Day 11

Today we split in two different groups, the first one returned for 2 hours to the Museo del Prado with a Tour guide, and the second one went for shopping the rest of the time.

After meeting for Tapas, we went to visit El Parque del Retiro, where we spent some hours walking in the park. The most interesting part of the park was the monument of Alfonso Doce, that was a big structure with a lake in front of it, where we talked and sat for admiring the views of the monument with the sunset.

Day 10: Photo blog

Group picture at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

The group admiring some art 

Willow interpreting "The Eternal Enigma"

Quick pic before El Museo de Todos 

"Expulsion. Moon and Firelight" 

Elias dragging Andy out the museum because he didn't want to leave 

Day 10: The Golden Triangle Of Art

Today we visited all three of the museums that make up Madrid's famed Golden Triangle Of Art. Our first stop was at the Reina Sofia Museum, which is home to the well-known Picasso painting La Guernica. It was a great museum which hosted various paintings and works of art which relate to the Spanish Civil War, with some connections to World War 2. Therefore, there were some very powerful works with deep meanings behind them. We spent our entire morning in order to carefully observe and appreciate each fantastic work of art. 

We then ate dinner outside the museum and then headed over to our second museum of the day, the Thyssen-Bornemisza. We visited a great temporary exhibition at the museum, which included Impressionist art. We got to see works from painters such as Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, and many more. I think that this was an exhibition that we were all able to fully enjoy. We then moved onto the museum's permanent exhibitions, which included a very well-known Salvador Dali painting titled Dream Caused By The Flight Of A Bee Around A Pomegranate A Second Before Awakening. We didn't spend too much time here, but there were some very interesting works. 

We then had Chocolate & Churros before heading to the final museum of the day, a return trip to the great Prado Museum. We were only able to spend an hour and a half here, but in that time frame we were able to review a lot of the works we had seen the previous time as well as explore some additional works by great Spanish painters. Some of us will come back here tomorrow for a very extensive final visit, which I'm sure we'll be covered in the blog tomorrow.

After the Prado Museum, we had a great dinner at a Japanese restaurant nearby our Airbnb before calling it a day. Our final full day in Spain will be tomorrow, and although we're very excited to explore Madrid one more time, we're equally ready and excited to return home. 

Day 9 Pictures! By Willow

A front view of  El Real Monesterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial.  

A panorama from the inside of palace, the tour was very interesting.

Another hallway from inside the palace

A view from outside the Basilica

One of the amazing frescoes inside the library

The view from the palace, this was a change of scenery compared to the last few days.

We got some great churros after we finished exploring the palace.

Day 9: The Coolest Monastery on the Planet

Today started off with a breakfast at the Air BnB then a trip by bus to the Real Monastario de San Lorenzo de el Escorial, which was the fall home of the royal family, and also where they would live in the fall. This is a beautiful palace just outside of Madrid with art covering the ceilings and paintings everywhere. Our guide knew all about the history and was able to tell us about the family and how they lived when the were in the monastery. Underneath the monastery there was a room full of gold decorations and the tombs of many generations of the royal family. It was set up in a way so you could tell who had been married and who their children were. In this rooms there were many generations of the family and their descendants and cousins. After we finished this in depth tour of the monastery and had learned about the history of many of the paintings, we took a lunch break before going to look at the royal library.
Inside the library there are books with all of their signs facing inward because the pages are made of leather and need to breath. All over the ceilings there are paintings of philosophers that look like they are jumping out of the walls. There are more paintings in the library that show the royal family. There are also tools used in the library that have incredible details and fancy fonts.
Once we finished with the library we decided to check out the royal garden where there were beautifully trimmed hedges with an incredible view of the countryside. There were cows in the distance and a great view of the monastery from where we were.
We were not able to spend too much time at this garden, but afterwards we took at quick stop for chocolate, churros, and smoothies. After a nice snack and break from the cold we took the bus back to Madrid where we had dinner at a local tapas restaurant. After enjoying this delectable meal we walked back to the Air Bnb to wind down and prepare for the next day.

