Spain 2005

3/9/2005 - 3/10/2005
After a near nervous breakdown over quitting my job at Scorecard, I managed to get packed. we were talking to Jason in California using my cell phone, so Mom missed the exit to the airport. I had to stand in the security line forever, but I made the flight! We met Sarah Plummer and Graham Casey (who are married, not "living in sin") at the airport in Newark. They are both geneticists. They seemed nice enough, but they definitely weren't Dee and Jim.  We had lunch at a sandwich place Sarah knew, but it wasn't very good. I got a salad I thought was a normal salad with garbanzo beans added. It turned out to be full of boiled bacon. Yuck! Jennifer got a chicken sandwich , but it was so covered in stinky brie cheese that she couldn't taste the chicken! After lunch, we came back to the hotel. (By the way, I was the only one in our cab that spoke any Spanish and had the actual address of our hotel.) Jennifer went straight to sleep until 5pm. Needless to say, I couldn't sleep, so I went to check email and walked around a little bit. I was really worried that my sound machine wouldn't work, but I finally got the right converter from the front desk.
Palacio de Comunicaciones
When Jenifer finally got up, we walked around and found the "Palacio de Communicaciones," the most beautiful post office I've ever seen. We also saw the "Fuente La Cibeles," this pretty foundtain that had a goddess in a chariot and a man "spitting" water.
Fuente La Cibeles
Jennifer thought he was peeing at first. We bought some postcards and mailed those. I said the same corny things in all 8 of mine! We finished up with dinner at McDonald's. I had a yummy "McPollo" de nada (plain grilled chicken) y un manzana (an apple). I felt very healthy and good after that. Now we're winding down for bed. We still haven't seen the rest of our group. They were on a late flight from Amsterdam. The will probably make lots of noise tonight when they come in. (We can hear the people next door if they sneeze.) I'm trying not to let my fears about starting a new job ruin my trip, but I'm not having a lot of success.

3/11/2005
This morning we ate breakfast at the hotel. The strangest thing happened. I thought this couple next to us was in our group, so I didn't think it was unusual when the man said he was from Columbia. In fact, his name was Haridson and he owns fam land near Saturn. His mother, Olivette Hardison, taught for 36 years at Central. As we continued to talk, I realized he wasn't with our group at all! It is a really small world when you meet someone from Columbia, TN in Madrid, Spain! Also, I found that the Gavin Beck on the list was the Gavin Beck I knew. Mom knew his parents very well. He was very friendly. Stan had told us to grab a piece of fruit from the free breakfast as a snack for later. When Jennifer and I tried to take two oranges out, the waiter stopped us and told us to eat it there and then kept his eyes on us the whole time. Tomorrow we're going to have to be more sneak! After breakfast, we boarded the bus (Jose?) with our tour guide Carmen.
Palacio Real
We went to el "Palacio Real" which has close to 3000 rooms filled with ornate tapestries, frescos, and paintings, including intricate ceiling murals.
Throne Room, Palacio Real
(My neck was strained staring up the entire time, but it was worth it.) We were supposed to turn off the flash on our cameras, but some of the "kiddies" in our group did it anyway. La policia were not happy about that! AFter the palace, we got back on the bus and toured the city al little bit. The streets were incredibly corwded because it was a year ago today that the terrorists bombed two commuter trains in Madrid. There were people gathered around the town center. The bus dropped us off at our hotel around 1, when Jennier and I had lunch at McDonald's. (my now favorite grilled chicken  an apple) We took off with our map to find a park. We found the beautiful Parque del Retiro
Parque del Retiro
which had a tranquil lake filled with row boats. The park was lined with trees and the pathways were made of compressed sand. Inside th epark, we saw th ePalacio de Cristal (Glass Palace).
Palacio de Cristal
It was constructed of iron and glass in 1886. A modern art show was inside. We also went to Velazquez Palace, which also held an art show by Ballereda, an artist who takes photos and does paintings of various rooms and buildings ("Habitaciones").
Statue of the Fallen Angel
Next, we found the statue of the Fallen Angel, a statue of Lucierf which the people of Madrid say is the only statue created in the devil's hooor. Also Puerta del Alcala, a gateway.
Puerta del Alcala
On the way back we passed the Puerta del Sol, which Jennifer and I use as a landmark for navigation.
Puerta del Sol
The whole stroll took close to 3 hours. So far, we haven't really met any fun people in our group. There are several elderly ladies which I find both surprising and impressive. There are also a bunch of girl/guy roommates. Jennifer & I have dubbed teh "skank squad." One of them constantly has her arms around her boyfriend as if we would try to steal him! No one has really even introduced themselves to use yet. I guess maybe they're just jet-lagged, but they aren't extra friendly; that's for sure. Right now we're relaxing in the room for a while. Jennifer is drinking a beer they sell from vending machines here in the hotel.
We went to dinner at the culinary institute. Jennifer & I sat with the chaperones. NO one wants to play with us. I had vegetable lasagna and lemon sherbert. Jennifer had tomato soup and "Lambert." Mr. Sieber had some of everything except Lambert. It was less expensive because it was made by culinary students. It's now 10:30 and we've just finished dinner. Tomorrow is the Prado and Escorial!

