frio.
On the way out of town we stopped for pictures of the Alcázar of Segovia. The construction on this started in the 11th century as a fortress and it was eventually used at the residence of the kings of Castile, with each king building a new section.
Alcázar of Segovia
The next stop was the walled city of Avila. Construction began on the walls of the city in the 11th century. There are over eighty towers overlooking the region around Avila and the wall itself is made of granite. Everything is in great condition and walking down the street you are surrounded by stone on all sides. There was a fantastic gothic cathedral within the city that dates from the 14th century.
Panoramic view of Avila
Gothic Cathedral
We made our way to Salamanca where the highlight of the day was the Ieronimus Catedral. Dore and her Mom wanted to get something to eat and I wanted to look around so I left them and started walking. The Plaza Mayor in Salamanca is one of the best in Spain. There was a lot of activity there as school had just finished for the day and there were kids running everywhere.
Plaza Mayor
I walked through the Plaza and the surrounding area and then I ended up at Ieronimus Catedral. The admission here was the best three Euros I have ever spent. I was practically the only person in the place and I could go to all of the open areas unimpeded. I spent the better part of my afternoon exploring all of the different areas of this beautiful building. I was even able to walk on the roof and see the spires and domes up close. I have never had such an opportunity to explore a place like this so extensively.
On the roof
Overlooking the cathedral interior
After a great time at the cathedral I went back to the hotel for dinner with our group. I have become friends with an older Australian couple and I spent the meal hearing all about how great a lemon, lime and bitter drink tastes.
Tomorrow it is on to Fatima where I will pray for Earl and his composure during his dissertation defense. We will end the day in Lisbon.
11/13/2007 – Madrid City Tour
Breakfast was crowded today. There had to have been three other tour groups all eating at the same time as we were. We made it though although everything was pretty picked through.
We got underway around 8:30 am and started our Madrid city tour. We had a local guide named Angie although I don’t think that was her real name, just one for our benefit. She showed us around for a while before our time at the Prado Museum. The first thing she showed us was the Christopher Columbus statue. This is located on the Paseo de la Castellana side of the Plaza de Colón. Columbus is facing eastward on the top of this monument. East is toward the open sea. At the base of the monument is a cascading fountain.
Next was a stop at La Plaza de España to see the monument to Miguel de Cervantes. There are many interesting parts to this monument. First is the likeness of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Don is riding his horse and Sancho is on a donkey. There are also two representations of Dulcinea, one as a peasant woman and the other as the most beautiful of all women. Finally there is a sculpture of Cervantes himself.
Don and Sancho
Dulcinea
Cervantes
After La Plaza de España we drove through the Plaza Mayor area we toured with Miguel’s Mom the day before. We drove by the Palacio Real and the Catedral de la Almudena. We also drove by the Puerto del Sol. This was well covered the day before so I just kind of made some mental notes of things I hadn’t noticed, such as the porcelain street markers that were affixed to the buildings and all of the business people and how they dress differently than in the States. A lot of women wear tights and scarves. The men wear European cut suits that I think look much sharper than the baggy suits you see in the US. Anyway my mind was wondering and by that point we had made it to the Prado Museum.
The Prado is home to one of the finest collections of European art in the world. In particular, there is a very comprehensive selection of the paintings of the Spanish masters on display. There is no way we could have made it through the entire museum in one day so our guide focused on what was representative of the best work on display of Goya, El Greco, Velazquez and Rubens. There were no cameras allowed in the museum, as you would imagine so I have to link to the Wikipedia image of the highlight of the trip. The masterpiece of Velazquez. Las Meninas:
The tour was very good but much too short. We decided to leave after the tour because we knew that we had already been through the highlights and we couldn’t do justice to the rest of the works on display.
We left the tour as the Prado was the last stop for the day and decided to walk down to get some lunch. Dore wanted to go to the Hard Rock Café for some reason so we trekked down there and it was just like every other one I had ever been to. She was happy, though, so I suppose that’s what counts. Afterward I went shopping for men’s fashions
We walked back to the hotel and on the way we were able to see the Puerta de Alcalá which is the symbolic gate to the city of Madrid. The gate is to be used to pass through to the road to Alcalá. It dates to 1778 and was ordered built by the great King Carlos III.
We walked the length of the Parque de Madrid. This had to be close to two miles along a busy street with the sun in our eyes. It might have been 5 Euros well spent for the taxi but at least we got a workout.
We made it back to the hotel and rested for a while. I went to the coffee shop in the lobby with Dore’s mother and we met some of the other people on our tour that started filtering in from their free afternoon. We talked with them for some time and then went to dinner where I drank too much wine. I staggered back to our room where I struggled for three hours, on and off, to put this post together. I hope it’s coherent.
