Madrid - Part 3

Here are some of the amazing vistas, or views, of Madrid as seen from the terraza of the Palacio Real.

Madrid - Part 2

With so much of the city to see, we were off to an early start on Sunday! The first stop on our recorrido of Madrid was the Palacio Real. Although no longer used as the official residence of the monarchy, some of the palace's 2,000 rooms are still used for state business. Also shown here is the Catedral de la Almudena, which was started in 1883 but not completed for another 110 years!

Madrid

Following our brief visit to Toledo, we returned to the residence in Madrid where our students welcomed both the refreshing sight of a pool and the culturally-embraced notion of a siesta. But, it wasn't long before we were up again and took to the busy streets of Spain's capital, Madrid. Shown here is the Plaza Mayor, and the statue in its center is of Felipe III. Throughout history, this famous plaza has been used to hold markets, bullfights, soccer games, concerts and even public executions(!).

Toledo

Just a few hours after our departure from León and following a quick stop at our "residence" in Madrid, the students found themselves in the timeless city of Toledo, located on the Río Tajo. As the former capital of Spain, Toledo is recognized as one of the few places where Christians, Moors and Jews co-existed and traces of each group can be found throughout the city. Here, students visited the Cathedral (which is like an art museum as it contains several paintings by El Greco, Goya, Tiziano, Rubens, Van Dyck and Rafael),the Iglesia de Santo Tomé (where they saw the famous painting by El Greco “El entierro del Conde Orgaz”) and the Sinagoga del Tránsito, which houses the museo sefardí.

Leaving León…

It's been said that a picture is worth "a thousand words" and I believe that these two shots live up to the expression. Having an early start and a very long day ahead us, Saturday morning brought a much-too-soon end to our stay in León. With their final purchases made, their suitcases (over!)packed and their lunches and snacks thoughtfully prepared by their Spanish moms one last time, the students said their goodbyes. Among the hugs and the tears, though, there were many hopeful promises of return.

Función de despedida - Los profesores

Before all of students headed out for the evening with their families, someone managed to catch me on the 'other' side of the camera along with the other profes! The woman with us is Sira Quindós Martín-Granizo, our onsite coordinator.

Función de despedida - Familias