3/12/2015
This morning we toured "El Prado."
El Prado
Apparently they try to limit the number of people inside the museum at one time because part of our group got locked outside. Eventually everyone came in and Carmen and another lady led our tour. We saw paintings by Bosch, Velazquez, El Greco, Goya, Bertinni, and Titian. The work by Bosch was very interesting, filled with naked people, strawberries, fish, etc...
Garden of Earthly Delights, Bosch
I got a postcard set that included that one. I don't quite understand the symbolism, but it was still interesting. Velazquez painted "Las Meninas" which showed a little girl, the royal daughter,with her handmaids. It is widely considered technically the finest painting in the world. We saw Goya's "Majas" - two paintings of a woman - one naked and one clothed. This one was painted during Goya's happier days. He became insane and painted some disturbing pictures, like "Saturn Devouring One of his Sons," which shows the god Saturn tearing the head off a boy.
Saturn Devouring His Son, Goya
We also saw several Rubens which illustrate that overweight women were once considered the most beautiful. We are now at Corre Four, the Spanish version of Wal-Mart. Jennifer & I once  again had McDonald's. Next is El Escorial. El Escorial is an enourmous palace and monastery built by Philip II between 1563 and 1584 as his ausoleum. It has 16 courtyards, 2,673 vendors, 1200 doors and 96 staircases. There were beautiful paintings throughout, especially on the ceilings.
El Escorial
The first hallway we entered had a mural representing a war. The mural was painted to look like a curtain hung on the wall. It was remarkable. There was also a pretty "Basilica" or church with a lavish altar piece.
Altar in El Escorial Basilica
Ceiling, El Escorial
The Royal Pantheon was the crypt where most of the Spanish monarchs were laid to rest. It was absolutely freezing inside and all I wore was a t-shirt and wind breaker. We got a bit tired of hearing Carmen talk so much. The last stop was the library and J and I wanted to spend extra time at the gift shop so we made a great escape. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the gift shop so we sat with Mr. Plummer who hadn't gone to the library because of the steep stpes. (The elderly gentleman with the pipe!) We finally found he group & bought some postcads .After we got back to Madrid, J and I ate dinner with Jennifer Overby and her friend Kate at Gino's Italian Restaurant. It was really ummy. Tomorrow is el "Rastro," the flea market and the bull fight.
3/13/2005
This morning after breakfast, we took the subway to El Rastro, the flea market. I was pretty disappointed. There was a lot of junk and some strange things like batteries and blank CD's. We were expecting to see artisans with beautiful crafts but that's not how it turned out. There were tons of people, though, so we got to do some people watching. After el Rastro, we had coffee and sandwiches (and cheesecake for Jennifer) at Starbucks. The food was good and we found seats in the sunny window, however a strange homeless woman came up to me and asked for my coffee. The employees of the Starbucks threatened to call la policia so she finally left. After lunch, we hit the streets. We saw "Fuente de Neptuno" in the Plaza de Canovas de Castillo. The fountain was created in the 18th century and shows the King of the Sea riding a carriage in the shape of a shell, pulled by two horses. Jennifer used the phone in Plaza de las Cortes to phone her mom. It took forever to figure out the phone, mostly because I thought the US Country code was 011 but it was 001. A nice Spanish man who had US friends helped us out. While she was on the phone, I took pictures of the Congreso de los Diputados Parliament buildings. The congress building was being guarded by a policeman with an Uzi, which I didn't like too much. Also in a little area across from the congress was a statue of Cevantes. Oh, and in front of the congress were two lions, Daoiz and Velarde, named after the heroic captains of the Napolionic invasion. They were made from cannons brought back from the African war in 1860. Next, we found Plaza Mayor which included the Panaderia or bakery build in 1590 but "frescoed" (painted with naked ladies) over 400 years later in 1990. Plaza Mayor was filled with people seated at tables people-watching. In the center was Don Quixote. Jennifer & I stopped to use the bathroom in a store and she bought 4 t shirts. We booked it back to the hotel in time to get ready for the bull fight at Plaza del Toros. I really didn't like the bullfight. It was really bloody and sad. There were a total of 6 bulls and lots of matadors. The matadors had pretty costumes but that's about the only good thing I can say. Several girls in our group cried when the bulls were killed. I just kept looking off so I couldn't see. We booked it back and had dinner at Cuidad de Thi, upon recommendation of the hotel staff. Jennifer J, Jennifer Overby, Kate, Susan, Mr. Sieber & I ate there. I had vegetarian paella, which was great. I sure hope I sleep better tonight. Tomorrow is Toledo.