Day 8 - Maria

Monday 13, 2019

If you’re wondering why we haven’t been posting blogs it’s because we haven’t had any wifi in the AirB&B. But don’t worry, we are all safe in Madrid and having an excellent time. Today has been an amazing day! We woke up, ready to take on the day, had breakfast at the apartment, packed a delicious sandwich with jamón Serrano and the finest cheeses of Spain, and headed out to the Spanish school we would be visiting. 

We drove for 45 minutes and finally arrived at SEK Ciudalcampo International School. We were immidiately welcomed with open arms by the school’s vice principal, and we started the school tour. It was a very different experience from Post Oak as they have 1,413 students from 14 months going onto high school. Throughout the tour we were able to see many similar learning environments as in Post Oak, like the Tinqueria and the labs. Their younger classrooms had a lot of similarities to the Montessori system. However, the older grades were not Montessori based. Towards the end of the tour we where able to interact with a few students in Spanish, and ask and answer questions about our differing cultures. The Spanish students proposed important questions and brought up important topics like gun control, politics, as well as other general areas regarding growing up in the United States. At the end, we said our goodbyes and headed back to the city to prepare for our economics lecture.

The economics lecture was a complete success! We met with an economics professor Mario Barceló from a university here in Madrid who also works as a finance advisor for businesses. We were provided a delicious merienda before the lecture by Maria’s family which got us all energy fueled. During the lecture we discussed things like the different sectors of the economy of Spain, the economic crisis of 1973 and Spains merge into the European Union in 1986, the economic crisis of 2007 caused by the housing bubble and its effects on Spain, unemployment in Spain, and the economic aspect behind Cataluña’s independence conflict with Spain. It was an incredible experience to see world conflicts like the housing bubble of 2007 but from a completely different perspective.

To end this fabulous day, we headed on to a typical Tablao flamenco, which is the typical dance here in Spain which originated in the South, specifically in Sevilla in the 18th century. It was a beautiful end to our day, and the flamenco dancers transmitted all of their passion and emotion from their dancing and zapateo onto us. 

PS: The end of our night was actually a delicious slice of pizza (we know, not very Spanish) from a nearby restaurant.

 Here is the group in the Spanish school lab during our tour and outside the school with the vice principal who gave us the tour.

 Here are the students after our Spain economics conference with the economist.

 Here are the students on the roof of the Hyatt hotel where we had our economics conference. 

 Here is a picture of the Flamanco dancer on stage during her performance.

Pictures from day seven

 The Museo del Prado  

 The Palacio Real

 The Oven Mozzarella Bar 

The Catedral de la Almudena 

Day 7: Royal Madrid

Hi, thanks for bearing with us while we sorted out our lack of internet access. We now return to your regularly scheduled blog.

This morning we woke up in Madrid, Spain, many of us for the first time. Then we had cake with breakfast, many of us for the first time. Happy 18th, Elias! Nothing like a traditional Tarta de San Marcos (picture a creme brulee but cake shaped and topped with more whipped cream than frankly seems necessary) and a few multicultural birthday songs to fill us with the sugar and festive spirit that all good days start off with. Plus, one of the songs mentioned "reyes," or kings, which sort of subconsciously primed us for, but more just provided our blog a nice transition to, our first activity of the day: a visit to the Royal Palace of Spain.

There we saw beautifully decorated ceilings, impossibly intricate tapestries, and many more displays of the artistic mastery that can be brought together by the wealth of a monarch whose nation's sailors recently happened upon a continent of rather rich but gun-lacking people, then happened their gun-having selves upon those people and their riches, and finally happened their way on home to the monarch with riches in tow. We also saw the old royal living spaces, many historic artifacts, and a throne room where the Spanish king received visitors, including Barack Obama, who as it happens was at the time of his receiving president of a large chunk of the same continent where those previously mentioned sailors happened upon those rather rich but gun-lacking people.

We lunched outside the Palace in the Royal Garden, and then toured its labyrinth, which despite being a product of the same artistic-mastery-producing money as everything else, failed to impress Ms. Novak, who was disappointed to find the solution was just a straight path through the middle.

