Good bye to Madrid for Some

Hello all, it is Monday June 11 and I (Lynne) have just siad goodbye to the rest of the group, they departed the hotel about 7;30 am after a truly wonderful gala good bye dinner last night at a wonderful restaurant on the Plaza Major--many tapas including lightly fried asparagus with a parmesan dipping sauce, olives, tortilla espagnole (potato omelet), some little sausages, bread with olive oil and, of course, wine. THe main couse was albondigas (meatballs) and vegetables and then chocolate mousse. Vewry festive and a little sad too; we have enjoyed our time together so very much and came to love Oriol our guide. He was the best guide evey.

but to back up a bit. Our last formal concert was Sat night after a very busy and tiring day and a LONG walk to the church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We were afraid it would not be well attended and that we would be too tired to do well. Wrong on both counts. The crowd was huge and so very respònsive and we responded to them It was a wonderful concert on all sides. And afterwards they provided cokes, water, cookies and BEER. I am am pretty sure they ran out and got that sometime during the concert because it was so hot and they loved us. Also they gave the group two very beautiful plaques--- one a silver holy family that is elegant.

the next morning we celebrated the mass of Corpus Christi at the same church and again they welcomed us so warmly--the presiding priest spoke to us in English for a few minutes. It was really a moving experience to celebrat this holiday which is very important here in Spain

Next we went to Aranjuez, one of the royal palaces of Phillip II but restored later. The gardens were open, the day was glorious, terrific pictures to come. Then on the Toledy where we had a tour or the cathedral, the 2d largest in Spain. It is magnificent inside. We also watched some crafts people make damascene and wandered the streets all decorated with flowers and banners for Corpus Christi
I am about out of internet time so adios from Spain. Lynne

El Escorial, Segovia, Alcazar

Hello again! Saturday, June 9 has been a very full day. We began by boarding the coach and making our way toward El Escorial which houses a monastery, the Basilica of San Lorenzo, and the pantheon (burial site) of Spain´s kings. The entire structure, its logo, and many areas are in the shape of a grill (or 9 square grid, 3 across and 3 down) reflecting the way that San Lorenzo was martyred --- he was grilled to death. It is a long 15 minute walk from the station where all buses must park to El Escorial and only 20 groups per day are allowed to tour. We were very lucky. There are many stairs and it is considered to be austere (it is a monastery after all), though the bottom half of the walls are covered with intricate blue and white tiles and original art work, mostly of the nobility. While most of the group toured the pantheon and endured the 100 steps, two of us took the less steep route through the cloister and lucked out to see the basilica. A wedding was about to take place and by the time the remainder of the group made it upstairs, the basilica was closed. The basilica must be booked 2 to 3 years in advance for weddings!
We then reboarded the coach and took to the highway toward Segovia. The highway has a 2 mile tunnel through the mountain to get to Segovia. This city was very beautiful and charming but you cannot miss the Cathedral and its many spires and intricate details. Another feature is an incredibly long and tall Roman aqueduct --- unbelievable! Our group had approximately 1.5 hours for lunch and some quick shopping. Another 10-15 minute walk took us to the Alcazar castle. This is the castle that inspired Walt Disney and the structure known in the U.S. as the Magic Kingdom or Cinderella´s castle. The real thing is awe inspiring and quite beautiful. We took photos inside as it is full of armor, gold ceilings, stained glass, and a moat that would be quite difficult to cross. Photos later.
Tomorrow, our last day will be spent singing in a mass in Madrid in the morning followed by the afternoon in Toledo (former capital of Spain) and a farewell dinner. We will post photos as soon as we can return to stateside. Love and hugs to each of you who are following our travels. See you soon!

Made it to Madrid

Hola! We are now in the capital city of Madrid for the final three nights of the journey (for most of us). Yesterday was a magnificent day in the Pyrenees Mountains followed by a concert in a lovely church, St. Steves, in the principality of Andorra. The only attraction for Andorra is shopping --- designer labels, that is. Most of us purchased very little as items were very expensive though it is tax free. The concert was lovely and very well received; it was our first concert with a real organ! Erica played beautifully and we sang quite beautifully as well. Our driver and guide gave us the option of taking the long way around through France and to the top of that portion of the Pyrenees. The view and drive was magnificent and breathtaking. We saw snow and actually went above the snow which had fallen only 15 days before. The air was clean and fresh with the temperature around 46 to 50 degrees.