3/14/2005
Today was the best day so far. Toledo is a city high atop a mountain. When we reached the crest of the hill, we stopped to take photos. It was so breathtaking all the way around that I could hardly decide the best vantage point for photos.
Cateral de Toledo
The city  had narrow, stone streets with steep inclines. There were many beautiful churches-Jewish, Christian and Muslim. We toured the Catedral de Toledo.
altar, Catedral de Toledo
It think it was the most beautiful church I've ever seen --even more beautiful than Notre Dam, at least on the inside. Unfortunately, you weren't able to take pictures, but I bought a postcard booklet which shows some of the highlights. One of the most amazing things was the "Retable of the Hight ALtear," polychrome reredos depicting scenes from Christ's life. We sat in front of the altar and listened to Carmen talk about the history of the cathedral which dates all the way back to 1226.
sacristy
There were beautiful sculptures and paintings throughout the church, including an ornate sculptrue with a huge gold sunburts in the center.
L'Expolio
We saw El Greco's L'Expolio which depicts Christ in a bright red robe just prior to being unclothed before the crucifixion. The sacristy contained beautiful ceiling murals. Several of the areas had ornate Moorish celings made of carved wood. The church contained ten huge organs. I can't imagine how beautiful the sound must be during a service there. The Treasury held all the precious jewels of the church, including the Monstrance, a 16-th cetnry
monstrance
Gothic silver and gold sculpture which is carried through the streets of Toledo during the Corpus Christi celebration. There were also beautiful rings and crosses (Pope "bling"). I kept thinking to myself that the value of the objects in that room could feed and clothe half the poor people in the world. As we were leaving, the sunlight coming through the stained glass windows cast rainbows on the ground. It was truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Next we walked to the Iglesia de Santo Tome to view another Greg painting, "The BUrial of the Count of Orgaz." The painting was  commissioned by a parish priest and depicts the miraculous appearance of two saints at the burial of the Count of Orgaz What is interesting is that El Greco included himself and his son in the painting facing out at the viewers. We didn't get to see all the things in my book for Toledo, but that may have been beacuse we got a late start. (Gavin & Zak lost their safe key.) Next, we boarded the bus, had lunch, and toured a facility which made knivess swords and beautiful jewelry called Damascene jewelry,
Damascene jewelry

which is made by hammering gold threads into steel and firing it. (Suarez manufacturer) I got gifts here for mom, dad, and granny. I'll be we gave that place a ton of money! Now, we're back int he hotel windig down. Today has been my favorite so far because I loved the scenery and  peacefulness of Toledo  much more than the hustle and bustle of Madrid. Tomorrow, we go to Segovia.
3/15/05
Today we journeyed to Segovia where we saw the three main attractions:
Roman Aqueduct, Segovia
the Roman Aqueduct, the cathedral, and Alcazar. The Roman Aqueduct was build in the 1st century AD. It is 95km long and seems to stretch forever. The entire structure was made by lifting giant stones with a pulley system and "tongs" and fitting them together so perfectly that no mortar was needed. Carmen said the temperature in Segovia can vary up to 20 degrees in one day, so the rocks could swell and recede as they needed. The Cathedral was constructed in the 16th century and exhibits both Gothic and Mirdejar architecture.
Segovia Cathedral
The inside, though not as beautiful as the cathedral in Toledo, was nevertheless magnificent. It was filled with sculptures, tapestries, paintings, and beautiful ceilings. We had lunch at a restaurant on the main square so we could sit outside and people watch. I really wanted to walk around the town more, but Jennifer J, Jennifer Overby, Kate, Zak, and I sat at the cafe too long. They had a huge three-course meal. I just had green beans and bread. I've been eating far too much on this trip. .
Alcazar, Segovia