Pushing through this minor spiritual setback, we moved on to the Cathedral of Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena. We only visited for a short while, but getting to see a church with an intact one of the story tablets we'd seen so many of at the National Art Museum of Catalunya was cool.

Our last big stop for the day was the Museo del Prado, Spain's biggest museum. Entrance is free for two hours a day, which means, as we learned, that there's a very long line to get in around that time. About thirty minutes long, in fact, outside in Madrid's harsh, unforgiving, sub-comfortable temperatures. The Post Oak Spain J-term group is nothing if not adaptive though. Some of us struck up an alliance with the family in front of us to ward off the cold with the distraction of conversation, and a small recon group set off with Mr. Jacobs to get us all churros and hot chocolate. In the end we survived the line, gaining a few friends and a few chocolate stains on our faces along the way.

Inside, we focused on the work of two artists: Velasquez and Goya. Both were in their times painters for the royalty of Spain, royalty whose money, as mentioned, commissions some pretty nice art. Among the works we saw were Velasquez's most famous: "Las Meninas," the original second-person painting, and "Los Borrachos," or "The drunks." We also saw Goya's most famous painting, a naked woman, and a slightly less famous painting, the same woman but with clothes on. Finally we made a brief visit to the landscape painting section, brief because about as soon as we got there the museum closed and we were kicked out.

To wind down the night, we ate at a great Italian-Spanish fusion place that Maria recommended and then headed back to the Airbnb, some of us stopping on the way to buy earplugs. Madrid, as it turns out, is very loud, and among other things we think we probably heard about a life's sentence worth of crimes happen outside our windows last night. Not to worry you or anything though, we're doing great. Good night from the Post Oak Spain J-term!

Day 6 Photos- Zoey

Sorry we are a little late on posting the photos, we didn't have wifi :( But we are back and full of updates! These are the photos from our travel day from Barcelona to Madrid!

Zoey, Sarah and Maria excited to finally be in Madrid!

The group in front of the Congreso De Los Diputados!

All of us in front of La Puerta de Alcala, one of the original entrances to the city of Madrid! 

Us in front of a VERY fancy post office :)

Everyone in front of the Real Jardin Botanico!

Day 6- Crazy Train

Today was really exciting. We sat on a train for 3 whole hours! I guess you could also say arriving in Madrid safely was exciting too. We woke up around 9:30, which was really nice because we were able to sleep in a little before hearing Maestra's song of the day. We then packed our suitcases, made our sandwiches we would be enjoying for lunch, and checked the rooms to make sure we weren't forgetting anything. I then double, triple, and quadruple checked the room because Im forgetful and wanted to make sure I wasn't leaving anything behind. (unfourtanently I should've checked a 5th time because I forgot a sock and my moms facemark applicator... sorry amy) Anyways, afterwards we got on the train safely and arrived in Madrid in a little under 4 hours. When we got to Madrid we went straight to the airbnb and relaxed a little. After we had some time to get settled we got our warm jackets on, since it was very chilly, and started our walk to the botanical gardens. When we got there, we found out we were not able to enter because they were closed. We sat for a few minutes, got a site report from Zoey, and then headed over to the arc de triumph. It was so beautiful. But, we were all starved from the travel day, so after we started walking to where we would be eating dinner. We finally found a Spanish resturaunt, got a table, and had a delicious first meal in Madrid. When we got back to the hotel after and it was time for me to write my blog, we unfortunatntley found out there was no working wifi, hence the no blogs for the past 3 days. Good thing we didn’t have our phones, imagine 12 teenagers suddenly left out without internet connection… scary. If your reading this, it means the airbnb man gave us the new router. Anyways, Madrid is amazing, and we are all okay and alive!!!

...We Are In Madrid!

We arrived in Madrid safely, and on time. However, we have been having issues with the WiFi at the AirBNB and have not been able to post the blogs. Please be patient, they should be up today!

Day 5: We Love Art!

Since this was our last full day in the great city of Barcelona, it was naturally a very physically demanding day, but it was one filled with a plentiful amount of remarkable collections of art and architecture.