11/12/2007 - Madrid Tour With Miguel's Mom
Miguel’s Mom runs a business organizing tours and symposiums for tourists to Spain. She mostly works with school groups but she also works with people in young democracies who want to learn about the democratic system of government. At dinner the night before she offered to show us around parts of Madrid during some free time today.
We met her at Puerta del Sol which is in the Madrid city center. The first thing she showed us was the Origen de las Carreteras Radiales. It is marked as 0 Km as it is the geographic center of Spain. After that Mrs. Kelsey (actually, she said I can call her Dori since I am no longer thirteen years old) had an errand to run so we went with her to a sewing shop called Almacen de Pontejos. In fact there were several sewing shops grouped together in what was almost a sewing district. This place was absolutely packed and it appeared that they had anything you could ask for. From thread to parts for sewing machines, it was all there.
Next she continued her tour at the Plaza Mayor. Built in the sixteenth century, this was the old commercial district of Madrid. There are still stores operating in the Plaza today but it is not as vibrant as the area that surrounds it. In addition to the stores in the Plaza itself, there is a street lined with Mesons which are a unique Spanish restaurant that serve a style of Spanish food.
We saw the smallest street in Madrid near the Mayor’s office.
Next we visited the Catedral de la Almudena which is the Madrid city Catholic cathedral. It is a modern-style cathedral because Madrid didn’t have the population to support one until later in their history. It was consecrated by Pope John Paul II himself.
Olive tree outside the Cathedral
It is, apparently, not as grand as other cathedrals we will see on our trip, but it is spectacular in its own way. Many people were there when we visited. They were paying their respects to a patron saint of Madrid. You can see them filing by a relic in this picture:
Next to the Cathedral is the Palacio Real, which is the Palace of the King and Queen of Spain. It is only used now for official ceremonies but it was the royal residence until the thirties when the fascists came to power and the royals went into exile. Now it is primarily a museum on public display. We were walking through the palace when we came upon an English tour. We snuck into that and had a nice guided visit to the treasures of the Spanish crown. I was only able to take a picture of the Room of Columns before the security guard yelled at me to put my camera away. I also took pictures of the courtyard and the view of Madrid from the Palace.
Room of Columns
Tom in the Courtyard
View of Madrid
We were pretty tired after walking around for several hours so we thanked Dori and took a cab back to the hotel. She was an excellent guide and it was really nice of her to take the time to show us around.
After resting for a while it was time to meet our tour group for dinner. We had arrived at ten in the morning on Sunday but we came a day early. Most of the group would arrive today and the tour starts tomorrow so there is no time for them to get oriented to the city. Because of this the tours usually have a welcome dinner so people don’t have to worry about getting in from the airport and finding something to eat on their own. Additionally, it allows for the tour director to review things like excursions and tour documentation as well as get a gauge of how things are going to go with the group.
There are only eighteen people on our trip. Fifteen is the minimum number they require to run the tour so we got in just under the wire. I am happy about the low number because we will be able to spread out on the tour bus and the coordination of people at the stops should be much easier. Unfortunately, some of the excursions may be cancelled because of lack of interest. Tomorrow we get up early and we are going to the Prado Museum where I’m sure we will see many works by Goya and El Greco.
11/11/2007 - Miguel
When I was in Junior High and High School I had a friend named Miguel. He transferred to our school in seventh grade and we met during football. He likes to tell people that I was the first person he met at Gesu during our football training camp. He said that my warnings about how tough camp was going to be scared him. Of course the first day of camp I got hurt and had to sit out the whole week so he went through it alone. That sounds like something that would happen to me, or that I would do.
We became good friends and I would go to his house to hang out pretty frequently as I remember. His family were great people and always very happy to have me over, even though I was a pretty obnoxious kid.
His folks were good church folk and I remember one time I showed up at his house during my ugly shirt phase. I would try to find the most ridiculous clothes to wear in a vain effort to draw attention to myself. I walked in wearing a red, white and blue USA type shirt with a buxom lady on the back wrapped in the American flag. He made sure I changed out of that before his parents saw me. I guess my point is that anyone who could put up with me as a friend when I was that age had to be a heck of a person.
Here is a picture of us at my thirteenth birthday party. He is second from the left. I am the lady machine on the far right with the yellow socks and Cincinnati Bengals sweatpants reading the graphic novelization of the movie “2010.”
Miguel grew up, went to college, worked for the World Bank for a while. Later he became a graphic designer for the largest newspaper in Spain and now he lives in Madrid with his wife Lidia and son Maximo. I hadn’t talked to him in about five years but I dropped him an email about a week ago and asked him if he would be interested in getting together while I was in town. He responded right back and we were all set.