Finally, we went to Alcazar, a fairly tale castle from the outside. Inside were the paintings, sculptures, etc... and also lots of armor like knights' armor, cross bows, etc... I absolutely love the Moorish ceilings, which are constructed of wood and fit together like 3D puzzle pieces. The weather today was very warm but we passed the mountains (Spain is the 2nd most mountainous country in Europe) and they were covered in snow. We finished up with the Valley of the Fallen, a monument dedicated to the soldiers who died in the Civil War. The monument is an enormous cross that is a basilica that is 300 meters long. The Spanish had to insert a grill partway through the basilica so that the Vatican could continue to proclaim that it had the longest basilica in the world. Inside the basilica is a dome decorated with mosaic tiles. The design is Byzantine and modern and depicts war as well as a religious theme. There are six chapels in the basilica and 3 large statues of virgin saints. The grave of Franco and another famous Spaniard, Jose Antonio, founder of Falango Espanola party beneath the dome. Approximately 50,000 soldiers were laid to rest here. From the outside, the view is incredible. I took a picture of the Guadalajar Mts. in the distance. Mr. Sieber told Carmen that we don't have to take history in college and not to take for granted that we knew our history. Some of the students heard this and have been giving Stan a bad rap. The truth is we don't know our history. I'd heard of Franco, but I didn't know who he was or what he did. Unfortunately, I still don't. I tried to pay attention, but it was a lot of information! I'll never forget the view. Tonight Jennifer and I watched figure skating on TV. We were so desperate for TV and nothing was in English except the skating. WE had fun making fun of the male skaters!

3/16/05

This morning we got up at 5:30 to catch the bus to the train station. The inside of the train station had been made into a tropical garden, which was pretty. We took the AVE ("bullet" train) to Cordoba. We got a new guide, Lourdes, and I liked her so much better than Carmen. Unfortunately, she was only with us for a few hours. Cordoba was very tropical. The cathedral had an orange grove courtyard and even palm trees like you see in Florida. Lourdes took us through "Las Mesquita" a cathedral that is a combination o fan ancient Muslim mosque and a 16th c. Christian cathedral. At one time Cordoba was home to three different religions: Muslim, Christian, and Jewish, and all lived together harmoniously. Construction of the Muslim mosque began before 800 AD atop an even older cathedral, St. Vincent. Lourdes pointed out that most societies conquered civilization and completely tore own the old structures but in Cordoba they build on top of them or incorporated the old architecture into the new structure, like with the marble and alabaster columns. I really liked the Muslim architecture like the pink and white arches and the tiled mudejar where the Muslims pray five times per day. In the center of the structure there is a Christian cathedral built in the 16th century baroque style. Lourdes said that Charles I commissioned the building of the Christian cathedral before he laid eyes on the mosque and that when he finally did see the mosque, he regretted having the cathedral built over it (in parts). We had a walking tour of the old Jewish quarter, which had a tiny little narrow streets and high white walls. We had lunch there in the square and got ice cream (I had a popsicle) on the way back to the bus. Now, we're driving through miles and mils of olive trees on our 3hr bus ride. Tonight, we stayed at a hotel in Granada. Jennifer and I missed the Pizza Hut (my fault-I should've told her about it and found a cafe) I ordered vegetable cannelloni but they gave me tuna instead. It was OK. At 10 pm some people met in the lobby to go to a ave to see flamenco dancing. I decided to sleep instead. At first I felt bad about it, but Jennifer said this gypsy woman led them on a walking tour through these cobblestone streets in a "scary" area. (Some of the girls wore heels because they didn't know. ha!)

