A Conference Trip to Madrid

In mid-November we went to Madrid for three days to attend the International Conference of Education, Research, and Innovation (iCERi) where Dale presented a paper.

Dale’s paper was very well received. (Elsa can vouch about how terrific Dale’s presentation was – she snuck into the back of the room, listened and observed.) He was asked to chair the session on Accreditation and Quality Assurance and that also went well – quite an exciting discussion, if you are into academic quality issues. The meetings were quite exciting (ok, if you're into this)!

The conference was at the Hotel Meliã Castilla, a five-star business and
convention hotel, and was quite nice – although it was not in the center of the
city.

Luckily the bus stop was very close and right on the Paseo de Cataluña – one of two major streets in Madrid, along with the Grand Viá. And the center of the city was only 20 minutes away.

We were, of course, limited as to sightseeing, what with the conference sessions Dale wanted to attend. And Elsa had the great pleasure of hooking up with another Smithie who lives in Madrid -- someone she hasn't seen for 45+ years!

So we scrambled to see the two museums we were really interested in.

First there was the Prado -- ok, the Louvre may be the best museum in the whole world, or so Dale says -- but there's something about the Prado -- not just the high ceilings, the Louvre has those too -- and the Prado certainly doesn't have the Mona Lisa -- but it does have all these rooms of really big king and queen dude/dudettes -- and the Goyas -- which we didn't have time for this time, but are amazing -- and all the crucifixion rooms which, even if you aren't into crucifixions, are pretty impressive -- and of course the Bosch's -- and getting lost to find the Bosch's -- which we did ONE MORE TIME -- well, it just makes us smile. No more happier place than the Prado -- per us.

We wanted to see the Hermitage exhibit in the new addition to the Prado. Very well reviewed -- paintings, sculpture, jewelry, huge beautiful vases -- more a history of the museum than a presentation of paintings which has just opened. Of course, we couldn't take photos of all that -- you just have to imagine. Sorry about that!

Entry via the new building

And especially, we were excited to see again Las Meninas, the famous Velásquez painting, particularly because Picasso did a series of interpretations which we viewed at his museum in BCN, and (as we observed later in Figures at his museum), Salvador Dali did as well.

And we didn't know (especially Elsa, who never took Art 11 at Smith, and still suffers from this in terms of art education) that Las Meninas totally changed the world of painting. Karen informed us. And we can see the historical links. Now we understand a little more.

Las Meninas by Picasso

Dali's version

So we have had much fun talking about how modern artists felt the need to reinterpret the famous Las Meninas.

We also went to the Thyssen Museum nearby, which has a more modern
collection. Our grandson, Truman, in particular asked us to look for Van Goghs, because he had just seen A Starry Night at the Getty Museum in LA and was much impressed.

Well, there was indeed a great Van Gogh painting among many others. We sent him the postcard.

In fact, we have enjoyed sending our grandchildren postcards of works of art -- Wilson has been studying Picasso. Truman is a budding artist. It is fun to share our experiences with all seven of them. Who knows -- another Picasso may be among us.

OK, moving on . . . . After the Prado, we needed to have a rest. Well, who could blame us? It had been a very full day -- squeezing in two museums between Dale's meetings. Multiple bus trips -- no taxis. We needed a break!

And where would we go -- well, where else -- one of our very favorite hotels in the very whole world, just next door to the Prado -- the Ritz.


It is the oldest hotel in town and still considered the most plush. The garden in front is lovely and, in better weather in the past, we have enjoyed a glass of wine there. (On a Sunday, you should see the brunch. It is not to be believed! But, not this time for us. Didn't have the time or the $$$.)

This being November, we sat properly in the very beautiful and formal lounge area. Well, you know how we take photos of EVERYTHING – but, not here. When you have the servers in white gloves, you just can’t whip out your camera and shoot the place. So, sorry, only an exterior shot. Too bad, because the interior is amazing!

We walked from the Ritz into the old town -- and the buildings along the way were lovely.

Roast suckling pig and lamb cooked over wood are a classic part of traditional Spanish cuisine. Los Galayos, one of the most famous Madrid restaurants for such food, was where we feasted on both. We weren't disappointed.

Basque cuisine, on the other hand, represents cucina nueva. San Sebastian in the Basque province was the forefront of cuisine well before El Bulli. And the Basque tradition of fine cuisine certainly continues in Madrid.

The conference provided a guided bus and walking tour of Madrid. Because this was a short and busy trip for us, we couldn’t go off on our own to the many monuments and buildings. So we saw them from the bus. And they are impressive – even from the bus.




It’s always interesting to go with a guide on a walking tour (not that we do this very often, being not predisposed to tours). But, our guide was terrific!

She was full of fun facts.

Here's one. There is this enormous space around the palacio – but it didn’t used to be like that. There was a warren of streets around the palace, or whatever they called the palace in those days. So, the Hapsburg kings, coming here, not only wanted a big palace, but also the bigger spaces around it that they were used to – so they tore down all the buildings around the palacio. And now we enjoy this great open space. Spaniards walk here every day.

We learned that picture tiles on the walls in Viejo Madrid existed because
illiterate people couldn’t identify addresses or deliver mail. So the pictures identified the street. In the old town the tradition of picture tiles is continued to this day.

There is a market in Madrid but, unlike Barcelona which has many functioning markets, this one couldn’t make it as a real market. Now it has been re-designed as a designer, boutique food/market – pricey – but folks go there. There are not fresh food, meat, poultry stalls.

Compare that to the photo below from one of the markets in Barcelona. It seems to be doing perfectly well!

The Puerta del Sol, felt to be the heart and center of Madrid, is indeed in center of Spain. This imbedded marker is ground zero for all mileage counts on streets and highways in Spain.

The Plaza Major was being readied for Christmas markets, but that didn’t stop us from appreciating the uniformity of the buildings in the square, which lends to its appeal. Apparently, the first building was indeed so appreciated that it was copied all around the plaza – hence the consistency. Appreciation, obviously, can go a long way.

But, when the plaza was built, people could own the flats in the buildings, but the government owned the balconies. To raise money, they were sold to other folks. So then the owners of the balconies had to go through flats owned by others. Go figure that!

Dale met a professor from Rumania who presented an excellent paper at the conference, and Dale and Petru had some interesting discussions about the state of higher education in Romania and the U.S., even as we toured on the bus. Dale hopes they will meet again.

We had a wonderful time – short but wonderful!

Love,

Dale and Elsa