I called him after we got into our hotel room on Sunday and they came to the hotel about a half hour later. We walked to a Brazilian restaurant and had our dinner there. It was an excellent meal that we ate over the course of three hours. We had a great conversation. We spent the time catching up and reminiscing. I had never met his wife so I was happy to get to know her a little. His son is three months old so he didn’t have much to say but he is a well-behaved young man and Miguel is a very proud father. The surprise for me was that his mother came along. I hadn’t seen her since the 80s and we had a very nice visit.
As for the dinner, we started out with a salad bar but the main course was brought to the table by servers. It was a Brazilian meat feast and they kept bringing different kinds of meat to the table for us to have. I ate Spanish blood sausage, a type of Brazilian sausage, a slice of rib eye, a slice of roast beef, a piece of New York strip, a chicken wing and thigh, and a pork rib. I had to stop them because they kept bringing out different things to try and I just couldn’t do it anymore. They never brought the same meat twice and they must have brought ten to twelve things for us to try. In addition to the meat we had french fries and dinner rolls and I had a Brazilian beer to drink. After dinner there was tea, dessert and a shot of Spanish brandy to settle the stomach. It was an excellent Sunday meal with good friends and I’m sure it will be one of the highlights of the trip.
Tom, Miguel, Lidia and Maximo
11/10/2007 - Travel To Madrid
So I am in the lobby of the Hotel Agumar in the Madrid city center waiting for our room to be ready. We arrived at the hotel around 10am CET Sunday and they told us it would be about two hours before they had one for us. We just took a walk to loosen up and get some fresh air. The temperature is in the 50s somewhere and they say it will warm up considerably by midday. For now I am just trying to stay awake.
We started the day on Saturday at Detroit Metro airport waiting to board Northwest flight 40 to Amsterdam. We arrived at the airport about three hours ahead of departure and there were no lines at the ticketing counter or security so we breezed right through. With a lot of time to kill I browsed through the Scotch at the Duty Free store and reviewed my Spanish phrasebook. I spoke to a nice couple traveling to Barcelona for a Mediterranean cruise. They were kind enough to point out that my camera was on the floor under my seat. If not for them things would have gotten off to an unpleasant start.
The plane was an Airbus A-330. It was configured well and the seats were pretty comfortable.
There is usually a nice entertainment setup on planes that fly long hauls. Ours was no exception. Each seat had a personal screen and remote control. You could choose from about twenty different movies to watch and several video games to play.
I had my iPod with me and I had encoded a load of movies for the trip so I kept myself entertained by watching Airplane. “Joey, do you like movies about Gladiators?” Aside from that I basically listened to music and tried to sleep.
Overnight international flights always seem to follow the same pattern. After we take off they serve a drink. I chose Dewar’s and they gave me a double.
After the drink service comes the dinner service. Dinner was chicken and mashed potatoes. It came with veggies, rice, salad, crackers, sharp cheddar cheese, a dinner roll, apples, cookies and white wine.
After dinner they turn off the cabin lights for the night. People can watch TV, read or sleep. They don’t do any regular drink service during the night. About two hours before you land they turn the lights back on and serve breakfast. I wasn’t a big fan of what they gave us. It was a mixed fruit cup, raspberry yoghurt and a egg and cheese biscuit with orange juice. I didn’t really eat much of it.
After that it’s time to get ready to land. We got into Amsterdam got off our plane, walked to our gate and got on the Madrid flight immediately. We didn’t have much of a layover and we had to go through customs to get into the EU. I would’ve liked to spend some time in the casino that was in the concourse but you can’t do everything.
The flight to Madrid was very nice. We flew KLM on a Boeing 737. It was clear the flight attendants knew Dutch and English but no Spanish. When they gave the pre-flight instructions in Spanish they were looking around to see if they were buckling the sample seat belt at the right time. They gave us some disgusting chicken salad sandwich which I would not have normally minded but it was 7:30 in the morning and I wasn’t in the mood. After that I basically slept the rest of the way in.
Our luggage came out quick in Madrid and the cab was small but fine. The hotel seems to be pretty nice but I’m not in the room yet.
By the way… I was bored on the plane.
Arrival
Hello everyone.
The wireless internet access at the hotel is down so, while I have written three blog entries, I haven´t been able to post them. I am at an internet cafe across the street and and I thought I would check in and get the word out that all is well.
We made it to Spain with no problems on Sunday around 10am. The flight was uneventful with the exception of a long passport control line in Amsterdam. An old friend of mine from junior high and high school named Miguel lives here so I went to dinner with Him and his family on Sunday afternoon. Today his mother took us on a tour of the city center. We saw the royal palace, a cathedral the Plaza Mayor and the Puerta del Sol. She was an excellent guide and it was very nice of her to show us around. Hopefully we can get together with Miguel and his family one more time tomorrow before we leave Madrid.
When I get wireless access I will post a bunch of updates as I have been writing them as I go. Until then I hope all is well with everyone.