3/17/05

So far this has been one of my favorite days. We went to the Alhambra ("Red Palace") , a Muslim fortress/palace. Granada was the last Moorish hold-out to be conquered by the Christians. The sultan who gave up control of the city was berated by his mother. "Cry like a woman what you could not defend like a man." This is one of many stories our guide Juan told us as we toured the palace. The Moorish architecture is unique and beautiful. The cathedrals we have seen so far have been baroque in style with ornate, sometimes overdone sculptures, paintings and tapestries. The Moorish architecture is all about patterns and interlocking puzzle pieces. They weren't allowed to use humans or animals in their decorations for fear this would lead to the worship of idols. There are two distinct types of mosaic design in Alhambra mosaics- tiles in which elements are repeated and alicatado tiling that doesn't have a repeated pattern but appears seamless. the tiles are based upon complex mathematical calculations. The ceilings are also very beautiful. We saw one composed of 8,017 separate pieces of wood commemorating the 8017 verses of the Koran. Some of the ceilings looked like stalactites. Some were mocarabes, ceilings which were inspired by the story of the Archangel Gabriel who came to the Muslim prophet Mahoma. When Mahoma was trying to flee his enemies, a spider's web miraculously sealed the entrance to the cave to confuse the attackers. Some of the ceilings are decorated this way in Alhambra and it is a tradition throughout the Muslim world. We toured the Hall of the Ambassadors, where Queen Isabella is said to have completed the deal with Christopher Columbus. There are Arabic verses throughout and the main colors are blue (water), yellow (gold), used to be read (passion) but now black and green the color of Islam). Juan also told the s story of the Abencerrases, 36 men who were killed by the sultan. The story says that the sultan discovered that his mistress was having an affair with one for them. Since he didn't know which one, the sultan called them in one-by-one and cut their heads off. The heads supposedly feel into the fountain which is why it's stained red. Juan said it could be that or it could be the coins that had been thrown in the fountain by tourists. Ha! I thought Alhambra was beautiful. I bought a great book to read more about it. After Alhambra, we walked through Generalife, the beautiful gardens that used to be a retreat for the kings. It was beautiful even now but I can't imagine how great it would be with the flowers in bloom. Next, we toured the Royal Palace, which had the grave es of Queen Isabella (the one who hired Columbus), King Ferdinand, Joanna the Mad (she once stabbed a woman to death because she though the woman loved her husband and she spent 60 years in a sanitarium after he died), Phillip the Beautiful (married to Joanna) and Manuel, the 2yrold grandson of the King & Queen. Juan left us then and we boarded the bus for Ronda. It is said that Hemingway was inspired by Ronda's beauty and that Orson Wells love Ronda so much he wanted to live there. Frankly, I wasn't that impressed. There was a bridge that we stopped on which had a view of the city built up on the cliff. Jennifer didn't like when I climbed up on top. I think after seeing the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, I've been spoiled to all beautiful views from now on. We finally got to the hotel in Seville, a very modern hotel with contemporary decor. Jennifer and I got to use the gym! I felt so much better afterword. Then we ordered room service and went to bed.
3/18/15
Today we took the bus from our hotel to Ialica, a Roman city founded in the year 206 B.C. by General Scipio as a "retirement community" for the soldiers who defeated the Carthogineans. The coliseum seated 20,000 spectators and reminded me of the move, "The Gladiator." During the Punic Wars when Hannibal was beating the Romans, Scipio decided to attack them on their own turf and was thus instrumental in the defeat of the Carthaginians. Next,, we picked up our tour guide, American (no joke). We briefly toured the city on our bus. Seville hosted a Latin American festival i 1929 and all of the countries with Hisplanic cultures, including the USA and even Morocco,  built pavilions. Of course, Spain built the biggest, Plaza de Espana, was used in "Lawrence of Arabia" and the first Star Wars post-3 trilogy. It was a semi-circle including mosaic tiles representing each province except Sevilla (Seville) and Seville had its own separate building. Next, America took us through "Real Alcazar de Sevilla," (1401) commissioned by Peter the Cruel, which is made up of three distinct palaces. America says alcazar literally means "a place fortified.' One of the palaces was Christian; one was mudeijar (Islamic under Christian rule); one was Renaissance. America was trying so hard to make it interesting, but we were all o tired that I"m sure she thought we were awful! The royal came still lives there when they tome to town. Next, we ate lunch. Katie ("shy girl") and Brenda went with us. I finally had some great vegetable soup. Jennifer carried most of the conversation on her own, thank goodness, but they weren't that bad. I didn't like that they followed us around the rest of the day, though. After lunch, we went through the cathedral in Seville, which is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest Gothic Christian cathedral (by cubic meter) in the world! 23,500 sq meters. It also has the world's largest reredo (The gold encrusted altar piece depicting the life of Jesus). America told us the amount of gold in kg &  Mr. Plummer converted it to 15,400 pounds! The organ there had close to 8000 pipes and it used to take 40 people to play it before it became electric. There is a memorial that is hotly contested. Sevillians believe it contains the remains of Christopher Columbus, but Santo Domingo says they  have the remains and Seville actually has his son. (Seville definitely has one of the sons but they claim to have the father & not the other son.) America speculated that it's probably neither! She said poor Columbus only moved four times when he was alive but five since he died! We finished off our tour of the cathedral by climbing the Giralda tower, which is 96 meters (288 ft) tall. We climbed to the top by going up the 36 ramps. America said they are ramps not stairs because in olden times, people rode horses to the top! The ramps were so narrow that I can't imagine horses trying to do that! There was a stained glass window in the cathedral which showed two angles holding up the tower. America said it is believed that this miracle is what saved the tower during the earthquake. The cathedral was definitely beautiful! We had free time after the cathedral and we did a little bit of shopping and I had another popsicle. (Jennifer had some sinfully delicious ice cream in cafe flavor.) Katie and I couldn't sit still so we walked around and found the University of Seville and walked through the Gardens of Maria Luisa park. I finally found a cute guitar key chain for Johnny. We heard some of the college crowd plotting their exploits for the night. They're so annoying! (especially Will & Kristen--Will is an ass who thinks he's a comedian & Kristen is a whiny brat!) Oh, and Jennifer Overby & Kate didn't come with us. I can't believe they missed this day!