Our day began with a delicious breakfast at Granier, which is our local bakery and pastry store. We then made our way to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. This museum is housed in the enormous Palau Nacional and contains some of the best collections of Romanesque and Renaissance Art in the world. We spent over 3 hours at the museum, taking in each spectacular piece of art one at a time. What impressed me the most was how the museum allowed us to get a glimpse of the culture, history, and religion of Catalonia hundreds of years ago from only its art.

Once we extensively explored the museum, we broke off into two groups for lunch. One was a Spanish take on an Asian restaurant, and the other was a tapas restaurant. Both were great options, and everyone left satisfied.

We then headed to the Pabellon de Barcelona, which is is built in the style of modern architecture, which is especially surprising if you consider that it was built in the 1920s. We didn't stay there very long, but even within that limited time-frame, we were able to fully admire the building's architecture.

Afterwards, we then visited the Joan Miro Foundation Museum. It was a very odd yet fascinating museum. The art was very thought-inducing, as the majority of the art pieces were abstract and interpretive. The museum also offered some great views of Barcelona and it was an overall enjoyable experience.

Once the museum closed, we returned to our Airbnb for Dinner and to pack our bags and prepare for our travel day tomorrow to the heart of Spain, Madrid. 

Day 5: Photo Blog

The group posing in front of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

Gabe and Andy admiring some medieval art 

Ariela and Josey posing in front of the organ at the Great Hall while Willow and Elias.....dance? 

Gabe presenting his site report at the Pabellón de Barcelona

Andy showing his creative side at the Joan Miró Museum 

A very intriguing art piece 

A sculpture and amazing view at the Joan Miró Museum to finish off the day 

Day 4: The Works of Antoni Gaudi by Willow and Andy

Today was our busiest day on the trip yet, but it was definitely one of the most interesting. We started out our day as usual with breakfast, but today we also made sandwiches for lunch as well. The first place that we visited today was the largest cathedral in the city La Sagrada Familia. I was very excited to see the place, because we had only seen it from the really far away like when we were at Park Guell. I also think that the architecture of Antoni Gaudi is very fascinating and I also really like how his buildings look. Today however, we finally got to see it up close and it was huge!
As we were getting up from the metro station, Maestra asked where the Sagrada Familia was. Elias then told us to turn around and we got to see it up close for the first time. The cathedral was massive, and every little bit of it was incredibly detailed. I can see why it has taken so long for it to be built. We were lucky enough to get a lot of good pictures, and also have a tour guide there to show us around. I was able to ask the guide a lot of question in Spanish, and I feel like my speaking and listening abilities have been improving a lot.
The interior of the Sagrada Familia was as complex as the outside, and my favorite part was all of the giant stained glass window. Along with that, I also liked how the majority of the light in the cathedral was completely natural. After that, we went to lunch in a park across the street, where there were tons of pigeons that kept on bothering us for all of our food.
After seeing the Sagrada Familia, we then went to another fascinating building by Gaudi, La Casa Mila. La Casa Mila, really stood out and in contrast to all the geometric house is was wavy, and it seemed like there wasn't a single corner in the whole building. La Casa Mila had four floors that we were able to look at, and they went over some of the history of the building, Barcelona, and about Gaudi's life.
After that we split up into two groups, one group went shopping, and the other went to the gothic quarter. We walked around the shopping district of the city, and had a great time taking in the sites and sounds of the city.
We ended up eating dinner in separate groups, one group at a Tapas and Paella restaurant, while the other went to go get tapas at La Taverna del Bisbe. Both of our groups got back later than usual, and our legs were super tired, but we still had a good time exploring the city.

Day 4: Pictures!

The group explores The Sagrada Familia, one of Spain's most famous landmarks

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Willow enjoys the view from the top of Casa Mila 

Andy, Elias, Hunter and Emilio enjoy some tapas for dinner

Maria admiring one of architect Gaudi's models for The Sagrada Familia

The group poses for a picture inside The Sagrada Familia

"dad dna mom uoy evol I"