FDA Visits Spain
FDA’s travels to Spain were filled with plentiful accommodations, a mild benign climate during winter and visits to the exquisite cities of Madrid, Segovia, Salamanca, Avila and Toledo. Spain’s diversity was immense. The country is covered with ornate old buildings, from Roman Aqueducts and Islamic palaces to Gothic cathedrals and medieval castles. The country vibrates the drama of flamenco to the melancholy lyrics of the Celtic music. The Castilian heartland is on the austere meseta at the center of the Iberian Peninsula, and what better that for FDA to experience it firsthand.
El Museo del Prado, originally, the Palacio de Villanueva, was built toward the end of the 18th century and houses some of the great masters’ works. Strings of rooms are devoted to the works of three of Spain’s greatest, Velazquez, Goya, and El Greco.
Madrid is the vibrant capital of Spanish Art Deco, and the Gran Via and the Art Deco caprices are raised, lining the boulevard. Its trolley buses skirt El Palacio de Comunicaciones and la Plaza de la Cibeles providing the ambiance of its glorious past.
Segovia, an awe inspiring city of Spain, in the Castilian province, is recognized by Unesco as a World Heritage City because of its lofty city walls and its Roman Aqueduct enclosing the entire old center. With monumental gates and towers, the city walls are some of the world’s best preserved medieval defensive perimeters. From its towers, the Castilian landscape unfolded its magnificent views. Salamanca is a major Castilian city, founding the historic university in 1218 and in the heart of the city is one of the grandest plaza mayor (main plaza). Cervantes, one of Spain greatest writers shared with FDA, the many marvels and adventures of Don Quijote and his companion, Sancho Panza. What a journey!