Today was the bullet train from Lleida to Madrid. The train was very cool and quite fast. We all took something for lunch and ate on the train, purchasing drinks in the train cafeteria. We arrived in Madrid in approximately 2 hours traveling at 180 mph on "The Duck" as it is affectionately referred to by the locals. We have checked in to the hotel and many are walking around the area about the hotel (McDonald´s is next door) to check on available shopping. We have dinner in a bit at 8:15 p.m. local time at a nearby restaurant.

Will try to write again soon. We see El Escorial and Segovia tomorrow!

Solsona

We are in the lovely walled city of Solsona with a beautiful hotel. Yesterday was a full day making our way through the mountains with stops in Vic and Cardona. We saw a great deal of the agricultural region of this part of Catalonia and market day in Vic. The market was over by 3 p.m. Many have had gelato every day, similar to that in Italy. When we arrived at Cardona the group was met with a downpour as we tried to make our way up to the castle. All of us were drenched as our driver deftly managed the hairpin turns both up and down the mountain. This morning we gave a master class to high school students and special needs adults at a school auditorium very near the hotel. Students behave the same regardless of nationality and the interraction between our students and those attending was very special to witness. We have a concert this evening at 9 p.m. at the Cathedral of Solsona. Tomorrow we go to Andorra. We are having a marvelous time experiencing a different culture and struggling to find our way where English is not spoken by many. We usually manage sometimes with gestures or the local leading us to see what they are trying to tell us. We miss our family, friends and furry babies and will try to update again in a day or so. The wifi connection at this hotel is free though somewhat intermittent. It is approximately 5:40 p.m. for us in Spain at the time of this post.

Gorgeous Girona

Hi guys, we are in a truly wonderful hotel near the old city of Girona and it is even nicer than our last hotel. Oriol our guide gave us a nice tour of the old city after we arrived and then left us own our own for dinner and exploring. The medieval part of Girona is quite manageable and after dinner as we were sitting at the foot of the steps to the cathedral, a lot of our kids came down the steps, counting to see if there were indeed 92--there are 90-- and we just kind of ran into each other. That was a nice feeling.

Prior to Girona we went to Montserrat Monastery---wow. It is hanging high up on the mountains which we could see as we approached them and which our driver skillfully managed to switchback up. The monastery houses about 80 monks and 50 choirboys. We attended mass which was truly packed and then directly after mass the choir boys sang and then we did both of our Ave Marias and Psalmo 150--our offering to the Madonna, the Moreneta--a small statue of the virgin which is housed in the basilica and is the subject of several legends, including that the original was carved by St. Luke and brought here by St. Peter.

Today we have a boat ride on the Costa Brava from one sweet town to another. What a trip we are having. We did remember our home choir friends at about 6pm here when they were just about singing the anthem. We miss everyone!!!

Bravo Barcelona!

Too tired yesterday to blog. First concert went well in a gorgeous church with a dreadful organ. Acoustics helped any first concert flaws. Prior to the concert was a full day of sightseeing in Santa Creus Monastery (pictured at left, one of the gates) followed by steep adventures through the Roman ruins at Tarragona (pictured is the amphitheatre by the sea) along with beautiful views of the sea. The late afternoon and early evening was a visit to Pau Casals seaside home where we were welcomed and greeted by the director of the Casals Foundation. We then went to El Vendrell for dinner and the concert which was in the church at El Vendrell where Pau Casals´father was the organist.

Today was another day of adventure and our last shot at seeing the sights of Barcelona. Everyone chose their own destination (at least in pairs), our group of five chose to wander the Bouqueria (open market) seeing many kinds of fruits, vegetables, meats, cheese and spices--more than you can guess! Afterwards we took a taxi to Montjuic taking in the Spanish Village created for the 1929 World´s Fair. The village is a representation of all of the provinces of Spain and the crafts from each region. Lunch was an astonishing experience including grilled rabbit, chicken (the best), a cream gazpacho, and mushroom pie and wine from Penedes region.

Tonight we give an open air concert in the square of Sitges. Tomorrow we see Montserrat and sing a short concert after mass and go to our next hotel, located in Girona for two nights.

Until then, buenos tardes...