3/19/05
This morning we had our last breakfast in Spain. Naturally, several people in the group went drinking last night and were running late to the us! There was a mad rush for the elevator! We spent virtually the entire time on the bus. (Someone has a serious flatulence problem because we had to spray Kate's body spray several times!) We finally crossed into Portugal! Our tour guide didn't show up, so we came to the hotel. Jennifer, Katie, Ophelia, Peggy (the art teacher) and I took the subway to the water to see the River Tejo! It was a fun adventure except for Peggy continually questioning if we knew where we were going! Also, Katie tagged along everywhere we wet and when people asked what she was doing that night she said "hanging out with Leigh Anne and Jennifer." Eeek! She speaks so slowly that by the time she finishes a sentence, I've already forgotten the beginning! We walked down Avenida da Liberdade, which is supposed to be the Champs Elysee (Paris) Of Lisbon. It was pretty and there were shops like Louis Vuitton lining the streets. Ophelia, Jennifer, Betsy, Katie & I had dinner at the Hard Rock Lisbon. I really had fun tonight, especially getting to know Betsy who is a liberal Democrat (yeah!). She She and her husband may move to Nashville after he finished vet school!

3/20/05

The morning got off to a rocky start when the tour guide didn't show up on time. Dr. Overby got on the phone and blessed out the agency. Finally, Phillip came! i thought he was a "fluffy cloud." (Kate's code name for a cute guy.) He had an unusual accent. At times it sounded a little bit French. We started with a bus tour of some of the Lisbon highlights. Then we went to the "Se," cathedral where they were having an actual mass. (Today was also Palm Sunday, a very special Catholic holiday.) It felt very strange to be touring the cathedral while services were beginning, but the congregants didn't seem at all ruffled by our presence. Phillip said 67% of Lisbon people are employed in the tourism industry, so that's probably why. The cathedral was constructed around 1150 atop an Islamic mosque destroyed when the Christians conquered the Moors. Our next stop was the castle "Castelo de Sao Jorge,' an ancient fortress way up on a hill. Jennifer & I climbed to the top of the castle walls where you could see an amazing panoramic view of the city, including the lift (Elevador da Gloria built in 1995) and the convent. The convent was the only building to survive the 1755 earthquake and subsequent fires. Jennifer & I explored the castle. I saw a long series of steps that I truly thought went back to the area we were supposed to meet the bs. When we got ot the bottom, we saw that it was a dead end! We had to turn around and climb all those steep stairs back to the top! I was huffing and puffing and my legs were shaking like crazy. We both were! Next, we toured Alfama, one of Lisbon's oldest quarters. The neighborhood was made up of many alleys going up and downhill. The interesting thing was that everyone had their laundry hanging out on the balcony. Also, we could hear "fado," Portuguese music which Phillip tried to describe as a feeling of nostalgia and passion. (He really likes fado apparently.) The buildings had some pretty tile and most of the windows had flowers. Phillip said they were having a festival there i June where thousands of people congregate and the men give women pots of basil. The length of time the basil lives is supposed to correspond to the depth of the  man's love.
