Toledo

This past weekend two of my girlfriends, Emma and Taryn, and I went to Toledo for the day. Toledo is an ancient city just about an hour outside of Madrid. It was the capital of Spain during the rein of the Muslim kings until 1085 when it was conquered by the Catholics. The design and architecture of the city are still greatly influenced by it's Muslim history.
I think my favorite part of the day was simply walking though the steep cobble stone streets and getting out of the city. I like Madrid but a city of five and a half million people becomes overwhelming sometimes. We also went to the gothic cathedral, built between the XIII and XV century. There was a display of the crown jewels as well as a collection of Greco’s paintings in the cathedral museums. Greco lived in Toledo for most of his adult life. Unfortunately the Alcazar, Toledo’s fort and palace, was closed due to reconstruction. Luckily it is such and easy day trip that I will be able to return to the city when it reopens.
Toledo is also famose for it´s steel work and all the gift shops are packed with intersting knifes of all different sizes. I´m thinking souvenir for my good older brother.

My new Hair!!!

I passed a peluqeria (salon) on my way home from class yesterday and decided to chop my hair off. I told her give me the Victoria Beckhem. She cut about 7 inches off of the back. I love it! My hair feels so light an healthy.

Reina Sofia and Class

This past Sunday I went to el museo de la Reina Sofia, Madrid’s modern art museum. They have a great collection of the most famous modern Spanish artists like Miró, Dalí, and Picasso, the star of their collection being "la Guernica". The Guernica, for those who don’t know, is Picasso’s masterpiece, representing a small city that was totally destroyed by Hitler’s army at the beginning of the Spanish Civil war. Basically, Hitler needed to test his knew planes and train his new pilots and Franco let him bomb a small city in northern Spain to show off his powerful friends and discourage the republic. Not only were heavy bombs dropped on the city but the civilians were also machine gunned down as they were running away down the streets and in the fields. Picasso’s painting is filled with the horror and pain of the two hour massacre. And no mater how many books I have read that sing it’s praises or how many professors tell you it is gorgeous seeing it for the first time in person is an unforgettable experience. It takes your breath away. I stood in front of Guernica for 15 minutes with tears in my eyes. It is really a must-see for anyone visiting Madrid.

My classes started on Tuesday and are all going well. Some of my classes are will all American students and a professor from the University Compultense Madrid but others are just like a regular lecture hall in Madison, except everyone is Spanish. I am taking a history of America class (the Spanish part of America, not USA), two literature classes, linguistics, and yoga :).