A Recounting of Thursday

To pick up where Christina left off, today, we tour of Madrid extremely comprehensively. We saw the Palacia Real and took some time to get out and stretch there. The palace, impressive in size (much of it cannot even be seen from the front though being it was built on a ridge), can been seen on this link:

http://ahastudyabroad.org/Members/ameyer1/palacio-real-and-fountain.jpg

This is not one we took (no uploading of pictures right now, sadly), but maybe soon.

After the bus tour, we went to Musea Del Prado, the classical art museum and walked around with guided tours. It was fascinating to see Goya (exhibition of), Velasquez, and many, many more. Many of us were shocked by a few - such as Saturn Eating His Children - a title that more than one painting by more than one painter held. Most of the art was either inspired by mythology or Christian tradition. Throughout the tour, a few of us realized our inability as viewers to ¨read¨ classical paintings. I’m sure some course work will come from this.

The last thing I must mention is our concert. I admit, I went into tonight after last night moderately discouraged, but when we arrived, my attitude changed. We played an outdoor venue at the Universidad de Alcalá that, quote from Rich, ¨Sounded as good as Orchestra Hall.¨ It was really a multi-tiered courtyard constructed with Roman arches and the whole classical bit… a bunch of symmetry. And the sound! Wow… we could hear and be heard. It had a healthy amount of reverberation, but yet, not so much the articulation was lost. The crowd began small, but as our music spilled over the walls, our crowd grew substantially and they seemed to really enjoy it. Music so beautifully connects people and draws us all together.

And more later (it´s 3am right now! But the internet is free because of a kind hotel attendant!)

Blessings…