We finally got time for lunch, but everyone was just getting out of mass and all the restaurants were crowded. Katie has turned out to be far worse than Ressa ever could have been. She was so annoying that both Jennifer & I were ready to kill her. We tired over and over again to ditch her. In fact, we waited in line at McDonald's for an hour and I stupidly ordered a grilled chicken salad that took forever to make. The crowd was awful and Katie kept getting in our faces. Jennifer & I tried to get out the door into the outdror seating area but she actually left without her food and found us. We got back on the bus to go to the Tour of Belem. When we got off the bus, Phillip gave us each a custard tart that tasted just like a slice of Granny's chess pie. The Belem Tour is the major symbol of Lisbon. It took like a "baby ccastle" situated on the River Tagus, roight in front of a bridge that looked just like the Golden Gate Bridge. (They were designed by the same architect.) We also saw the "Padrao dos Descoburmestos," a monument to the discoveries (Henry the Navigator was in front) erected in 1960. It looked like the rudder of a ship with statues of people looking out to sea. In the same location was the mosaic map of the world. We boarded the bus again and drove by the Basilica da Estrela, the Praca do Comercio (where they had tents set up for the codfish festival), the bull ring (looked like a mosque somewhat), parliament, the present & prime minister's houses and any other major attractions. They had several enormous malls whip Phillip says are open until midnight even tonight, Palm Sunday. Jennifer is napping now & we'll have our final dinner tonight at 7. I'm already starting to freak out about starting my new job again. It's almost time to come back to reality. We had dinner in the hotel (soup, chicken & rice, dessert) and I took pictures of all the tables (except one. I ran out of film & will get that table from Jennifer.) Dr. Overby gave some awards. Most Helpful: Lamar, Best Travelers: Mr. & Mrs. Plummer, and Most Curious: Emily & Wayn Parrish Best Note Taker: Rose who still has notes form her last trip to Italica. We went one-by-one describing their favorite things about the trip. Will was the funniest (unfortunately since he is an ass.) He said he'd found a career path in bullfighting and found his people, the gypsies. Betsy's mom Patsy gave the saddest one when she said she'd always wanted to see a cathedral as beautiful as the ones we saw. She cried, which made a bunch of us cry. Jenn & I scheduled our wake up call, packed, and hit the hay.
3/21/05
I'm sitting in the Newark airport, back in the good ole USA. Jennifer, Sara, Graham & I got a taxi from the hotel in Lisbon to the airport and had very normal flights. I just called the high school and left a message for mom that my flight is going to be there around 5:20. I hope she doesn't get there too early.
Extras:
  1. One of the younger girls asked another one (I think Candice) if she wanted to go to a tapas (traditional Spanish snack) bar with Tim Johnston that night. Candice said she thought she'd go but that it seemed really strange that Tim was going sine had a wife and kids. She thought the girl said "topless" bar instead of "tapas" bar.
  2. Katie's weirdness: 
  • My mother was a very cosmopolitan woman (bedet story)
  • I can't help it if I'm such a joy to be around.
  • I may not look like much but I know my popular culture.
  • I just love the Sex Pistols. 
Nicknames:
Since no one introduced themselves, we had a lot of nicknames:
1. the "skank squad" - The girls who had their heads up their boyfriends' butts
2. perpetually tan girl - Abby --had fake boobs.
3. blonde with big butt (Kristen)
4. shy girl -Katie
5. "Wheezer" -- Rose (nickname from Steel Magnolias); supposedly forced alcohol on Katie
6. art teacher-- Peggy(had sangria every morning & always tried to add to the art critiques
7. the vet's wife & her Mom -- Betsy & Patsy
8. the smokers -- Lauren & Brian
9. Dr. Overby's daughter and her friend -- Jennifer & Kate