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Published: October 7th 2005
After what seemed like a whole day of flight, accross the Atlantic, over Great Britain and parts of Western Europe, with an overlay in Munich, our plane touched down in Madrid, Spain at 1000pm/22:00 on October 6th.
This is my first trip to Europe. First trip out the U.S. really. I have found comfort in learning that there are people in my group who have had the same worries and felt anxiety as I have. While I was still at home, everyone´s question was always, "When are you leaving?"..."Aren´t you excited?" My answer was often, "I´ll be excited when I get there." Well, now I´m here. And, yes, I am excited!
The feeling of being here hadn't really hit me til today. We visitied Toledo, España´s first capital city. Madrid, in comparison to Toledo, is like San Francisco in spanish. There is history in Madrid, but there is also constant construction. Much of what history Madrid has shown us, thus far, is masked by cranes, construction workers, and bulldozers. Thus far...
Toledo, on the other hand, is filled with history. Our tour bus took us to the top of the town where we were able to view the
whole area. It was a beautiful site. Most of the architecture has been around for hundreds of years. The castle, the cathedral, apartmentos, the cigerald (question that spelling).
One of the first places we visited was an artisans' workshop. Their handicraft consisted mainly of swords and 23/24k gold inlay peices. We took a tour of the workshops and were able to view these craftsmen creating some of their pieces. I refrained from purchasing any pieces of work from the gift shop, but was able to snag a few pictures to show you what they do.
We followed the artisan's workshop with a tour through the Cathedral de Toledo. No pictures were allowed in here so the one that I did take is not a great one. The Cathedral contained mostly religious paintings, sculptures, and scripts. This was the first time I had stepped foot into a church in ....... My jaw fell as soon as we stepped in the door. I felt the presence of something much bigger than any of us. Still unsure of what that is, but it was there.
Unfortunately, this experience left me somewhat numb and I neglected to record any of the
Syringe Disposal
Why would they need this in the airport bathroom stall?displays for the first 30 minutes of our tour. (I believe the trance was also due to only having 30 min of actual sleep last night.) When the cloud began to fade I became consumed by all of the paintings of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and various Bible stories. The Cathedral shared pieces of work by El Greco (The Greek) such as "El Expolio": a painting displaying the disrobing of Christ, and Cararaggio's "San Juan Bautista". Many artists were inspired or taught by Leonardo DaVinci himself. The artwork was a mixture of gothic, baroque and classical styles, French and Spanish.
Following The Cathedral, we trekked through the town's labrynthian streets to El Entierro del Señor de Orgaz, a small church displaying one of Greco´s most famous pieces "Parroquia de Santo Tome´. This piece shows the link between heaven and hell, fantasy and reality, life and death. I wasn't able to photograph this one, but if you get a chance, check out the image.
I would love to add more to this entry today, but my brain has absolutely gone to mush from the lack of sleep. My attempts to order food or even ask simple questions have
Personal servicio....
Why are there two toilets? Oh! Ew.... And, no Kelli, I haven't tried it. failed me and made me look like more of an American that I feel. So, before I begin to not make sense, I will add the photos from my trip thus far and hope that you enjoy them. We are going to a Flamenco Show this evening at 21:30 and I will hopefully have these up tomorrow.
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Kelli
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You have arrived!
I love your first entry! How fun to see the beautiful pictures...the captions are great. Special request...more pictures with YOU in them. :) Be safe and know that you are missed! I love you!