Ya llegamos ! We´re finally here!

I haven´t been able to access my blog from home which I believe is due to a firewall problem, but here I am blogging away in Madrid. Last week Denise and I conducted class with our students at Palo Alto which was a combination of a reporters´ bootcamp and an orientation of basic geography and early history of Spain. Denise really likes the text I assigned for the Humanities class, The Story of Spain, by Mark Williams. Kudos to her also for assigning the Art of Creative Non-Fiction and providing a fabulous seminar about the essence of effective writing. I believe she has prepared our students to write a decent feature story on a subject that has somehow piqued their curiosity.

We left San Antonio yesterday morning with anticipation and excitement in our hearts as we embarked on our long journey. I still needed some badly needed rest because I hadn´t slept a wink the night before, and I felt really groggy. After a two-hour delay on the runway in Newark, we were finally cleared for takeoff to Madrid. I slept most of the way. For me, the flight went went quickly, and before I knew it I was here in Madrid!

I thought about what it would be like to return to Madrid a fourth time. I reminisced about my old hangouts --Calle 54, Cafe Populart, Cafe Central, Casa Patas, as well as the great cultural institutions -- El Prado, Thyssien, Reina Sofia, Teatro Real (where I saw a performance of Carmina Burana) Teatro Español, Círculo de Bellas Artes. Madrid is such a sumptuous city with a joie de vivre. The streets are teeming with people even until very late. Ever since my return in 2004 as a faculty member in the PAC study abroad program, Madrid has gotten under my skin because it is so alive and offers such a stimulating and diverse cultural scene. Madrid está en la onda!

We finally arrived in Madrid and met our guide, Gary, who is a young español of Cuban-American heritage. We had to wait for Denise´s and Sarah´s luggage to come on the next flight; then we left to go to our hotel in the Chamartin area of Madrid. We had a little down time before we visited the Royal Palace constructed by Felipe V, the first king of the the Bourbon dynasty here. We then briefly stopped at the monument to Don Quixote in the Plaza España and Puerto del Sol where we had dinner at El Museo del Vino. The students are quite happy to be here, and I´m excited for them. It´s going on 11 pm, but the night is still young for me. I think I´ll stop by Cafe Populart tonight before heading back!